# Installing Mabox tools and configuration on other Arch‑based distros? **URL:** \ **Category:** Mabox Lab\ **Created:** [March 15, 2026, 9:52pm UTC](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/t/installing-mabox-tools-and-configuration-on-other-arch-based-distros/2485 "2026-03-15T21:52:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![napcok](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/user_avatar/forum.maboxlinux.org/napcok/32/410_2.png) [@napcok](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/u/napcok)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2026, 9:52pm UTC](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/t/installing-mabox-tools-and-configuration-on-other-arch-based-distros/2485/1 "2026-03-15T21:52:30Z")
Let’s experiment and share what we discover. I will play with CachyOS and Openbox. A freshly installed CachyOS with Openbox. I like it. It reminds me of the days of my first experiments with Openbox, and the excitement I felt back then 🙂 ![Mabox_20260315-23-01-23](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/uploads/default/original/2X/8/86ee19e4dd8c6dae3bee77f49c36dab7aff31562.png) Thunar and xfce4-terminal is here. ---
**Author:** ![napcok](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/user_avatar/forum.maboxlinux.org/napcok/32/410_2.png) [@napcok](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/u/napcok)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2026, 11:02am UTC](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/t/installing-mabox-tools-and-configuration-on-other-arch-based-distros/2485/2 "2026-03-16T11:02:25Z")
It’s not easy at the moment, but I’ll do my best to make this process easier. ![Mabox_20260316-11-51-03](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/uploads/default/original/2X/7/7fda9b4fa7179e0c951ca6f350e83901718bdfea.avif) ![Mabox_20260316-12-04-16](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/uploads/default/original/2X/e/e3d72eb850a4ea6ac075fb6ec5d008e120c0cc15.avif) ---
**Author:** ![napcok](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/user_avatar/forum.maboxlinux.org/napcok/32/410_2.png) [@napcok](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/u/napcok)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2026, 1:26pm UTC](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/t/installing-mabox-tools-and-configuration-on-other-arch-based-distros/2485/3 "2026-03-16T13:26:00Z")
So far… so good… everything seems to work as usual. Some changes needed in mabox tools… but mostly cosmetic one. ![Mabox_20260316-14-18-05](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/uploads/default/original/2X/a/a5f9cf2732fcd7c142cbd4be3cf5ee36dbcf741b.avif) ---
**Author:** ![muzqs](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/user_avatar/forum.maboxlinux.org/muzqs/32/3702_2.png) [@muzqs](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/u/muzqs)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2026, 1:39pm UTC](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/t/installing-mabox-tools-and-configuration-on-other-arch-based-distros/2485/4 "2026-03-16T13:39:54Z")
Nice 😉 yeah MCC need adaption for manjaro-settings-manager and pamac. Another thing for me on EOS, i only can trigger auto-theming direct click, automatic auto-theming is not working. Just started installing cachyos base for testing. ---
**Author:** ![M0nst3r](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/user_avatar/forum.maboxlinux.org/m0nst3r/32/1669_2.png) [@M0nst3r](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/u/M0nst3r)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2026, 1:46pm UTC](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/t/installing-mabox-tools-and-configuration-on-other-arch-based-distros/2485/5 "2026-03-16T13:46:02Z")
Wow, CachyBox. 🤩 ---
**Author:** ![muzqs](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/user_avatar/forum.maboxlinux.org/muzqs/32/3702_2.png) [@muzqs](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/u/muzqs)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2026, 10:31am UTC](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/t/installing-mabox-tools-and-configuration-on-other-arch-based-distros/2485/6 "2026-03-17T10:31:21Z")
**Update test:** After an update i need manually do `checkupdates.sh`, so the status icon gets back to ‘all up to date’. When there are new updates, mb-status behaves as expected. ---
**Author:** ![muzqs](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/user_avatar/forum.maboxlinux.org/muzqs/32/3702_2.png) [@muzqs](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/u/muzqs)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2026, 12:47pm UTC](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/t/installing-mabox-tools-and-configuration-on-other-arch-based-distros/2485/7 "2026-03-17T12:47:33Z")
Did a new installation. KeepinOn testn… ![Mabox_20260317-13-34-26](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/uploads/default/original/2X/a/a8724591458b796a247a62904e472608b84da6d7.