Issue #228 | Subscribe

I've been seeing Omarchy, a new Linux distro, pop up on social media occasionally before, and now very frequently.

It's made by David Heinemeier Hansson, who also created the famous Ruby on Rails framework. The origin story is too long for this newsletter, so let's set it aside for now.

I haven't had a chance to try this distro because I don't have a spare computer, but after digging through videos, I can see why it is so hyped.

It lets you tinker and build the OS to your liking, and is built for keyboard-first navigation, which makes actions blazing fast.

I remember trying various Linux distributions, such as Ubuntu, Fedora, and Elementary OS, as a college student, primarily using Windows on my PC.

It felt good to tinker and see what was on the other side in the tech world. But I slowly lost that feeling as I started work, and my laptop's operating system became a tool instead of a playground.

One of the interesting things about Omarchy is that you can use any agentic AI, such as Claude Code, to customise your installation, create themes, and more, in real time.

While most commercial operating systems are restricted in that sense, or require deep technical knowledge, Omarchy makes tuning approachable and fast.

I've shared NetworkChuck's video on Omarchy at the end of this issue, which showcases what I'm talking about.

If you have a spare computer and some time over the weekend, this could be a fun experiment.

In Today's Cover: La Tomatina, held in Buñol, Spain, every year, where people come together to throw tomatoes at each other.

Now, before you move on to the rest of this newsletter issue, here are a few words from:

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Omarchy, a new Linux distro, has been around for a while, and this video quickly summarises the fun experience of the system.

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