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 (for example
zwlr_layer_shell_v1for the bar, launcher, and most overlays). - No Zig runtime needed: Apps ship as native binaries. Zig is not required.
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
Install Otter Shell
Install the desktop metapackage:Pulls every component at the same version. See the package table below.For speech tools (transcription and text-to-speech):
otter-shell recommends otter-shell-extras but does not require it. Transcription and voice synthesis are not in the base metapackage.Metapackages
| Metapackage | Contents |
|---|---|
otter-shell | Full desktop shell: bar, launcher, notifications, wallpaper, OSD, logout, settings, polkit, lock, idle, greeter, terminal, Jade pet, screenshot tools, clipboard, notes, timer, weather, and other core helpers. Includes otter-shell-fonts. |
otter-shell-extras | Optional speech tools only: otter-transcribe and otter-vox. |
Packages in otter-shell
Installed by pikman install otter-shell:
| Package | Description |
|---|---|
otter-bar | Status bar with widgets, system tray, and MPRIS |
otter-launcher | Application launcher overlay |
otter-notifications | Notification daemon (freedesktop.org spec) |
otter-wallpaper | Wallpaper daemon |
otter-osd | On-screen display for volume, brightness, and lock keys |
otter-logout | Power menu overlay |
otter-settings | Graphical settings editor |
otter-polkit | Polkit authentication agent |
otter-lock | Session lockscreen |
otter-idle | Idle management daemon |
otter-greeter | Display manager (login screen) |
otter-term | Terminal emulator |
otter-jade | Desktop pet |
otter-screenshot | Region and fullscreen screenshots |
otter-shot | Product-shot composer |
otter-rec | Screen recorder |
otter-clip | Clipboard manager |
otter-note | Sticky notes |
otter-cal | Calendar helper for the bar |
otter-calc | Calculator helper |
otter-emoji | Emoji picker helper |
otter-timer | Countdown timer |
otter-pick | Color picker |
otter-weather | Weather fetcher and bar widget |
otter-shell-fonts | Bundled fallback fonts |
otter-transcribe and otter-vox (install via otter-shell-extras).