Project oNIgiRI: A Deterministic User Experience Port for Arch Linux Systems

Prateek Yadav
Dept. of Computer Science
RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau
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AbstractoNIgiRI represents a significant effort in user experience (UX) portability. It successfully migrates the curated, keyboard-driven workflow of "Omarchy OS" to the Niri window manager environment. Unlike simple dotfile collections, oNIgiRI implements a suite of automation tools ("Application Factories") and unified menu systems that abstract underlying system complexities. This paper details the adaptation of standard Linux tools (Fuzzel, Gum, FZF) into a cohesive desktop environment.
Index Terms—UX Portability, Linux Configuration, Niri, Shell Scripting, Automation, Desktop Environments.

I.Introduction

Custom Linux distributions often define their identity through unique workflows. Porting these defined experiences to new compositors is non-trivial. oNIgiRI (Omarchy Niri Integration) solves this by encapsulating the "Omarchy Spirit"—a minimalist, keyboard-centric ethos—into a portable configuration layer for Niri.

II.Toolchain Integration

The project replaces heavy desktop environments with a composable toolchain, ensuring low resource usage (idling ~400MB RAM).

A.The Unified System Menu

Access via MOD+M triggers a fuzzel-based menu system styled to match the Noctalia theme. This menu aggregates disparate system functions:

  • Session Control: Lock, Logout, Reboot, Shutdown.
  • Toggles: Immediate control over `gammastep` (Nightlight) and `swayidle` (Screensaver).
  • Package Management: A frontend for `pacman`/`yay` using `fzf` for interactive package search and removal.

B.Visual Consistency

Dependencies such as alacritty (terminal), fuzzel (launcher), and gum (dialogs) are all centrally themed. The project ensures that "floating" windows, like the package manager or confirmation dialogs, spawn with consistent geometry and decorative borders.

III.The Application Factory Model

A core innovation of oNIgiRI is the concept of "App Creators," which democratize the creation of desktop entries.

A.Web App Creator

This tool allows users to input a URL and generate a standalone Progressive Web App (PWA) style launcher. It handles icon fetching, `.desktop` entry creation, and window rule assignment automatically.

B.TUI App Creator

Similarly, wrapping Terminal User Interfaces (like `btop` or `ncmpcpp`) into launchable applications promotes them to "first-class citizens" in the desktop model.

User Input -> [App Factory Script] -> [.desktop File] -> [Fuzzel Launcher]
Fig. 2. Automated Desktop Entry Generation

IV.Workflow Enhancements

The configuration extends Niri's tiling logic with tailored screenshot utilities (using `grim` and `slurp`) that support region capture, full-screen, and clipboard copies immediately.

V.Conclusion

oNIgiRI demonstrates that a cohesive, high-functionality desktop experience can be constructed entirely from loosely coupled command-line utilities when bound by a strong consistent design philosophy.

Availability

Hosted on GitHub.

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