Download Omarchy: verify the ISO and prepare a bootable USB
Choose the official image, check its SHA-256 and signature, write a USB, and separate download failures from boot failures.
Based on public documentation; not hardware-tested. Match the instructions to your version and hardware.
An ISO is a disk image, not an application installer. Downloading it, verifying it, writing it to a USB and booting that USB are four separate stages. A successful stage does not prove the next one will work. Start with hardware and installation requirements if you have not checked your machine’s architecture and disk plan.
Choose a release you can identify
Section titled “Choose a release you can identify”On the review date, the official download page points to 4.0.4, with release notes and a SHA-256. Follow the official download link rather than a reuploaded image. Record the filename, version and source URL together; “the latest ISO” becomes ambiguous when asking for help later.
The filename in the examples below is omarchy-4.0.4.iso. If you download another release, use its filename and its published checksum. A release ISO, a source-code ZIP and a development branch are different artifacts; copying repository files to a USB does not make an installer.
Verify the download before writing it
Section titled “Verify the download before writing it”Run the appropriate command from the directory containing the ISO:
| Current system | Command |
|---|---|
| Windows PowerShell | Get-FileHash .\omarchy-4.0.4.iso -Algorithm SHA256 |
| Linux | sha256sum omarchy-4.0.4.iso |
| macOS | shasum -a 256 omarchy-4.0.4.iso |
For 4.0.4 only, the published value is:
ddeded2758c48318d201dfdac905ecb28f570441883f0c052ea3cd5d05acf92dCompare the whole value; uppercase and lowercase hexadecimal are equivalent. A matching hash shows the file matches that published digest. A mismatching hash means stop before writing: check the release/filename, incomplete download and available disk space, then download again from the official source. Reflashing the same damaged file cannot repair it.
A checksum is strongest when obtained through a source you trust. An attacker who replaces both an image and a checksum on a mirror could make them agree. The official security guide additionally provides a detached .sig file and the signing-key fingerprint:
40DF B630 FF42 BCFF B047 046C F013 4EE6 80CA C571Use the key link in that guide, inspect the full fingerprint with gpg --show-keys downloaded-key-file, and import only after comparing it. With the matching ISO, signature and verified key available, verification takes this form:
gpg --verify omarchy-4.0.4.iso.sig omarchy-4.0.4.iso“Good signature” must identify the intended key. A trust warning concerns your local trust model; “No public key” means the signer key is missing; “BAD signature” is a reason to stop. Do not dismiss all three messages as the same warning. The example assumes GPG is already installed and the signature was downloaded using the official guide’s .sig link convention.
Write an image, rather than copy a file
Section titled “Write an image, rather than copy a file”The official installation guide names Etcher for Windows/macOS and Caligula for Linux. Use an image-writing tool and a USB larger than the ISO, whose existing contents you can erase.
- Back up the USB’s files. Disconnect other removable drives to make the target easier to identify.
- Select the verified ISO as the source. Select the USB by capacity and device identity, not just its drive letter.
- Read the target confirmation before writing. The writer replaces the USB’s partition layout and files.
- Let writing and any offered verification finish. A writer verification failure points to the write/device stage even if the downloaded ISO’s hash was correct.
- Eject the device after completion. If Windows subsequently offers to format an unfamiliar partition, cancel; it need not understand a Linux installation medium.
Finding the ISO file on the USB in a file manager is not a bootability test. An image writer lays out the image contents; a normal file copy leaves the original USB layout intact.
Boot without confusing the USB and installation disk
Section titled “Boot without confusing the USB and installation disk”Use your computer’s one-time boot menu and select the USB’s UEFI entry. This chooses what starts now; it does not select the disk the installer will overwrite. Confirm that separate choice inside the installer. Continue with firmware settings and the installation guide.
| What you observe | Check next | What it does not establish |
|---|---|---|
| Download completes, checksum differs | Exact release digest and file integrity | USB hardware failure |
| Hash matches, writer fails | USB, port, write permissions and writer message | Omarchy cannot run on this CPU |
| Writer finishes, USB absent from boot menu | Firmware/external boot permission, port and UEFI mode | A bad Linux graphics driver |
| Firmware reports a signature/security violation | Secure Boot policy for this installation path | That the download signature check failed |
| Installer starts, then goes black | Graphics/installer stage; boot diagnosis | That rewriting USB is necessarily useful |
| Reboot returns to installer | Remove USB or choose installed disk’s boot entry | Installation necessarily failed |
For a useful support report, keep the ISO version, computed hash, writer name/error, machine model and the first stage that fails. Never include passwords or disk recovery keys. If you later want the USB for ordinary storage, recreate its partitions using your current system’s disk tool, carefully selecting the same removable device; that is a separate erasing operation.