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![napcok](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/user_avatar/forum.maboxlinux.org/napcok/32/410_2.png) [@napcok](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/u/napcok)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2026, 4:21pm UTC](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/t/installing-mabox-tools-and-configuration-on-other-arch-based-distros/2485/8 "2026-03-17T16:21:18Z")
I will try to prepare metapackage with all Mabox’s initial configurations and all packages needed as dependencies + maybe script to copy needed settings into user home directory. ---
**Author:** ![napcok](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/user_avatar/forum.maboxlinux.org/napcok/32/410_2.png) [@napcok](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/u/napcok)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2026, 4:40pm UTC](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/t/installing-mabox-tools-and-configuration-on-other-arch-based-distros/2485/9 "2026-03-18T16:40:06Z")
By the way… Do you know an equivalent of `pacman‑mirrors` for Arch‑like distributions? While working on the fix, I want to make `mb-status` more friendly for Arch‑like systems. The last time I used Arch was back in 2007, for a few months 😉 ---
**Author:** ![M0nst3r](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/user_avatar/forum.maboxlinux.org/m0nst3r/32/1669_2.png) [@M0nst3r](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/u/M0nst3r)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2026, 5:53pm UTC](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/t/installing-mabox-tools-and-configuration-on-other-arch-based-distros/2485/10 "2026-03-18T17:53:27Z")
`pacman-mirrorlist` and `reflector` are the usual combo for Arch. 🤔 ---
**Author:** ![muzqs](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/user_avatar/forum.maboxlinux.org/muzqs/32/3702_2.png) [@muzqs](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/u/muzqs)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2026, 6:11pm UTC](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/t/installing-mabox-tools-and-configuration-on-other-arch-based-distros/2485/11 "2026-03-18T18:11:33Z")
Reflector is very common and is shipped with `reflector.service` options configured via `/etc/xdg/reflector/reflector.conf` ---
**Author:** ![muzqs](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/user_avatar/forum.maboxlinux.org/muzqs/32/3702_2.png) [@muzqs](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/u/muzqs)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2026, 6:19pm UTC](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/t/installing-mabox-tools-and-configuration-on-other-arch-based-distros/2485/12 "2026-03-18T18:19:37Z")
What you think of replacing `pamac-aur` with `octopi` as the default GUI package manager — it’s more stable, lighter. Less buggy?? ---
**Author:** ![napcok](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/user_avatar/forum.maboxlinux.org/napcok/32/410_2.png) [@napcok](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/u/napcok)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2026, 7:11pm UTC](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/t/installing-mabox-tools-and-configuration-on-other-arch-based-distros/2485/13 "2026-03-18T19:11:54Z")
Thanks for info @M0nst3r , @muzqs . `reflector` is probably what i’m looking for. Maybe it’s time to explain exactly what I want to do, so there are no misunderstandings… I’ve been asked many times whether it’s possible to run ‘Mabox’ on Fedora, Debian, or Arch. Adapting the project to work on Fedora, Debian, or any other distribution would be a huge amount of work and costs that I simply cannot afford. It’s different with Arch and its derivatives… I _can_ adapt the Mabox tools to Arch‑like systems at a relatively low cost. And that’s exactly what I want to do — nothing more. In my tests on CachyOS, only minor shortcomings appeared, and I will try to fix them. Thanks to this, advanced users will be able to install the Mabox goodies on Arch‑like systems relatively easily. There is no question of creating separate CachyBox, ArchBox, or EOSBox 😉 ---
