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Omarchy

ProbeLabs65 findings · 95 requirements

A proof layer — requirements, tests and verified fixes — for two of Omarchy's subsystems: the application menu (launcher scripts, QML model, JSONC config, search and selection) and the lock screen (lock scripts, QML, PAM authentication). Scope is deliberately limited to those components of omacom/omarchy; the rest of the distribution is not covered.

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ReportR-5105GitHub issuePublicReceived

Fresh install has no polkit authentication agent — Windows VM (and other pkexec features) fail silently

Reported by Paul-Tillman · filed Sep 19, 2026Closed upstream on 2026-09-19 by its own reporter Paul-Tillman, as not planned. Closed by its own reporter — not by itself evidence of a fix.

Open at source
Received and recorded verbatim. Nothing has been checked yet.

At a glance

1 · What is claimed?
Only the report text below — no validator has restated it as checkable claims yet.
2 · What does it affect?
Not yet mapped to any requirement or component.
3 · Is it reproducible?
No validation has been run yet.
4 · What remains unclear?
  • Not validated yet: no claims, no reproducer.
5 · What happens next?
Our staff decide whether the report is valid. Where this project allows it, agents decide whether it duplicates another report or a known issue. No decision has been recorded yet.

Original report

Fresh install has no polkit authentication agent — Windows VM (and other pkexec features) fail silentlyrevision 1 · captured 2026-10-04 12:10 UTC via poll

What happened

On a fresh Omarchy install, omarchy windows vm install completes successfully and the Windows 11 VM boots and works fine (RDP connects and authenticates correctly). But every subsequent omarchy windows vm launch (both via the CLI and via the auto-created "Windows" app icon) fails immediately with:

Starting Windows VM (this may prompt for authorization)...
❌ Failed to start Windows VM!
   Try checking: omarchy-windows-vm status

No authorization/password dialog ever appears anywhere on screen — the failure is silent and near-instant (~10-20s).

Root cause

There is no polkit authentication agent running on the system at all:

$ pgrep -af polkit
1385 /usr/lib/polkit-1/polkitd --no-debug --log-level=notice

Only the core polkitd daemon is present — no GUI agent (hyprpolkitagent, polkit-gnome-authentication-agent-1, etc.). Without an agent registered, any pkexec call (which omarchy-windows-vm launch relies on, per the comment in /usr/share/omarchy/install/config/docker.sh: "The Docker TUI ... and the Windows VM reach it through a polkit prompt") fails immediately with no visible prompt, since there's nothing to display one.

hyprpolkitagent is available in the official repos (extra/hyprpolkitagent) and is clearly the package Omarchy's own docker.sh comment assumes is present, but it is not installed by Omarchy's base install, and nothing in /usr/share/omarchy references or installs it:

$ grep -rln "hyprpolkitagent" /usr/share/omarchy/
(no results)

Installing it manually and starting it fixes the issue completely — omarchy windows vm launch then authorizes and connects normally.

Expected behavior

A fresh Omarchy install should either:
- install and autostart hyprpolkitagent (or an equivalent) as part of the base setup, since Omarchy already ships features (Windows VM, Docker TUI) that depend on pkexec working, or
- fail loudly/clearly when a pkexec call has no agent to talk to, instead of silently reporting a generic "Failed to start" with no indication that the root cause is a missing authentication agent.

Steps to reproduce

  1. Fresh Omarchy install (no polkit agent installed).
  2. omarchy windows vm install — completes and VM works.
  3. Close the web viewer / VM session.
  4. omarchy windows vm launch (or click the "Windows" app icon) — fails with "Failed to start Windows VM!" and no authorization prompt ever appears.
  5. pgrep -af polkit shows only polkitd, no agent.
  6. sudo pacman -S hyprpolkitagent, start it — omarchy windows vm launch now works correctly.

System details

  • Omarchy version: 4.0.4-1
  • Kernel: 7.2.5-3-omarchy
  • CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 8600G w/ Radeon 760M Graphics
  • GPU: AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT / 7800 XT (discrete, Navi 32) + AMD Phoenix1 (iGPU)

🤖 Generated with Claude Code

View raw text
## What happened

On a fresh Omarchy install, `omarchy windows vm install` completes successfully and the Windows 11 VM boots and works fine (RDP connects and authenticates correctly). But every subsequent `omarchy windows vm launch` (both via the CLI and via the auto-created "Windows" app icon) fails immediately with:

```
Starting Windows VM (this may prompt for authorization)...
❌ Failed to start Windows VM!
   Try checking: omarchy-windows-vm status
```

No authorization/password dialog ever appears anywhere on screen — the failure is silent and near-instant (~10-20s).

## Root cause

There is no polkit authentication agent running on the system at all:

```
$ pgrep -af polkit
1385 /usr/lib/polkit-1/polkitd --no-debug --log-level=notice
```

Only the core `polkitd` daemon is present — no GUI agent (`hyprpolkitagent`, `polkit-gnome-authentication-agent-1`, etc.). Without an agent registered, any `pkexec` call (which `omarchy-windows-vm launch` relies on, per the comment in `/usr/share/omarchy/install/config/docker.sh`: "The Docker TUI ... and the Windows VM reach it through a polkit prompt") fails immediately with no visible prompt, since there's nothing to display one.

`hyprpolkitagent` is available in the official repos (`extra/hyprpolkitagent`) and is clearly the package Omarchy's own docker.sh comment assumes is present, but it is not installed by Omarchy's base install, and nothing in `/usr/share/omarchy` references or installs it:

```
$ grep -rln "hyprpolkitagent" /usr/share/omarchy/
(no results)
```

Installing it manually and starting it fixes the issue completely — `omarchy windows vm launch` then authorizes and connects normally.

## Expected behavior

A fresh Omarchy install should either:
- install and autostart `hyprpolkitagent` (or an equivalent) as part of the base setup, since Omarchy already ships features (Windows VM, Docker TUI) that depend on `pkexec` working, or
- fail loudly/clearly when a `pkexec` call has no agent to talk to, instead of silently reporting a generic "Failed to start" with no indication that the root cause is a missing authentication agent.

## Steps to reproduce

1. Fresh Omarchy install (no polkit agent installed).
2. `omarchy windows vm install` — completes and VM works.
3. Close the web viewer / VM session.
4. `omarchy windows vm launch` (or click the "Windows" app icon) — fails with "Failed to start Windows VM!" and no authorization prompt ever appears.
5. `pgrep -af polkit` shows only `polkitd`, no agent.
6. `sudo pacman -S hyprpolkitagent`, start it — `omarchy windows vm launch` now works correctly.

## System details

- Omarchy version: 4.0.4-1
- Kernel: 7.2.5-3-omarchy
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 8600G w/ Radeon 760M Graphics
- GPU: AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT / 7800 XT (discrete, Navi 32) + AMD Phoenix1 (iGPU)

🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)

Validation

Not checked yet. A validator will restate this report as checkable claims, map it to the project's requirements and write a reproducer that the proof engine runs.

Linked

Not linked to any known issue, other report or change yet.

Decision

Decisions are recorded by our staff — or, where this project allows it, by agents: checked by a second, independent agent, or by a single agent where the project's policy says so. Any decision reached so far is shown below.

No decision has been recorded yet.