How to Install and Customize Niri (2026 Edition) | Wayland Compositor

This is a quick and painless guide on getting Niri up and running with sane config options, and how to customize it yourself. The compositor is based on Smithay, a Rust library for Wayland, and we also use Noctalia-shell, though we don't cover it in depth because Quickshell deserves its own video. The video starts with an intro at 0:00, followed by a showcase at 0:41, installation of Niri at 1:28, first launch at 2:58, initial configuration changes at 3:30, monitor settings at 4:52, general keybinds at 5:34, workspace management at 6:40, Noctalia‑Shell and wallpaper at 7:39, restart Niri and configure Noctalia at 8:49, additional Niri config at 9:49, named workspaces (anti‑pattern) at 11:05, additional showcase at 12:42, bonus Zig content at 13:45, and obligatory Neofetch at 15:18.