First Steps After Installation

Congratulations on installing HorizonOS! This guide will help you get started with your new system.

1. Update Your System

First, make sure all packages are up to date:

sudo pacman -Syu

2. Use HorizonOS Welcome

The HorizonOS Welcome app should launch automatically on first boot. If not, you can open it from the application menu or run:

horizonos-welcome

The Welcome app allows you to:

Install AUR helpers (yay or paru)
Install gaming tools
Install development tools
Set up CachyOS BORE kernel
Configure system optimizations

3. Set Up WiFi (if needed)

Click the network icon in the system tray to connect to WiFi networks.

Or use the command line:

# List available networks
nmcli device wifi list

# Connect to a network
nmcli device wifi connect "NETWORK_NAME" password "PASSWORD"

4. Install an AUR Helper

AUR helpers make it easier to install packages from the Arch User Repository.

Install yay:

cd /tmp
git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/yay.git
cd yay
makepkg -si

Install paru:

cd /tmp
git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/paru.git
cd paru
makepkg -si

5. Add HUR Repository

Add the Horizon User Repository to access HorizonOS-specific packages:

echo "[hur]" | sudo tee -a /etc/pacman.conf
echo "Server = https://Horizon-user-repository.github.io/hur/repo/\$arch" | sudo tee -a /etc/pacman.conf
sudo pacman -Sy

6. Customize Your Desktop

For KDE Plasma:

Right-click on desktop → Configure Desktop and Wallpaper
Right-click on panel → Enter Edit Mode to customize
System Settings → Appearance to change themes

For Hyprland:

If you selected Hyprland during installation, the end4 dotfiles should already be installed. Edit configuration at:

~/.config/hypr/hyprland.conf

7. Install Common Applications

Web Browsers:

sudo pacman -S firefox chromium

Office Suite:

sudo pacman -S libreoffice-fresh

Media Players:

sudo pacman -S vlc mpv

Graphics Editing:

sudo pacman -S gimp inkscape

8. Enable Firewall (Optional)

sudo pacman -S ufw
sudo systemctl enable ufw
sudo systemctl start ufw
sudo ufw enable
sudo ufw default deny incoming
sudo ufw default allow outgoing

9. Set Up Automatic Updates (Optional)

To check for updates weekly:

sudo pacman -S pacman-contrib
sudo systemctl enable paccache.timer
sudo systemctl start paccache.timer

10. Create System Snapshot (Recommended)

Install Timeshift for system backups:

sudo pacman -S timeshift
sudo timeshift --create --comments "Fresh HorizonOS install"

🎉 You're All Set!

Your HorizonOS system is now ready to use. Check out the Package Management guide to learn more about managing software.

Useful Resources

Package Management - Learn to use pacman
Using the AUR - Access thousands of additional packages
Arch Wiki - Comprehensive Arch Linux documentation