Omarchy made me enjoy my computer again

I work on macOS. Windows has one job: games.

My PC is where I go to play Diablo IV; my Mac is where I work. Installing Omarchy on the PC opened up the possibility of doing both on the same machine.

But what got me hooked was the feeling of setting up my own computer again. Playing with Linux, changing the configuration, getting things the way I like them. The same kind of fun I had as a kid.

It made me want to build things.

The PC was ready

This is my existing gaming PC: an Intel i9-12900K, a GeForce RTX 3080 Ti, about 32 GB of RAM, and a 49-inch display running at 3840 × 1080 and 120 Hz.

Omarchy handled my hardware without any extra steps. I could get on with using the machine and setting it up the way I wanted.

A few days in, on my gaming PC.

Diablo IV is my go-to game, so that was the first test. I installed the Battle.net launcher, installed the game, and played. No extra configuration.

I’m planning to try more games over the next few days. So far, getting my usual game running was that straightforward. Being able to work and play on this PC is a big part of the appeal.

Making the computer mine again

I’ve been enjoying the configuration itself. Setting up the OS, trying things, learning how the pieces fit together. That was part of the attraction of computers for me as a kid, and Omarchy brought some of that back.

There’s a particular kind of motivation that comes from enjoying the machine you’re sitting at. You start changing a few things, and then you start thinking about what you could make for it.

For me, that led pretty quickly to audio software.

Agents beyond the codebase

The way I use AI agents fits well here, too. With the access I give them, they can help me work on the machine itself: debug a problem, adapt a configuration, or understand how part of the system works.

Omarchy ships skills that tell agents how to work with it. Having those instructions available is useful when I want to explore or change something in the environment.

I already love building software with agents. Being able to work through the surrounding system with them makes this setup feel like a good place to keep doing that.

First, I’m bringing Conduit over

I’ve been developing VSTs and JUCE plugins on macOS, so audio software is familiar ground. I want to put that experience into building something for Linux.

The first step is porting Conduit, an instrument plugin host I built with guitar and bass in mind. It takes inspiration from multi-effects devices like the Neural DSP Quad Cortex and Fractal gear: multiple signal paths, with plugins arranged into the setup you want to play through.

The original reason was simple. I wanted to use several plugins while I was working without opening Logic Pro or a full DAW just to play through them.

Then the feature list started growing.

Presets, obviously. Scenes for switching between sounds. A tuner. Input and output levels per block. Multiple signal lines and parallel processing. A built-in looper. Stem separation for songs. An EQ.

Apparently, “I just want to run a few plugins” comes with a fairly long list of requirements.

Conduit is the starting point. Longer term, I want to build a proper DAW that feels at home on Omarchy. Porting the host gives me something concrete to start with, built around the way I actually use audio software.

That’s what got me hooked

I installed an OS on my gaming PC. A few days later, I’m enjoying Linux again, playing Diablo IV, and planning to bring my audio software over.

That feeling of wanting to sit down at the computer and make something is back. I’m going to follow it.