**Author:** ![muzqs](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/user_avatar/forum.maboxlinux.org/muzqs/32/3702_2.png) [@muzqs](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/u/muzqs)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2026, 7:59pm UTC](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/t/installing-mabox-tools-and-configuration-on-other-arch-based-distros/2485/14 "2026-03-18T19:59:11Z")
> [@napcok](#): > > There is no question of creating separate CachyBox, ArchBox, or EOSBox 😉 Me teasing 😛 > [@napcok](#): > > It’s different with Arch and its derivatives > [@napcok](#): > > advanced users will be able to install the Mabox goodies on Arch‑like **This is amazing.** Manually I managed to come close to a working mabox flow in EOS and CatchyOs. It looks like it is the best to use an arch derevative with no desktop or minimal openbox installation at least. It would be a great plus to be able to install mabox on other archies. Looking forward to tasting 🧑‍🍳 ---
**Author:** ![napcok](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/user_avatar/forum.maboxlinux.org/napcok/32/410_2.png) [@napcok](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/u/napcok)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2026, 1:55pm UTC](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/t/installing-mabox-tools-and-configuration-on-other-arch-based-distros/2485/15 "2026-03-19T13:55:19Z")
I’ll focus on that as soon as I finish working on the 26.03 March ISOs refresh 😉 ---
**Author:** ![napcok](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/user_avatar/forum.maboxlinux.org/napcok/32/410_2.png) [@napcok](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/u/napcok)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 2:49pm UTC](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/t/installing-mabox-tools-and-configuration-on-other-arch-based-distros/2485/16 "2026-03-21T14:49:48Z")
Fifth day of testing Mabox on CachyOS thanks to Quickemu, a few Mabox tools already adapted. I’m liking CachyOS more and more. ![Mabox_20260321-15-41-18](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/uploads/default/original/2X/6/6d146c88240d837616757d34e7b27d1d11e839b3.avif) ---
**Author:** ![muzqs](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/user_avatar/forum.maboxlinux.org/muzqs/32/3702_2.png) [@muzqs](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/u/muzqs)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 5:35pm UTC](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/t/installing-mabox-tools-and-configuration-on-other-arch-based-distros/2485/17 "2026-03-21T17:35:06Z")
> [@napcok](#): > > ![Mabox_20260321-15-41-18](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/uploads/default/original/2X/6/6d146c88240d837616757d34e7b27d1d11e839b3.avif) Ah cool. Didn’t know the kernel installer gui can be used on all arch derivatives. Except manjaro, i guess. ---
**Author:** ![napcok](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/user_avatar/forum.maboxlinux.org/napcok/32/410_2.png) [@napcok](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/u/napcok)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 9:41pm UTC](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/t/installing-mabox-tools-and-configuration-on-other-arch-based-distros/2485/18 "2026-03-21T21:41:40Z")
> [@muzqs](#): > > Didn’t know the kernel installer gui can be used on all arch derivatives. No idea about other Arch-based distros… but CachyOS have `cachyos-kernel-manager`. And also handy `pacman-mirror`- like script called `cachyos-rate-mirrors`. Edit: also `cachyos-pi` - GUI package installer. ---
**Author:** ![muzqs](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/user_avatar/forum.maboxlinux.org/muzqs/32/3702_2.png) [@muzqs](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/u/muzqs)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2026, 9:25am UTC](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/t/installing-mabox-tools-and-configuration-on-other-arch-based-distros/2485/19 "2026-03-22T09:25:17Z")
> [@napcok](#): > > CachyOS thanks to Quickemu I am searching for `jg quickemu`. 🫠 ---
**Author:** ![napcok](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/user_avatar/forum.maboxlinux.org/napcok/32/410_2.png) [@napcok](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/u/napcok)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2026, 9:55am UTC](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/t/installing-mabox-tools-and-configuration-on-other-arch-based-distros/2485/20 "2026-03-22T09:55:14Z")
> [@muzqs](#): > > I am searching for `jg quickemu`. 🫠 It’s still hacky and buggy… Although I’ve been using it every day for a very long time. I can share it with you and anyone interested… unofficially 😉 I’ll upload the files to a server somewhere in a few hours. [Next page](https://forum.maboxlinux.org/t/installing-mabox-tools-and-configuration-on-other-arch-based-distros/2485.md?page=2)