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Overview

While these dotfiles are primarily tested on Fedora and Arch Linux, they can be adapted to work on other distributions with some modifications.

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Universal Dependencies

Regardless of your distribution, you’ll need these core components:

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Window Manager

  • Hyprland: Wayland compositor (check your distribution’s repositories or build from source)
  • SDDM: Display manager for login screen

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Core Utilities

  • Fish: Shell
  • Kitty: Terminal emulator
  • Rofi: Application launcher
  • Waybar: Status bar for Wayland

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System Tools

  • Blueman: Bluetooth manager
  • Pavucontrol: Audio control
  • nm-applet: Network manager applet
  • Flatpak: Universal package manager

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Development Tools

  • Neovim: Text editor
  • Git: Version control
  • GitHub CLI (gh): GitHub integration
  • Lua and Go: Required for Neovim plugins

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Additional Tools

  • exa: Modern ls replacement
  • gammastep: Screen temperature adjustment (Wayland alternative to redshift)

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Installation Methods

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Quick Install

The install script should work on most distributions: 
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/shawal-mbalire/dotfiles/main/install.sh | bash

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Manual Install

git clone https://github.com/shawal-mbalire/dotfiles
rsync -avhu --progress dotfiles/ ~/

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Distribution-Specific Package Managers

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Debian/Ubuntu

sudo apt update
sudo apt install fish kitty rofi blueman pavucontrol network-manager-gnome flatpak
sudo apt install neovim git lua5.1 golang-go
Hyprland may not be available in official repositories. Check Hyprland installation guide for building from source.

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openSUSE

sudo zypper install fish kitty rofi blueman pavucontrol network-manager-applet flatpak
sudo zypper install neovim git lua51 go

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Gentoo

sudo emerge --ask gui-apps/kitty app-shells/fish x11-misc/rofi
sudo emerge --ask app-editors/neovim dev-vcs/git dev-lang/lua dev-lang/go

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NixOS

Add to your configuration.nix: 
environment.systemPackages = with pkgs; [
  hyprland
  fish
  kitty
  rofi-wayland
  waybar
  blueman
  pavucontrol
  networkmanagerapplet
  neovim
  git
  gh
  exa
];

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Adapting the Configuration

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Path Differences

Some distributions may have different paths for binaries. Update shell configuration if needed:
  • Fish shell path: Usually /usr/bin/fish or /usr/local/bin/fish
  • Check with: which fish

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Missing Packages

If certain packages aren’t available:
  1. Check alternative repositories: PPAs (Ubuntu), COPR (Fedora), AUR (Arch)
  2. Use Flatpak: Many GUI applications available as Flatpaks
  3. Build from source: Follow upstream documentation

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Hyprland Availability

Hyprland availability varies by distribution:
  • Arch: Available via AUR
  • Fedora: Available in official repos
  • Ubuntu/Debian: May need to build from source
  • NixOS: Available in nixpkgs
Check the official Hyprland wiki for your distribution.

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Configuration File Locations

These dotfiles expect the following structure: 
~/.config/
├── hypr/          # Hyprland configuration
├── kitty/         # Kitty terminal configuration
├── fish/          # Fish shell configuration
├── nvim/          # Neovim configuration
├── rofi/          # Rofi launcher configuration
├── waybar/        # Waybar configuration
└── tmux/          # Tmux configuration
This structure is distribution-agnostic and should work everywhere.

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Troubleshooting

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Missing Dependencies

If a program fails to start, check for missing dependencies: 
ldd /path/to/binary

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Wayland vs X11

These dotfiles are designed for Wayland. If your distribution doesn’t support Wayland:
  • Consider switching to a Wayland-compatible compositor
  • Or adapt the configuration for X11 (requires significant changes)

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Permission Issues

Ensure configuration files have correct permissions: 
chmod 644 ~/.config/**/*
chmod 755 ~/.config/**/

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Getting Help

If you encounter issues on your distribution:
  1. Check your distribution’s wiki/documentation
  2. Search for Hyprland + your distribution name
  3. Join Hyprland community Discord or forums
  4. Open an issue in the dotfiles repository

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Contributing

If you successfully adapt these dotfiles to another distribution, consider:
  • Documenting your process
  • Submitting a pull request with distribution-specific instructions
  • Sharing in the community

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