Niri Plus / Setup overview
Setup overview
Niri Plus is a desktop for browsing and building: Chrome and Dolphin on the interactive side, Kitty and Zsh at the keyboard, with Niri arranging both. This overview is for reference: it explains what the setup includes and the choices to make. For installation, we recommend working with an agent using the detailed guide linked below.
Set up with an agent
The recommended way to install Niri Plus is with an agent. Give it the guide, let it inspect your machine, and work through the choices together.
Share the guide or its plain Markdown version with your agent. Ask it to inspect your current setup, work through your choices, and report what it verified. For one component, use a focused recipe.
What you get
- A coherent desktop: warm Neutral Slate surfaces, Clear Blue focus, a pure-black workspace, Noto/Meslo fonts and a separate Balanced+ terminal palette. See the design.
- Tools on demand: Rofi for apps and utilities, SwayNC for notifications and system information, Cliphist for text/image history. No permanent bar.
- Everyday desktop support: login, locking, displays, audio/brightness feedback, files, network/Bluetooth entry points, input methods and whole-monitor sharing.
The numbered Arch install target selects components 0.4.3 with SwayNC 0.12.6-18 from fork release 1. Its authored reference profile selects the unified information panel at width 448, full height, with zero margins, individual notifications, a bold clock and inline Do Not Disturb control. Managed-host rollout evidence remains separate in setup status.
The 0.4.3 reference includes direct Rofi controls for Network, Audio and Bluetooth. Native tools remain available for deeper settings and recovery. The stateful illustration explains the shared action and status presentation with sample devices.
Manual display-away is a separate, opt-in extension from components 0.5.0. It does not change the numbered reference's 0.4.3 selection or automatic power policy; see the away-mode recipe after the reference is complete.
The unified session screen is another opt-in extension in published components 0.9.2: Ctrl+Alt+Delete opens Lock, Display off, Suspend, Log out, Restart and Shut down. Selecting one starts a cancellable countdown that confirms the action automatically at expiry. It is separate from the published component selections and the reference's acceptance evidence.
The published 0.10.0 Close All helper and profile remain a separate opt-in; the numbered reference keeps its existing Mod+Q behavior.
Starting point
Start with installed Arch Linux x86-64, a regular sudo account, working networking and the reviewed source. On an existing desktop, merge into your configuration and keep console or SSH recovery access. Ubuntu/Debian guides are deferred.
The setup at a glance
| Stage | Result | Agent steps |
|---|---|---|
| Base session | Niri, Kitty, Rofi and portals; a working stock SDDM password login. | Packages and first login |
| Appearance and apps | The selected theme across desktop, terminal and greeter; Chrome and file defaults. | Appearance, browser and files |
| Everyday controls | Dashboard, clipboard, Network/Bluetooth/Audio/Session launchers and brief hardware feedback. | Notifications and utilities |
| Session services | Wallet unlock, authorization, locking and an explicitly chosen power policy. | Wallet and session ownership |
| Your workflow | Actual display profiles, input languages, audio, Kitty and the pinned Zsh setup. | Displays, input and terminal |
| Check the whole system | Native tasks, reboot, logout/relogin, sharing and a recovery record. | Verification and handoff |
After the reference, optionally stage the manual display-away companion from its independent 0.5.0 pin. This branch is separate from the reference's required acceptance and from the desktop's automatic idle/suspend policy.
Make it fit your machine
Choose your monitor names/scales and input languages. Review browser defaults, existing network/login/secret providers, and which optional Plus tools you actually want. Remote and authenticated agent integrations are separate additions.
Pay particular attention to power and locking. The reference example turns displays off after ten minutes, suspends on battery after thirty minutes, and has automatic locking and AC suspend disabled. Choose those settings for your own use; the session details keep manual locking independent of idle-policy reloads.
What has been checked
The 2026-11-08 qualification completed the numbered 0.4.3/SwayNC 0.12.6-18 route and 21 mapped routine native task groups through an independent fresh replay and supplemental checkpoint-copy checks. These include ordinary browser and terminal first runs, files/media, controls, clipboard, lock/idle, scratch storage, Pinyin at two scales, cold wallet lookup and session lifecycle. Whole-monitor sharing required the documented conditional VirtIO portal candidate; warm and cold captures advanced frames and native Stop released their exact capture graph.
The VM suspend/resume check is waived for this qualification at Bryan's request. Its failed observations remain in the receipt. Bryan reports no corresponding issue in ordinary daily use; that report is separate from a controlled physical acceptance test.
This starts from an installed Arch base and does not qualify OS installation or physical devices. The receipt keeps a separate human checklist. Optional Away, session-screen and Close All selections have separate gates. Existing sidebar videos/stills retain their package 17 receipt and dates; the 0.4.1 replay remains historical. Recheck the full guide on a new target.