Installation

Noctalia is packaged for Arch Linux and NixOS, but can also be installed manually in other distributions.

Arch Linux

Using AUR (Recommended)

The simplest way to install Noctalia on Arch Linux is through the Arch User Repository (AUR). This method installs the shell system-wide and handles dependencies automatically.

Please replace with your AUR helper of choice.

paru -S noctalia-shell

Development Version

For the latest features and fixes, you can install the development version directly from the Git repository:

paru -S noctalia-shell-git

Caution

The development version may be less stable than the official release. Use this version if you want to test the latest features or contribute to development.

---

Manual Installation

If you prefer to install Noctalia locally or want more control over the installation process, you can install it manually to your user configuration directory. This method works on any Linux distribution.

Step 1: Install required dependencies

For Arch Linux:

# Core dependencies (required)
paru -S quickshell ttf-roboto inter-font gpu-screen-recorder brightnessctl

# Desktop monitor brightness (may cause instability with some monitors)
paru -S ddcutil

# Optional dependencies
paru -S cliphist matugen-git cava wlsunset xdg-desktop-portal python3 evolution-data-server

# Polkit agent (can be any other agent)
paru -S polkit-kde-agent

For other distributions, install the equivalent packages using your package manager.

Step 2: Download and install Noctalia

mkdir -p ~/.config/quickshell/noctalia-shell && \
curl -sL https://github.com/noctalia-dev/noctalia-shell/releases/latest/download/noctalia-latest.tar.gz | \
tar -xz --strip-components=1 -C ~/.config/quickshell/noctalia-shell

Dependencies Explained

Required:

• quickshell - Core shell framework
• ttf-roboto - Default UI font
• inter-font - Headers font (clock on LockScreen, etc.)
• gpu-screen-recorder - Screen recording functionality
• brightnessctl - Internal/laptop monitor brightness control

Hardware-specific:

• ddcutil - Desktop monitor brightness control (⚠️ may introduce system instability with certain monitors)

Optional but recommended:

• cliphist - Clipboard history support
• matugen-git - Material You color scheme generation
• cava - Audio visualizer component
• wlsunset - Night light functionality
• xdg-desktop-portal - Enables “Portal” option in screen recorder
• python3, evolution-data-server - Calendar events
• polkit-kde-agent - Only needed to authenticate Battery Manager installation for laptop charge limits; skip if installing via Bin/battery-manager/install-battery-manager.sh with sudo.

Tip

Manual installation keeps Noctalia contained within your user directory, making it easy to remove or update without affecting system packages.

Note

The configuration files are saved in ~/.config/noctalia/ and the cache files are saved in ~/.cache/noctalia/.

---

Getting Help

If you encounter issues during installation:

• Check our FAQ for common problems
• Visit our GitHub Issues page
• Join our community on Discord for real-time support