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Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.ryoku.dev/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

After install, the machine reboots into SDDM. Pick the Ryoku session (Niri) and log in.

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What you see

  • Top: the bar. Three “islands” left to right — left island (sidebar handle, active window), center island (workspaces dots), right island (clock, system indicators, SecPulse).
  • Background: the wallpaper. A default Ryoku wallpaper ships; change it via Ctrl+Alt+T or Settings.
  • No windows yet. Niri is a tiling compositor; nothing is open until you open it. Mod+T for a terminal.
Mod is Super (the Windows / Cmd key) on a normal install.

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First five things to try

Open a terminal

Mod+T or Mod+Return. The shipped terminal is kitty.

Open the cheatsheet

Mod+Slash. Every shipped keybinding in-shell, no leaving the desktop to look anything up.

Open settings

Mod+Comma. Themes, bar items, wallpapers, lock screen, login screen.

Open the launcher

Mod+Space. Type to filter apps, hit Enter to launch.

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The sidebars

  • Right sidebar (Mod+B or top-right click): system controls, quick toggles, OpenVPN profile picker, calendar, notepad, todo, network monitor.
  • Left sidebar (top-left click): notification history, wallhaven wallpaper search, AI assistant tabs.
Both can be closed by clicking outside them or by re-pressing their trigger.

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Common next steps

  • Change the wallpaper. Ctrl+Alt+T opens the picker. Drops in ~/Pictures/Wallpapers. Theme colors regenerate from the selected wallpaper unless you’ve set a static accent.
  • Pick a panel family. Mod+Shift+W cycles ii ↔ waffle. Each family has its own visual language.
  • Pick a skin. Settings → Appearance to switch between Material, Aurora, Angel, Ryoku-Shell, and Cards.
  • Wire up your VPN. Settings → Security → OpenVPN profiles. See security tools.
  • Update the shell. ryoku-update in a terminal, or click the update indicator when it appears in the bar.

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If the bar isn’t there

Press Mod+Slash; if the cheatsheet doesn’t open either, the shell isn’t running. Drop to a TTY (Ctrl+Alt+F2), log in, and run journalctl --user -u quickshell -n 50 to see why. The troubleshooting guide covers common boot/login issues.

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Where to go next

  • Desktop tour — Niri’s scrollable workspace model and the bar / sidebar surfaces in depth.
  • Keybindings — every shipped binding.
  • Security tools — OpenVPN sidebar, SecPulse, the in-shell polkit agent.
  • Customize — themes, wallpapers, bar items, keybinds.