Turning Linux into a P(K)MS with Hyprland - Hyprtools or GTK4?

General
1

Hello there!

I have a project to turn my linux system (EndeavourOS/Arch Linux)) into a P(K)MS - Personal (Knowledge) Management System.

Think about something you could identify as a kind of Obsidian/LogSeq/EverNote/Capacities/Others, with the plugins for the most common things like task management, project management, calendar, colletions, kanban / agile, etc.

But it’s not an application. It’s the system itself. Your entire desktop IS the “obsidian” (the one I use the most).

I call it Hyprsidian… :stuck_out_tongue:
Ok, the name is an internal project name and is subject to change… lol

At first, I thought about using GNOME (as it’s my default desktop environment), but after some research, I concluded that for what I want to do, a minimum system configured with Hyprland would be much better.

The final goal is to create a Distribution, Arch based with Hyprland as the window manager, fully configured with everything that is required for the P(K)MS to work out-of-the-box.

I have a few small apps to create that will provide the P(K)MS desktop interface, and some of them will be set as shell layers, that will be oppened/closed using global shortcuts or by other applications request (I am still investigating alternatives to d-bus, like hyprwire/hyprtavern).

If possible, I would like to fully integrate with Hyprland (themes, and everything else).

The interfaces I am planning are not “overly complex”, but they’re actually the most important aspect of the system (at least in terms of amount of work to be done). If possible, I would like to have some flexibility regarding what I can do. As an example, one of the shell layers will be a type of pie menu.

So, here is my question:

For the graphical part, should I stick to GTK4 or start using Hyprtools?

I hope you can help me decide what to use. I am inclined to use Hyprtools as I imagine the integration with the system will be better than if I use GTK4, but probably you guys will know better.

Thanks in advance!

2

Id’s say that you should be focusing on the storage and synchronization end before thinking about the coat of paint, because, at the end of the day, the coat of paint is a coat of paint.

But for the coat of paint, if your choice is either Hyprtookit and Gtk4, then they both suck: the former is a bit young, the latter is deliberately castrated unless you want to cope with Libadwaita. My pick would be the one that maybe will get better in the future rather the one that will definitely only get worse.

3

Hello Hyprlomaniac.
Thanks for your input. :)

I am currently in the “design process”.
Basically, defining what it will be, the core concepts, the framework I will implement, etc.
Didn’t started the development per se.

But indeed, the storage (both files/database) is my main concern right now, as any P(K)MS is worth only if it can store, retrieve, search and make relationships fast and reduce (as much as possible) the “maintenance” side.
But for most of it, I’ll be using the system itself.

The question about the coat of paint is because the interface is extremely important to make all those 4 characteristics work. But also because I never made GUIs for Linux before, and I wanted to be able to integrate them seamless into Hyprland.

Also defining the roadmap, and initially most of the things will be done through the terminal.
I want to have both options, and starting with the terminal is not only easier, but will help me with the initial phases where I am still defining things. :slight_smile:

So, I will follow your advice and will work with HyprToolkit, as it seems the right choice right now. I will be learning to use it, so that when the time to actually “paint” the system comes, I’ll be ready.

Thank you again! :)