Credit: Roine Bertelson/MUO
Published Apr 4, 2026, 12:00 PM EDT
Roine Bertelson is a Stockholm-based tech writer, translator, and digital strategist with more than twenty years of hands-on experience in AI tools, Linux, consumer tech, cybersecurity, and SEO-driven content. He's known for turning complex topics into clear and practical guidance that helps readers solve real problems. People trust his work because he actually uses and tests the tools he writes about, breaks things on purpose, and translates the chaos of modern technology into advice that feels human, honest, and useful.
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I didn’t install Hyprland because I needed a better desktop. I installed it because I got curious. And curiosity, in Linux, is usually just a socially acceptable way of saying, “I’m about to break something that was working perfectly fine five minutes ago.” The machine in question? My lab box is running Ubuntu 25.10. Not exactly the safest place to experiment with a Wayland-first, highly opinionated window manager. Which is precisely why it felt like the right place to do it. Hyprland has this reputation. Not just as a tool, but as a thing people get weirdly attached to.
The kind of setup they post videos of with captions like “finally dialed in” as if they’ve tuned a race car instead of a desktop. I wanted to see what the fuss was about. I expected it to last an afternoon. I lasted long enough to start side-eyeing my other machines.
It doesn’t behave like a desktop environment
Hyprland throws out everything you’re used to
The first time you boot into Hyprland, it feels like something is missing. Because everything is missing. No dock, no panel, and definitely no “click here to begin your journey.” Just a blank screen and a quiet sense that the system is now waiting for you to make the first move.
Ubuntu’s usual GNOME setup at least pretends to hold your hand. Hyprland doesn’t even acknowledge you have hands. You open apps with keybindings. You move windows with keybindings. You close things with keybindings. The mouse is technically still there, but using it feels like you’re doing something slightly embarrassing in public.
Quiz
8 Questions · Test Your Knowledge
Linux & Desktop Environments
From Linus's dorm room to Wayland compositors — test how deep your Linux knowledge really goes.
HistoryGNOMEHyprlandKernelsDesktops
Begin
In what year did Linus Torvalds announce the first version of the Linux kernel to the world?
A1989B1993C1991D1995
Correct! On August 25, 1991, Linus Torvalds posted his now-famous message to the comp.os.minix newsgroup, describing Linux as 'just a hobby, won't be big and professional.' Famous last words! The kernel was initially released under a restrictive license before switching to the GPL in 1992.
Not quite — Linus Torvalds made his famous announcement in 1991, posting to the comp.os.minix newsgroup. He described the project modestly as 'just a hobby,' completely unaware it would eventually power everything from Android phones to the world's fastest supercomputers.
Continue
Which operating system directly inspired Linus Torvalds to create Linux?
ABSD UnixBMS-DOSCGNU HurdDMINIX
Correct! Torvalds was using MINIX, a small Unix-like OS created by Andrew Tanenbaum for educational purposes, when he decided to build his own kernel. Frustration with MINIX's limitations and licensing restrictions drove him to start what would become Linux. The two famously debated kernel design philosophy publicly.
Not quite — the direct inspiration was MINIX, an educational Unix-like OS by Andrew Tanenbaum. Torvalds used MINIX on his PC but found it too limited, which motivated him to write his own kernel. GNU tools were also influential, and Linux later became the kernel that completed the GNU operating system vision.
Continue
What does the acronym GNOME originally stand for?
AGeneral Network Operating Machine EnvironmentBGNU Network Object Model EnvironmentCGraphical Node Object Management EngineDGlobal Networked Open Modular Environment
Correct! GNOME stands for GNU Network Object Model Environment, a name reflecting its early architectural goals using CORBA-based object models. The project was founded in 1997 by Miguel de Icaza and Federico Mena as a free alternative to KDE, which at the time used the proprietary Qt toolkit.
Not quite — GNOME stands for GNU Network Object Model Environment. It was founded in 1997 partly as a response to KDE's use of the then-proprietary Qt library. The name reflects early ambitions around networked object models, though the project's direction evolved significantly over the decades.
Continue
Which major version of GNOME introduced a radical redesign that replaced the traditional taskbar and start-menu paradigm with the Activities Overview?
