Omarchy inspired Mac setup

I'm really inspired by DHH and the push for Linux and Omarchy.

I even installed Omakub last year on an old mac to get a taste of Linux. Omarchy takes everythin a tad further in customization in a way I really enjoy the looks of. I'll probably wipe the Omakub and try out Omarchy soon, but that is not ment as a work computer. Just as an exploration.

Because, even as inspired by it as I am, I try to pragmatically think first; "What is it that speaks to me?" and "Would it be possible to get close enough to it without such drastic measures as changing the OS?"

This is currently the path I'm on. I'm working on getting my Mac close enough to the Omarchy look and feel, but still keeping most of what I enjoy and use on the daily in the Apple ecosystem.

I've come to realize that what I want are mainly two things:

  1. Better window tiling and spaces-management

  2. A more keyboard driven usage of the computer

To try to get closer with my Mac, I started by adding Yabai and skhd.
This got me pretty close, but the process got into a halt when I realized that even with all the configging and adjusting done, I still needed to boot in recovery mode and disable SIP to get where I really wanted.

What did I really want? Mainly instant switching between spaces (screens). The native spaces (Mission Control) from Apple has default swipe-animations between them (which can be disabled), but even in a disabled state it has an annoying fade. Furthermore without disabling SIP the keycommands for moving application screens between spaces didn't work.

So I reached a crosspoint. Either I'll go further down the Yabai+skhd route, or I'll try the alternative: AeroSpace, which has some alternative ways of dealing with this issue without needing SIP disabled.

I chose AeroSpace, and this turned out to be a massive improvement in what I looked for.

Now I have instant switching between spaces, simple commands to move windows between them, and good window tiling.

Along the way I've also installed:

  1. Raycast, which I'm still evaluating if I really need or not.

  2. Karabiner Elements (for making my Caps Lock a hyper-key).

  3. JankyBorders to better highlight the selected window.

I might also dive into Sketchybar, but for now I'm happy without it.