Tonarchy

A zero-dependency Arch Linux installer with a clean TUI built from scratch in C.

Status: Alpha - Beginner (XFCE) and Oxidized (OXWM) modes functional, Wayland (Niri) coming soon

Philosophy

Tonarchy is designed to take users from zero to hero with an opinionated beginner mode that sets up a complete, working Linux desktop environment. No choices, no confusion - just a solid foundation to start learning.

For experienced users, the Oxidized mode provides a minimal OXWM setup.

Installation Modes

Beginner (XFCE)

Opinionated setup with XFCE desktop, essential applications, and sane defaults. Perfect for your first Linux installation.

Oxidized (OXWM)

Minimal setup with OXWM (Rust/Lua window manager), Alacritty, and Thunar. Lightweight tiling with Lua configuration.

Keybindings

General (XFCE Beginner Mode)

Key	Action
Super+Return	Terminal (Alacritty)
Super+d	App Launcher (Rofi)
Super+e	File Manager (Thunar)
Super+q	Close Window
Super+f	Maximize Window
Super+Shift+f	Fullscreen

Window Management

Key	Action
Super+j	Cycle Windows
Super+k	Cycle Windows Reverse
Super+Left	Tile Left
Super+Right	Tile Right
Super+Up	Tile Up
Super+Down	Tile Down

Workspaces

Key	Action
Super+1-9	Switch to Workspace
Super+Shift+1-9	Move Window to WS
Super+Tab	Next Workspace
Super+Shift+Tab	Previous Workspace

Technical Highlights

Zero dependencies

Raw terminal control using termios + ANSI codes (no ncurses)

Single C file

Entire installer in ~1500 lines of C

Fuzzy finding

fzf integration for keyboard and timezone selection

Static binary

Ships as a single static executable on the ISO

Requirements

• UEFI or BIOS system
• Internet connection
• Boot from Tonarchy ISO

Beginner Mode Setup

The beginner installation handles everything:

Desktop Environment

• XFCE with preconfigured keybindings
• Autologin via getty (no display manager)
• Adwaita-dark theme

Applications

• Firefox (with uBlock Origin, Dark Reader)
• Neovim
• Alacritty terminal
• Thunar file manager
• VLC media player
• Rofi launcher

System Configuration

• Locale: en_US.UTF-8
• Timezone: User selected via fzf
• Keyboard: User selected via fzf
• NetworkManager enabled
• Sudo configured for wheel group

Disk Layout (UEFI)

• 1GB FAT32 EFI partition
• 4GB swap partition
• Remaining space for ext4 root

Disk Layout (BIOS)

• 4GB swap partition
• Remaining space for ext4 root (bootable)

Roadmap

• [X] XFCE Beginner Mode
• [X] Oxidized Mode (OXWM)
• [X] BIOS support
• [ ] MangoWC Wayland Mode
• [ ] Encrypted disk support
• [ ] Multi-disk configurations
• [ ] DIY Mode

Building the ISO

On Arch Linux

make build_iso
./build_iso --container podman

Or natively (requires archiso and musl):

make build_iso
./build_iso

On NixOS

nix run .#build_iso -- --container podman

Testing

make test-nix   # NixOS
make test       # Arch

License

GPL