System requirements
- PikaOS: Otter Shell packages target PikaOS repositories.
- Wayland compositor: Otter Shell is Wayland-only. Pick a compositor that supports the protocols your apps need. The bar, launcher, and most overlays want
zwlr_layer_shell_v1. - No Zig runtime needed: Apps ship as native binaries. You do not need Zig.
Otter Shell does not install a compositor. You pick and configure your own Wayland session. Hyprland, Sway, and Niri are common on PikaOS. The display manager (
otter-greeter) uses Hyprland only for the login screen. Your user session compositor is separate.Screenshot and color-picker tools (otter-screenshot, otter-pick, otter-shot) need the compositor to expose ext_image_copy_capture_v1.Install with pikman
1
Update package lists
Refresh available packages:
2
Install Otter Shell
Install the desktop metapackage:That pulls every component on the same packaging train. See the package table below.For speech tools and Otter Assistant:Separate from
otter-shell recommends otter-shell-extras but does not require it. Transcription, voice synthesis, Assistant, and their model packages stay out of the base metapackage.For Otter Bench and the in-game HUD:otter-shell. See otter-bench.3
Install individual packages (optional)
For specific tools only:
Metapackages
Packages in otter-shell
Installed by pikman install otter-shell:
Not in the base metapackage (install via
otter-shell-extras): otter-transcribe, otter-vox, otter-assist, otter-assistant, otter-assist-data, otter-assist-model, otter-transcribe-model, and otter-vox-model.
Packages in otter-gaming-utils
Installed by pikman install otter-gaming-utils. Built from otter-gaming-utils, not otter-zenith.
See otter-bench and otter-hud.