Installing Core Applications and WinBoat on Omarchy

This guide documents the installation of the following applications on Omarchy:

Obsidian
OBS Studio
Kdenlive
Okular
PDF Arranger
Microsoft Teams
Thunderbird
PSPP
WinBoat
WinBoat dependencies: Docker, Docker Compose, FreeRDP, and KVM

The setup uses native Arch packages whenever possible and AUR packages where necessary.

1. Update Omarchy

Before installing applications, update Omarchy:

omarchy update

It is preferable to use Omarchy’s own update mechanism rather than manually performing a full Arch system upgrade with pacman -Syu.

2. Install the Main Applications

Install the applications available through the normal Arch repositories:

yay -S --needed \
  obsidian \
  obs-studio \
  obs-studio-plugin-browser \
  kdenlive \
  okular \
  pdfarranger \
  thunderbird \
  docker \
  docker-compose \
  freerdp

The --needed option prevents packages that are already installed from being unnecessarily reinstalled.

Some Omarchy installations may already include applications such as Obsidian, OBS Studio, or Kdenlive.

3. Install Teams, PSPP, and WinBoat

Install the remaining applications through the AUR:

yay -S --needed \
  aur/teams-for-linux \
  aur/pspp \
  aur/winboat

Microsoft Teams

The Linux application used here is:

teams-for-linux

This is a Linux desktop wrapper for the Microsoft Teams web application rather than Microsoft’s discontinued native Linux Teams client.

PSPP

PSPP provides a free statistical-analysis environment similar in purpose to SPSS.

WinBoat

WinBoat runs Windows in a virtualized environment while integrating Windows applications with the Linux desktop.

The WinBoat AUR package may take considerably longer to install because yay builds the Electron application locally.

During the build, messages such as these may appear:

building
electron-builder
building target=AppImage
downloading

Yellow warnings from npm, Tailwind, Electron, or related build tools do not necessarily indicate a failure.

Allow the build to continue until the normal terminal prompt returns.

Do not interrupt the build with:

Ctrl+C

unless an actual error occurs.

4. Enable Docker

WinBoat requires Docker.

Enable Docker immediately and configure it to start automatically at boot:

sudo systemctl enable --now docker

5. Add the User to Docker and KVM Groups

Add the current user to the required groups:

sudo usermod -aG docker,kvm "$USER"

Then reboot:

reboot

A reboot is important because the new group memberships need to be loaded into the login session.

6. Verify WinBoat Dependencies

After rebooting, run:

echo "===== Docker ====="
docker --version
 
echo
echo "===== Docker Compose ====="
docker compose version
 
echo
echo "===== FreeRDP ====="
xfreerdp3 /version
 
echo
echo "===== KVM ====="
ls -l /dev/kvm
 
echo
echo "===== Groups ====="
groups
 
echo
echo "===== Docker test ====="
docker run --rm hello-world

On this Omarchy installation, the successful results were:

===== Docker =====
Docker version 29.7.2
 
===== Docker Compose =====
Docker Compose version 5.5.1
 
===== FreeRDP =====
FreeRDP version 3.31.1
 
===== KVM =====
/dev/kvm exists
 
===== Groups =====
ben docker kvm wheel

The Docker test finished with:

Hello from Docker!
This message shows that your installation appears to be working correctly.

This confirms that:

Docker is installed.
The Docker daemon is running.
Docker works without sudo.
Docker can download images.
Docker Compose is installed.
FreeRDP 3 is installed.
KVM virtualization is available.
The user belongs to the docker group.
The user belongs to the kvm group.

7. Verify WinBoat

Check whether the WinBoat package installed successfully:

pacman -Q winboat

Then locate its executable:

command -v winboat

If both commands return valid results, launch WinBoat with:

winboat

Alternatively, press:

Super

and search for:

WinBoat

in the Omarchy application launcher.

8. Check Docker Status Later

To confirm that Docker starts automatically:

systemctl status docker

A healthy installation should display something similar to:

Active: active (running)

Exit the status display with:

9. Useful WinBoat Diagnostics

If WinBoat has problems later, check Docker first:

docker ps

Check KVM:

ls -l /dev/kvm

Check group membership:

groups

Check FreeRDP:

xfreerdp3 /version

Check Docker Compose:

docker compose version

Check whether Docker can run a container:

docker run --rm hello-world

10. Installed Application Summary

Application	Package
Obsidian	`obsidian`
OBS Studio	`obs-studio`
OBS browser support	`obs-studio-plugin-browser`
Kdenlive	`kdenlive`
Okular	`okular`
PDF Arranger	`pdfarranger`
Thunderbird	`thunderbird`
Microsoft Teams	`teams-for-linux`
PSPP	`pspp`
WinBoat	`winboat`
Docker	`docker`
Docker Compose	`docker-compose`
FreeRDP	`freerdp`
Hardware virtualization	KVM

11. Complete Installation Commands

For a fresh Omarchy installation, the essential process can be summarized as follows.

Update Omarchy

omarchy update

Install native packages

yay -S --needed \
  obsidian \
  obs-studio \
  obs-studio-plugin-browser \
  kdenlive \
  okular \
  pdfarranger \
  thunderbird \
  docker \
  docker-compose \
  freerdp

Install AUR applications

yay -S --needed \
  aur/teams-for-linux \
  aur/pspp \
  aur/winboat

Configure Docker and KVM

sudo systemctl enable --now docker
sudo usermod -aG docker,kvm "$USER"

Then:

reboot

Verify everything after reboot

echo "===== Docker ====="
docker --version
 
echo
echo "===== Docker Compose ====="
docker compose version
 
echo
echo "===== FreeRDP ====="
xfreerdp3 /version
 
echo
echo "===== KVM ====="
ls -l /dev/kvm
 
echo
echo "===== Groups ====="
groups
 
echo
echo "===== Docker test ====="
docker run --rm hello-world

Verify WinBoat

pacman -Q winboat
command -v winboat

Launch it with:

winboat

Result

The Omarchy system now has the main productivity, video, PDF, communication, statistical-analysis, and Windows-integration applications installed.

Most applications require no additional configuration beyond installation. WinBoat is the exception because it depends on Docker, Docker Compose, FreeRDP, KVM virtualization, and the correct user permissions.

Once the Docker hello-world test succeeds, /dev/kvm is available, docker and kvm appear in the user’s groups, and FreeRDP 3 is detected, the Linux side of the WinBoat environment is ready for its Windows setup.

Benjamin L. Stewart

Explorer