Linux Desktop AI Power User

What's in this pack

This is the rig a working Linux developer would build on a fresh Ubuntu, Arch, Fedora, or NixOS install in a weekend — not a 50-package shopping list. Every pick here is open-source, actively maintained, and earns its tile of screen real estate. The order matters: each tool unlocks the next.

Unlike a Mac rig, Linux gives you actual choices at every layer — and that's both the point and the trap. This pack picks defaults that work across the four big distros, calls out where Wayland and X11 diverge, and tells you which choices are reversible versus which lock you in.

If you've already run Mac Weekend Essentials, this is the direct counterpart: launcher + tiling + terminal + editor + local AI, opinion-first, weekend-shaped.

Install in this order (WM → terminal → editor → local model → automation)

1. Hyprland — dynamic tiling Wayland compositor. Start here if you're on Arch, Fedora 40+, or NixOS unstable. Animations, blur, rounded corners — surprisingly snappy for what it does. Default for any new install in 2026 unless you have specific reasons not to.
2. Sway — i3-compatible tiling for Wayland. Pick this over Hyprland if you want stability over polish, already know i3 config, or run a multi-monitor laptop+dock setup where Hyprland still has rough edges.
3. bspwm — X11 tiling based on binary space partitioning. Your fallback when Wayland breaks (NVIDIA + external monitor, screen recording into OBS the old way, anything proprietary). Tiny binary, scriptable via bspc, pairs with sxhkd for keybinds.
4. tmux — terminal multiplexer. Even if you live in a tiling WM, you still want sessions that survive disconnect. tmux is the boring, universal, every-server-already-has-it choice. Detach with prefix d, reattach from anywhere.
5. Zellij — modern alternative to tmux. Discoverable keybinds shown at the bottom of the screen, layouts as KDL files, plugin system in WASM. Use Zellij locally for the UX, keep tmux for remote sessions.
6. Neovim — the editor. Lua-scriptable, async, LSP-native, Tree-sitter-driven highlighting. Don't write your own config from scratch in 2026.
7. LazyVim — pre-configured Neovim distribution. Sensible defaults, lazy plugin loading, LSP + completion + Telescope wired up. Spend 2 hours customizing, save 2 hours/week forever. Kickstart.nvim is the alternative if you want to read every line yourself.
8. Ollama — local LLM runner. One command (ollama run llama3.1) and you have a local model answering questions in your terminal. Pair with Continue.dev or gen.nvim to get inline AI inside Neovim with zero cloud calls.
9. systemd — the init system on every modern Linux. Use user units (~/.config/systemd/user/) to auto-start tmux sessions on login, restart Ollama when it crashes, schedule daily backups via timers. The glue layer that makes the other eight feel like one system instead of nine apps.

How they fit together (ASCII)

Display Server
   ├─ Wayland: Hyprland (default) or Sway (i3-style)
   └─ X11:    bspwm + sxhkd (fallback for NVIDIA / OBS / legacy)
        │
        ▼
  Terminal (alacritty, kitty, foot — pick any)
        │
        ▼
  Multiplexer
   ├─ Zellij (local, discoverable)
   └─ tmux   (remote, universal)
        │
        ▼
  Editor: Neovim under LazyVim
        │
        ├──► LSP / Tree-sitter / completion
        └──► Continue.dev or gen.nvim ──► Ollama (local LLM)
                                              │
                                              ▼
                                       GPU (CUDA / ROCm / CPU)

  systemd user units glue everything: auto-start Ollama,
  resurrect tmux, schedule timers, watch for config changes.

The WM + multiplexer + Neovim + Ollama core is the rig. Everything else is taste. Don't skip systemd user units — they are what turns this from a pile of dotfiles into something that survives a reboot without you babysitting it.

Tradeoffs you'll hit (Wayland vs X11, tiling vs floating)

• Wayland vs X11 — Wayland is the future, X11 is what works today with proprietary NVIDIA drivers, OBS Studio (pre-PipeWire workflows), Synergy/Barrier, and most screen-share apps. AMD/Intel GPUs: go Wayland. NVIDIA: try Wayland, expect to fall back to X11 once. Hyprland and Sway require Wayland; bspwm requires X11. That's why this pack ships both.
• Hyprland vs Sway — Hyprland is feature-rich and visually impressive; Sway is conservative and rock-solid. Pick Hyprland for solo dev workstation, Sway for the laptop you take to client meetings. They are not config-compatible.
• tmux vs Zellij — tmux is everywhere; Zellij is nicer. The grown-up answer is both: Zellij locally because the floating help bar saves you from memorizing 40 prefix keys, tmux on every server because it's already installed. Don't try to unify.
• LazyVim vs kickstart.nvim vs roll-your-own — LazyVim is opinionated and works on day one. Kickstart is a single ~600-line init.lua you copy and own. Rolling your own is a yak shave that takes a year. Most senior Neovim users land on LazyVim and never look back.
• Ollama vs llama.cpp directly — Ollama wraps llama.cpp with a model registry and a daemon. Use Ollama unless you specifically need llama.cpp's full flag surface for benchmarking.

Common pitfalls (NVIDIA-Wayland, audio stack confusion)

• NVIDIA + Wayland — works in 2026 with the open nvidia-open driver 555+, but Electron apps still flicker, Discord screen share is iffy, and some games refuse to launch. Test before you commit. Keep a bspwm + X11 session installed as your escape hatch.
• PipeWire vs PulseAudio vs ALSA confusion — modern distros ship PipeWire with pipewire-pulse shim. If audio breaks, run systemctl --user status pipewire pipewire-pulse wireplumber first — all three should be active. Don't install pulseaudio on top of PipeWire; that's how you brick sound.
• Hyprland config in ~/.dotfiles symlinked elsewhere — Hyprland reloads hyprland.conf on change. If your symlink target moves, the watcher silently dies. Edit in place or use hyprctl reload after sync.
• Ollama eating 16 GB of disk per model — models default to ~/.ollama/models. On a 256 GB SSD this fills up fast. Symlink to a larger disk early, or set OLLAMA_MODELS=/mnt/big/ollama in the systemd user unit.
• tmux + true color — set terminal-overrides ',xterm-256color:Tc' in ~/.tmux.conf or your Neovim themes will look washed out.
• systemd user units not starting at login — you need loginctl enable-linger $USER on headless boxes; otherwise units stop when you log out.