💻 My CachyOS Linux Setup

Welcome to my personal configuration repository for CachyOS, a powerful and optimized Linux distribution based on Arch. This repo contains my customized settings, tools, and tips for turning your Linux environment into a productivity powerhouse.

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🧠 About CachyOS

CachyOS is a performance-focused Linux distribution based on Arch Linux. It offers:

• ⚡ Optimized performance with BORE scheduler and compiled with performance flags
• 🧰 A user-friendly GUI installer with KDE Plasma and other desktop environments
• 🔄 Rolling Release updates with Arch's bleeding-edge ecosystem
• 📦 Access to AUR, Flatpak, Snap, and native packages
• 🎨 Beautiful theming and customization capabilities out-of-the-box

Initial Release: 2022 Website: https://cachyos.org

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🛠️ My System Overview

• OS: CachyOS (Arch-based)
• DE: GNOME
• Terminal: kitty with Dracula theme
• Text Editor: VS Code with custom settings.json
• Fonts: FiraCode Nerd Font

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🎨 GNOME Extensions for Customization

To customize my GNOME environment, I use Extension Manager with the following extensions:

• 🪄 Compiz alike magic lamp effect: Adds the famous "magic lamp" effect when minimizing windows, where they smoothly contract toward the dock/taskbar, reminiscent of the classic Compiz effect.

• ✨ Compiz windows effect: Brings back the iconic Compiz window effects, including smooth opening/closing animations and elegant transitions between workspaces.

• 🚀 Dash2Dock Animated: Transforms the default GNOME dash into an animated and customizable dock, similar to macOS, with hover effects, transparency, and fluid animations.

• 🧊 Desktop Cube: Creates the classic 3D cube effect for switching between workspaces, allowing impressive visual navigation between different work areas.

• 🗂️ Tiling Shell: Adds automatic window management (tiling) functionality, automatically organizing windows into efficient layouts without overlap.

💡 Tip: Install Extension Manager via Flatpak or pacman to easily manage these extensions.

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📥 How to Install CachyOS (Recommended with Ventoy)

1. Download CachyOS ISO from https://cachyos.org/download

2. Install Ventoy:

   • For Windows:

     1. Download Ventoy from https://www.ventoy.net/en/download.html
     2. Extract the ZIP file
     3. Run Ventoy2Disk.exe as administrator
     4. Select your USB drive and click "Install"

   • For Linux:

     sudo bash Ventoy2Disk.sh -i /dev/sdX

     (Replace /dev/sdX with your USB device)

3. Copy the ISO to the Ventoy USB drive by simply dragging and dropping it

4. Boot from USB and follow the CachyOS GUI installer

⚠️ Warning: Make sure to select the correct USB drive to avoid data loss!

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💡 Ventoy and GRUB Customization

In addition to the standard installer, I use a customized Ventoy interface with the Grub-theme-vimix theme, making the boot menu more beautiful and modern.

There are several ways to apply this customization, but I followed the tutorial in this video: YouTube - How to customize Ventoy with Vimix theme.

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🧾 My VS Code Settings

You can open your VS Code user settings by pressing:

Ctrl + Shift + P → Preferences: Open Settings (JSON)

Paste the following:

{
    // Files and saving
    "files.autoSave": "off",
    "window.confirmSaveUntitledWorkspace": false,

    // Editor appearance
    "editor.fontSize": 16,
    "editor.tabSize": 4,
    "editor.cursorSmoothCaretAnimation": "on",
    "editor.cursorBlinking": "phase",
    "editor.renderLineHighlight": "gutter",
    "editor.parameterHints.enabled": false,
    "breadcrumbs.enabled": true,

    // Terminal
    "terminal.integrated.fontSize": 16,

    // VS Code interface
    "workbench.iconTheme": "material-icon-theme",
    "workbench.activityBar.location": "top",
    "workbench.startupEditor": "none",
    "explorer.confirmDelete": false,
    "explorer.confirmDragAndDrop": false
}

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🐱 Terminal: kitty

I use kitty as my terminal with:

• Font: FiraCode Nerd Font
• Font size: 16.0
• Theme: Dracula
• Transparency and keybindings

To configure it:

mkdir -p ~/.config/kitty
nano ~/.config/kitty/kitty.conf

Example kitty.conf snippet:

# Font size
font_family      FiraCode Nerd Font
bold_font        auto
italic_font      auto
font_size        16.0

# Theme
include dracula.conf

# Background
background_image ~/Pictures/kitty.png
background_image_layout scaled

# Useful shortcuts
map ctrl+shift+n new_os_window
map ctrl+shift+enter new_window

# Terminal border colors
background_opacity 0.75
window_padding_width 5

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⚡ Transform your Linux into a productivity powerhouse! ⚡