Hyprwave

Hyprwave is a modern, privacy- and security-first Linux distribution based on Fedora Atomic, featuring Hyprland as the default desktop environment. It combines an immutable, container-friendly core with a fast, composited Wayland desktop to deliver a safe, polished, and highly tweakable experience.

Install

Variant	Image	Greeter
Hyprland (default)	ghcr.io/neon798/hyprwave:latest	SDDM
COSMIC	ghcr.io/neon798/hyprwave-cosmic:latest	cosmic-greeter

sudo bootc switch ghcr.io/neon798/hyprwave:latest && sudo systemctl reboot
# or COSMIC:
sudo bootc switch ghcr.io/neon798/hyprwave-cosmic:latest && sudo systemctl reboot

Full guide (variant pick, ISO vs rebase, first login): INSTALL.md · docs/first-boot.md.

Registry note: Anonymous GHCR pull is still 403. Prefer local just build hyprwave latest → localhost/hyprwave:latest (see INSTALL.md). Path A needs public packages or podman login ghcr.io.

Docs: Handbook index · First boot · Keybinds · Security (duress off by default) · FAQ · Install · Updating · Troubleshooting · Theming · COSMIC · Architecture · Screenshots · Changelog

Default stack (Hyprland)

Piece	Choice
Compositor	Hyprland
Launcher	Walker (+ elephant)
Bar	Waybar
Notifications	Mako
Wallpaper	hyprpaper
Terminal	Ghostty
Browser	Neonwolf
Files	Yazi
App store	FlatArcade
Themes	11 packs via hyprwave-theme / Super+Shift+T
Assistant	Hyprwave Assistant (optional; Super+Shift+A)

COSMIC variant differences: docs/cosmic.md.

Companion apps

Hyprwave ships with a small suite of synthwave-themed apps that share its synthwave84 look:

	App	What it is
🕹️	FlatArcade	A synthwave 8-bit arcade TUI for browsing Flathub and managing Flatpaks. Rust + ratatui.
🐺	Neonwolf	A synthwave, privacy-focused Firefox fork — a thin neon overlay on LibreWolf.
📟	Hyprwave Assistant	Offline-friendly TUI for bootc / Flatpak updates, a curated catalog, and the on-image knowledge base. Ships in both variants (/usr/bin/hyprwave-assistant). Hyprland: Super+Shift+A (Ghostty). Optional — not required for a usable desktop.

SDDM Theme

Hyprwave ships with a custom QML-based SDDM login theme (build_files/usr/share/sddm/themes/hyprwave/) that matches the synthwave aesthetic:

• Palette: Deep purple background (#15052e), pink accents (#ff2d95), cyan highlights (#00f0ff), purple trim (#b967ff), and light foreground (#e0e0ff)
• Typography: JetBrains Mono throughout — titles, labels, inputs, and power controls
• Title: Chromatic "HYPRWAVE" header with offset cyan and pink ghost layers for a retro arcade CRT feel
• Login panel: Centered card with a double-border effect (pink outer + cyan inner), monospace "USER" / "PASSWORD" labels, user selector, password field, and a "▶ START" button
• Clock: Top-right 24-hour clock with date subtitle
• Power controls: Bottom-right SHUTDOWN / REBOOT / SUSPEND links
• Background: Same wallpaper as the desktop (/usr/share/hyprwave/wallpapers/default.png), darkened with a purple vignette overlay for legibility

The theme is set as the SDDM default in build_files/build.sh via /etc/sddm.conf.d/10-hyprwave.conf. The palette is defined in theme.conf and referenced by the QML theme file; all colors have safe fallbacks if the config key is missing.

See the whole suite at github.com/neon798.

COSMIC variant

Hyprland remains the default desktop. A second image variant ships the COSMIC desktop environment (System76's Rust-based DE) as hyprwave-cosmic, now with full Hyprwave synthwave identity:

• Default theme: deep purple background (#15052e), light foreground (#e0e0ff), pink accent (#ff2d95), cyan window hint (#00f0ff), purple neutral tint (#b967ff).

• Default wallpaper: the Hyprwave default (synthwave).

• Dock favorites: Neonwolf, FlatArcade, Ghostty, Cosmic Files, Hyprwave Themes, Cosmic Settings.

• Removed apps (decluttered with --no-autoremove): cosmic-store (replaced by FlatArcade), cosmic-edit (use geany), cosmic-player (use mpv), cosmic-wallpapers (use hyprwave wallpaper). cosmic-term is kept (required by cosmic-session); Ghostty remains the promoted terminal.

• Image: ghcr.io/neon798/hyprwave-cosmic:latest

• Rebase an existing Hyprwave install: sudo bootc switch ghcr.io/neon798/hyprwave-cosmic:latest

• Local build: just build-cosmic

• ISO: just build-iso-cosmic

Shared components on both variants: Neonwolf (browser), FlatArcade (Flathub TUI), Yazi (file manager), Ghostty (terminal), Hyprwave Assistant, CLI tools, fonts, wallpapers.

The COSMIC image uses cosmic-greeter (no SDDM) and does not include Hyprland-specific packages or dotfiles (walker, waybar, mako, hypr configs). It installs the official Fedora @cosmic-desktop-environment group plus cosmic-greeter. Vendor defaults for the desktop (dock, wallpaper) are overridden from build_files/usr/share/cosmic/.

Themes

Hyprwave ships 11 switchable themes for the Hyprland variant (the default hyprwave synthwave theme plus 10 additional packs).

• hyprwave (default): classic synthwave
• retro-arcade: 80s arcade cabinets
• cozy-harvest: warm earthy farm life
• fjord-dark: clean cold nordic
• touge-drive: night mountain racing
• vaporwave: 80s/90s vapor
• highway-haze: misty neon drive
• lunar-pulse: dreamy moonlit
• glitch-horizon: glitchy retro future
• arcade-rain: rainy neon arcade
• verdant-haven: immersive nature

GUI (recommended)

Open Hyprwave Themes from the app launcher (on COSMIC it’s also pinned to the dock).
Hyprland shortcut: Super+Shift+T.

Pick a theme and click Apply theme — no terminal needed.

CLI (optional)

hyprwave-theme list
hyprwave-theme set vaporwave
hyprwave-theme menu    # launches the same GUI in a graphical session

Theme store: /usr/share/hyprwave/themes/. Ghostty picks up colors on new windows. COSMIC writes Appearance + wallpaper under ~/.config/cosmic/; Hyprland live-reloads borders/waybar/walker/mako/hyprpaper.

Optional extras

Feature	Notes
Hyprwave Assistant	Ships in the image. Hyprland: Super+Shift+A. COSMIC: app menu / hyprwave-assistant. Confirm upgrades; reboot still required after bootc upgrade.
Duress password	Packaged off by default — stock login is ordinary PAM. Never enabled on a fresh install. Overview: docs/security.md

Building from source

just build hyprwave latest
just build-cosmic
just build-iso            # needs sudo
just build-iso-cosmic

See INSTALL.md and docs/architecture.md. Contributor-oriented build detail: CLAUDE.md.