AGNOME 2.0BGNOME 3.0CGNOME 4.0DGNOME 2.30
Correct! GNOME 3.0, released in April 2011, was a controversial and sweeping redesign that introduced the Activities Overview, dynamic workspaces, and the GNOME Shell. It removed many traditional desktop conventions, which thrilled some users and frustrated others — leading to community forks like MATE and Cinnamon.
Not quite — it was GNOME 3.0, released in 2011, that introduced the Activities Overview and GNOME Shell. The redesign was so divisive that the Linux Mint team forked GNOME 2 into the MATE desktop and later created the Cinnamon shell to offer a more traditional experience. GNOME 4.0 is not a real release — versions jumped to GNOME 40 in 2021.
Continue
Hyprland is best described as which type of compositor or window manager?
AA Mir-based stacking window managerBAn X11 floating window manager written in RustCA Wayland dynamic tiling compositorDA fork of Sway with GNOME Shell integration
Correct! Hyprland is a dynamic tiling Wayland compositor known for its smooth animations, eye-catching visual effects, and high configurability. Written in C++, it gained rapid popularity in the ricing community for delivering a visually stunning desktop without sacrificing tiling workflow efficiency. It is not a fork of Sway — it uses its own rendering architecture.
Not quite — Hyprland is a dynamic tiling Wayland compositor, meaning it runs on Wayland (not X11) and supports both tiling and floating window layouts. It's written in C++, not Rust, and is not based on Sway or Mir. Its hallmark features are buttery-smooth animations and deep customization, making it a favorite among Linux desktop 'ricers.'
Continue
The Linux kernel uses which software license?
AMIT LicenseBApache License 2.0CGNU General Public License v2DBSD 2-Clause License
Correct! The Linux kernel is licensed under the GNU General Public License version 2 (GPLv2). This means anyone who distributes modified versions of the kernel must also share the source code. Linus Torvalds has stated that the move to GPL licensing in 1992 was one of the best decisions he made for the project's growth.
Not quite — the Linux kernel uses the GNU General Public License version 2 (GPLv2). This copyleft license requires that source code be made available when distributing modified versions, which has been central to Linux's collaborative development model. Notably, the kernel did not start under the GPL — Torvalds switched to it in 1992.
Continue
Which desktop environment is the default in Ubuntu's main edition as of the mid-2020s?
AKDE PlasmaBXFCECUnityDGNOME
Correct! Ubuntu switched back to GNOME as its default desktop environment starting with Ubuntu 17.10, after years of using its own Unity shell. Canonical developed Unity to unify its desktop and mobile strategy, but abandoned it in 2017. GNOME has remained Ubuntu's default ever since, though Canonical does ship a customized version with its own theming.
Not quite — Ubuntu has used GNOME as its default desktop since version 17.10, released in 2017. Before that, Ubuntu famously developed and used Unity, its own desktop shell. Unity was discontinued when Canonical refocused its priorities, and the company returned to GNOME — though they customize it with their own look and feel.
Continue
Which company acquired Sun Microsystems in 2010, taking ownership of the Solaris OS and the ZFS filesystem that later influenced Linux storage?
AIBMBOracleCRed HatDHP
Correct! Oracle acquired Sun Microsystems in January 2010 for approximately $7.4 billion. This gave Oracle control over Java, Solaris, and ZFS. ZFS's influence spread to Linux through projects like OpenZFS, which brought its advanced data integrity and pooled storage features to Linux users. The acquisition was controversial in the open-source community.
Not quite — Oracle acquired Sun Microsystems in 2010. The deal handed Oracle control over major technologies including Java, MySQL, and ZFS. ZFS eventually made its way to Linux via the OpenZFS project, giving Linux users access to one of the most robust and feature-rich filesystems ever designed, complete with checksumming and native RAID capabilities.
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Yes, at first, it’s frustrating. You forget shortcuts, and you get stuck. You open a terminal just to open another app because that’s the only thing you still remember how to do. But then something shifts. Not dramatically, but enough that you stop reaching for the mouse without thinking. Enough that you start anticipating where windows will land before they even appear. That’s when it starts getting interesting.
