Install

Use the guided Go installer for your first setup on Arch-family x86_64 with Niri. If you prefer package-manager updates, choose the AUR route below; each of those routes installs sysc-shell and its required companions. Nix users install from the flake instead, which packages the shell and the weather plugin.

Full Debian and Fedora suite support is planned. Check the requirements before installing.

Guided Go installer: recommended

Run this release as your normal user. Do not prefix the installer with sudo. It writes suite programs and systemd user units in your home directory. The optional gSlapper package step may ask the package manager for administrator authentication.

The commands below select the reviewed v0.1.3 release. They verify the amd64 installer against the checksum file before placing it in ~/.local/bin.

set -eu
download_dir=$(mktemp -d)
trap 'rm -rf "$download_dir"' EXIT
asset=sysc-linux-amd64
base=https://github.com/Nomadcxx/sysc/releases/download/v0.1.3
curl -fsSL "$base/$asset" -o "$download_dir/$asset"
curl -fsSL "$base/SHA256SUMS" -o "$download_dir/SHA256SUMS"
(cd "$download_dir" && sha256sum --ignore-missing -c SHA256SUMS)
install -Dm755 "$download_dir/$asset" "$HOME/.local/bin/sysc"
"$HOME/.local/bin/sysc"

Continue only when sha256sum reports sysc-linux-amd64: OK. If verification fails, remove the download directory and fetch the release again. The installer stores the exact component versions and checksums in its embedded pin.

Keep ~/.local/bin/sysc if you want to rerun this release or uninstall it later. To use a later SYSC release, change both download URLs to that release tag and read its release notes and compatibility information first.

Once that installer is on disk, later suite upgrades can run "$HOME/.local/bin/sysc" update; see Upgrade.

This release installs sysc-terminal v0.2.0 for the shell's Terminal Art feature, seeds tray presentation when it creates a config with sysc-tray installed, and skips plugin selection. Add plugins through the shell's catalog after setup.

AUR: start with sysc-shell

Install sysc-shell with your AUR helper:

yay -S sysc-shell

Your helper installs these companions as dependencies:

Clipboard history needs a running Secret Service provider, such as gnome-keyring or KeePassXC, or a configured key file. The lock screen uses your existing PAM login stack.

Inside a Niri session started with niri-session, stop your existing bar and notification daemon, remove their startup entries, then run:

systemctl --user daemon-reload
systemctl --user enable --now sysc-shell.service

The packaged shell service starts its companions and creates a missing config with sysc-lock selected and tray icons enabled. It preserves an existing config. Configure weather, themes and wallpapers in Settings. For keyboard shortcuts, merge /usr/share/doc/sysc-shell/niri-bindings.kdl into your existing Niri binds block.

Optional additions

For terminal wallpapers and the plugin collection:

yay -S sysc-terminal sysc-plugins-git

You can also choose individual plugins from the shell's catalog. Keep one installation source per plugin ID; the shell rejects duplicate IDs from packaged and catalog copies. sysc-wayland and sysc-metrics are Go libraries included when programs build. sysc-greet sets up the login greeter separately.

Use your AUR helper to update these packages. When moving from the guided installer, review user units and ~/.local/bin/sysc-* binaries that override packaged files. Follow /usr/share/doc/sysc-shell/first-run.md, preserve your config and state, and confirm ExecStart=/usr/bin/... with systemctl --user cat before restarting services. Complete that review with your screen unlocked.

Nix: the flake route

Nix is not a package channel here: there is no AUR package for it, the guided installer never touches a Nix store, and for Nix the flake is the route. sysc-shell ships packages.default, an overlay, a home-manager module and a NixOS module for x86_64-linux and aarch64-linux.

In a home-manager flake configuration:

{
  inputs.sysc-shell.url = "github:Nomadcxx/sysc-shell";

  # modules = [ inputs.sysc-shell.homeModules.default ];
  # programs.sysc-shell.enable = true;
}

On NixOS without home-manager, inputs.sysc-shell.nixosModules.default puts the package in environment.systemPackages and deploys the same systemd user unit under /etc/systemd/user. Plugin directories and shell settings are per user, so the home-manager module is the one that links them.

The flake packages the shell and the weather plugin only. The companions (sysc-lock, sysc-notify, sysc-clipboard, sysc-tray), sysc-terminal, sysc-walls and the plugin collection are not packaged for Nix, so a Nix install runs the shell without them.

Build current source

The source installer follows the current sysc main branch and needs Go 1.26 and git. It builds into a temporary directory and removes that directory after running. It does not leave a sysc command installed.

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Nomadcxx/sysc/main/.install | sh

The source installer follows the current sysc main branch and installs sysc-terminal v0.2.0 for the shell's Terminal Art feature, enables tray presentation when creating a config with sysc-tray installed, and skips plugin selection. Add extras through the shell's plugin catalog after setup. It preserves an existing config's tray preference. It refuses a new takeover of a pacman-managed SYSC installation, permits recorded user installations to upgrade, checks runtime libraries and fonts before replacing binaries, and warns when clipboard persistence needs a keyring. Uninstall preserves changed files and retains failed steps for retry. The v0.1.3 release was cut from this branch and carries the same behavior.

For a persistent source checkout, use the build instructions in the sysc repository.

Keep a source checkout if you may need to rerun or uninstall this installation later. Use the matching source installer for removal, or the release installer for the release you installed.

Before choosing a route, check the requirements, privilege boundaries and component pins.