LUNADASH / START

Install. Settle in. Make it yours.

Install LunaDash with the session installer or the NixOS module, sign in and find your way around the first session.

Install on Linux

LunaDash is developed primarily on Arch Linux. The session installer also knows the Debian/Ubuntu, Fedora, openSUSE, Alpine, Void and Gentoo package managers. It installs the dependencies (including Rust, which builds the SlintLu shell runtime), builds the compositor, the LunaDash shell and SlintLu at the revisions LunaDash pins, and installs the login session.

TERMINAL

git clone --branch dev https://github.com/LuYishan-4/LunaDash.git
cd LunaDash
./scripts/install-session.sh

On Arch the installer builds a package with makepkg and installs it with pacman; the other distributions build with Ninja and install through CMake. Preview the steps with ./scripts/install-session.sh --dry-run; if your package manager is unknown, install the dependencies yourself and use --skip-deps. Video wallpapers additionally need mpvpaper (AUR on Arch).

To update, pull the dev branch and run the installer again, or use lunadash-update.

Install on NixOS

The flake provides a NixOS module and packages. Import lunadash.nixosModules.default into your system configuration and enable the desktop:

TERMINAL

programs.lunadash.enable = true;

Rebuild, log out and select LunaDash in your display manager. Updates and rollback use NixOS generations. See the NixOS guide.

Your first session

Choose LunaDash in your display manager (greetd, SDDM, GDM …). The first login opens a short setup for language, network and appearance. After that you find:

the panel with workspaces, the window switcher button, the clock and system status;
the dock with pinned applications and running windows (right-click pins and unpins);
the launcher (tap Super, or Super+D) and the dashboard (the moon button);
Settings (the gear button) for everything from accent colours to tiling.

Super+T opens your terminal, Super+E the file manager and Super+W the wallpaper library. The desktop guide explains workspaces, tiling and the switchers.

Another shell, or none

~/.config/LunaDash/session.json chooses what runs with the compositor: the LunaDash shell (default), any other command such as Waybar, or nothing, plus autostart commands. See Customize the shell.

Understand the preview

LunaDash is a development preview. Physical GPUs, multiple outputs and some input-method and protocol details still vary between systems. Native compositor plugins stay disabled until you trust them and run without a sandbox.