The movement is what hooks you
It feels right in a way that’s hard to explain
Maybe you’ve seen the clips. Windows sliding around like they’re part of some hyper-optimized sci-fi interface. Workspaces gliding past each other like you’re flipping through realities instead of desktops. Yes, it looks good. Really good. But that’s not why it sticks. The real hook is that nothing feels random anymore.
Open a terminal, and it lands exactly where it should. Open a browser, and the layout adjusts without asking you to babysit it. Add another window and everything reshuffles like it’s been planning this move in advance. There’s no dragging. No resizing, and no “just give me a second while I fix this layout.” It just … happens. And after a while, you stop noticing the animations and start noticing how much less you’re fighting your desktop.
You don’t install Hyprland, you assemble it
Yes, it will annoy you before it impresses you
Here’s the part people either romanticize or rage-quit. Hyprland doesn’t come as a finished product. It comes with potential. Which is a polite way of saying, “Good luck, you’re building your own desktop now.” On my Ubuntu 25.10 setup, getting to something usable wasn’t complicated, but it also wasn’t plug-and-play:
- Waybar, because I enjoy knowing what time it is
- Wofi, because typing app names beats guessing them
- Mako, because notifications shouldn’t feel like whispers into the void
- Kitty, because if I’m going to live in a terminal-adjacent world, it might as well look good
Then there’s the config file. This is where things get personal. Not in a “choose your wallpaper” way, but in a “this is now a reflection of how your brain works” way. Keybindings, window gaps, animations, workspace behavior. It’s all text. No toggles or guardrails. If you mess it up, congratulations, you now get to fix it the same way you broke it.
At first, it’s annoying. You just want things to work. Then you realize you can make things work your way. And then, at some point, you catch yourself tweaking window spacing like it’s a life decision that matters. That’s when you know you’re in.
How I actually installed it on Ubuntu 25.10
Not a perfect setup, but it got me to “okay, this works”
This is not the “official best way.” This is the “I wanted this running today without reading a thesis” way.
I started simple:
sudo apt update
sudo apt install hyprland waybar wofi mako-notifier kittyThat gives you enough not to feel completely stranded.
Then I set up the config:
mkdir -p ~/.config/hypr
nano ~/.config/hypr/hyprland.confI didn’t write it from scratch. I grabbed a default config, poked at it, broke it a little, and fixed it again. Keybindings first, because without those, you’re basically trapped in a very pretty void.
Launching it was as straightforward as dropping into a TTY and typing:
HyprlandAnd yes, the first launch is rough, no polish, and no guidance. Possibly no clear way to even open an app unless you already wired that in.
But once Waybar is up, Wofi is bound to a key, and you can actually move around without guessing. It flips surprisingly fast from “What have I done” to “Okay … this is kind of nice.” From there, it’s iteration. Small tweaks, reload, and repeat. Slowly turning chaos into something that actually fits you.
It rewires how you think about multitasking
You stop managing windows and start moving between mental spaces
This is where it stopped being a toy. On a normal desktop, multitasking is busywork. You resize, drag, stack, minimize, lose track of things, find them again, repeat until your brain quietly files a complaint. Hyprland just removes that entire layer. Windows go where they need to go. Workspaces become actual zones instead of cluttered desktops you pretend are organized. I ended up with one workspace for writing, one for browsing, and one for testing things that may or may not break the system. And instead of juggling windows, I just moved between them. It’s such a small shift on paper, but in practice, it feels like someone quietly removed a layer of noise you didn’t realize you were dealing with all day.
Related
It’s not for everyone and that’s exactly why it works
Let’s not pretend this is universal. Hyprland demands things from you: time, attention, and a willingness to break and fix your own setup without blaming anyone but yourself. If you want something that just works out of the box, Ubuntu’s default desktop is right there. It’s good and reliable. It won’t ask you to rethink how you interact with your computer. Hyprland will.
And that’s the whole point. Because once it clicks, once your shortcuts are muscle memory and your layout feels like it actually matches how you think, going back feels … off. Like you’re suddenly working through a layer of friction that wasn’t there before. That’s why people won’t stop talking about it. Not because it’s easy. Not because it’s polished. But because it changes the relationship, you have with your system in a way that’s hard to explain until you’ve felt it. And yeah. I get it now.