# Getting Started

## Install

### Arch Linux

```bash
yay -S hyprmoncfg
```

```bash
yay -S hyprmoncfg-git
```

### Fedora COPR

```bash
sudo dnf copr enable paolino/hyprmoncfg
sudo dnf install hyprmoncfg
```

### Nix / NixOS

```bash
nix run nixpkgs#hyprmoncfg
nix profile install nixpkgs#hyprmoncfg
```

```nix
environment.systemPackages = with pkgs; [
  hyprmoncfg
];
```

### Gentoo GURU

```bash
sudo eselect repository enable guru
sudo emaint sync -r guru
sudo emerge gui-apps/hyprmoncfg
```

### Void Linux

Unofficial [Blackhole-vl](https://github.com/Event-Horizon-VL/blackhole-vl):

```bash
printf 'repository=https://mirror.black-hole.dev/%s/\n' "$(uname -m)" | sudo tee /etc/xbps.d/00-repository-blackhole.conf
sudo xbps-install -S
sudo xbps-install -S hyprland hyprmoncfg
```

### Build from source

```bash
git clone https://github.com/crmne/hyprmoncfg.git
cd hyprmoncfg
go build -o bin/hyprmoncfg  ./cmd/hyprmoncfg
go build -o bin/hyprmoncfgd ./cmd/hyprmoncfgd
```

### Install to `~/.local/bin`

```bash
install -Dm755 bin/hyprmoncfg  ~/.local/bin/hyprmoncfg
install -Dm755 bin/hyprmoncfgd ~/.local/bin/hyprmoncfgd
```

## Configure Hyprland

hyprmoncfg needs:

- A running Hyprland session
- `hyprctl` in `PATH`
- A Hyprland config that includes hyprmoncfg's generated monitor file

For legacy hyprlang configs, most setups already have this in `~/.config/hypr/hyprland.conf`:

```text
source = ~/.config/hypr/monitors.conf
```

For Hyprland 0.55+ Lua configs, add this to `~/.config/hypr/hyprland.lua` instead:

```lua
require("monitors")
```

Hyprland does not read the generated monitor file automatically, so hyprmoncfg checks this before writing. If the include line is missing, it refuses to write and tells you what to fix.

You do not need to create `monitors.conf` or `monitors.lua` yourself. hyprmoncfg creates the active generated file when you apply your first profile, then rewrites files carrying its first-line ownership marker on each apply. An existing unmarked file is treated as user-owned: interactive use asks before replacing it, while the daemon refuses. Keep unrelated Hyprland settings in other included files, or choose a separate generated target with `--monitors-conf`.

If your config files live somewhere other than the defaults:

```bash
hyprmoncfg --monitors-conf /path/to/monitors.conf --hypr-config /path/to/hyprland.conf
hyprmoncfg --monitors-conf /path/to/monitors.lua --hypr-config /path/to/hyprland.lua
```

## Create your first profile

Launch the TUI:

```bash
hyprmoncfg
```

![Layout editor](/assets/images/screenshots/layout-dark.png)
{: .screenshot }

You land on the layout tab. The left side shows your connected monitors as rectangles arranged the way Hyprland currently sees them. The right side is an inspector showing every property of the selected monitor -- resolution, scale, position, refresh rate.

Drag monitors on the canvas to rearrange them. Click on the inspector fields to change resolution, scale, or position. When the layout looks right:

1. Press `s` to save
2. Type a name like `desk` or `home-office`
3. Press `Enter`

That's it. Your monitor layout is now a named profile.

## Apply a saved profile

```bash
hyprmoncfg apply desk
```

Your monitors rearrange immediately, and a 10-second countdown starts. If the layout looks right, press any key to confirm. If something looks wrong, just wait -- it reverts automatically. This is the same safety mechanism you see on TVs and projectors when you change the resolution.

For scripts and automation, skip the countdown:

```bash
hyprmoncfg apply desk --confirm-timeout 0
```

## Enable automatic switching

The daemon watches for monitor changes and applies the best matching profile automatically. Set it up once and forget about it.






<div class="important custom-block">
  <p class="custom-block-title">Clean Up Before You Enable The Daemon</p>
  <p><code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">hyprmoncfgd</code> scores <strong>every</strong> profile in <code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">~/.config/hyprmoncfg/profiles/</code>. Old experiments, duplicate layouts, and half-finished saves are part of matching until you delete them.</p>

</div>



Before you turn on automatic switching, make sure your profile library reflects real setups you actually want auto-applied:

- Save one profile for each real desk, dock, projector, or travel setup you use
- Delete throwaway profiles you created while experimenting
- Re-save the profile you actually use instead of keeping old variants around

On laptops, you do not need a separate closed-lid profile. Save the profile for the monitors you attach at that desk. When the lid is closed and an external monitor is connected, hyprmoncfg forces the internal laptop panel off for the apply and moves workspaces away from it.

AUR, Fedora COPR, Nixpkgs, and Gentoo GURU:

```bash
systemctl --user daemon-reload
systemctl --user enable --now hyprmoncfgd
```

Void Linux with Blackhole-vl, in legacy `hyprland.conf`:

```text
exec-once = hyprmoncfgd
```

Void Linux with Blackhole-vl, in `hyprland.lua`:

```lua
hl.on("hyprland.start", function()
  hl.exec_cmd("hyprmoncfgd")
end)
```

Manual install:

```bash
mkdir -p ~/.config/systemd/user
cp packaging/systemd/hyprmoncfgd.local.service ~/.config/systemd/user/hyprmoncfgd.service
systemctl --user daemon-reload
systemctl --user enable --now hyprmoncfgd
```

Now when you plug in a monitor, unplug one, dock your laptop, or close the lid, the daemon finds the profile that best matches your current hardware and applies it. No interaction needed. The packaged systemd service works with both config formats because the daemon detects the active Hyprland config and writes `monitors.conf` or `monitors.lua` through the same apply engine as the TUI.

If the daemon ever applies a layout you didn't expect, the most common cause is stale or duplicate profiles in `~/.config/hyprmoncfg/profiles/`. The daemon scores every profile it finds, not just the ones you remember saving. Delete old experiments, keep one profile per real setup, and the matching becomes predictable. See [Daemon Behavior](/daemon/) for the full scoring breakdown.

## Add profiles to your dotfiles

Profiles are stored in `~/.config/hyprmoncfg/profiles/`. Each profile has a canonical JSON file plus generated `.conf` and `.lua` sidecars, so you can keep the layouts as plain Hyprland snippets even if you stop using hyprmoncfg. Add the whole config directory to your dotfile manager and your layouts roam across every machine.

With [chezmoi](https://www.chezmoi.io/):

```bash
chezmoi add ~/.config/hyprmoncfg
```

Your desk at home, your laptop bag setup, your conference projector layout -- all versioned, all portable. The daemon on each machine picks the right profile based on what's actually plugged in.

You never commit the active `~/.config/hypr/monitors.conf` or `~/.config/hypr/monitors.lua`. You commit your profiles. hyprmoncfg writes the active generated monitor config for you.

## Next steps

- [TUI Walkthrough](/tui/) -- learn the full editor interface
- [Daemon Behavior](/daemon/) -- understand how auto-switching works
- [Dotfiles Integration](/dotfiles/) -- set up profile portability
- [Command Reference](/commands/) -- every flag and subcommand