diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
index 63ef0897..26cf032e 100644
--- a/AGENTS.md
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -107,9 +107,9 @@ When testing layer-shell UI, capture the reference and candidate states as separ
 # Omarchy shell
 
 The Quickshell desktop runs as a single long-running process out of
-`default/quickshell/omarchy-shell/`. Hyprland's autostart launches it; do
-not start additional standalone `quickshell -p` instances for individual
-components.
+`default/quickshell/omarchy-shell/`. The `omarchy-shell.service` user unit
+keeps it running for the graphical session; do not start additional
+standalone `quickshell -p` instances for individual components.
 
 Run `omarchy-restart-shell` after making changes to QML files.
 
@@ -129,10 +129,9 @@ Plugin contract:
 
 IPC:
 
-- `bin/omarchy-shell-ipc` is the canonical IPC entry point. It starts
-  the shell on first call, then forwards to `quickshell ipc call`.
-  Prefer it over re-implementing the wait-for-instance dance in every
-  CLI.
+- `bin/omarchy-shell` is the canonical IPC entry point. It forwards to
+  the running shell service and does not start it. Prefer it over
+  re-implementing direct Quickshell socket calls in every CLI.
 - The `shell` IPC target exposes `ping`, `summon`, `hide`, `toggle`,
   `rescanPlugins`, `setPluginEnabled`, and `listPlugins`. Individual
   plugins can register additional IPC targets (the bar registers `bar`,
diff --git a/bin/omarchy b/bin/omarchy
index 6f5b0413..8c1fbed2 100755
--- a/bin/omarchy
+++ b/bin/omarchy
@@ -63,6 +63,7 @@ GROUP_DESCRIPTIONS[reminder]="Desktop notification reminders"
 GROUP_DESCRIPTIONS[remove]="Removal workflows"
 GROUP_DESCRIPTIONS[restart]="Restart Omarchy components"
 GROUP_DESCRIPTIONS[setup]="Interactive setup wizards"
+GROUP_DESCRIPTIONS[shell]="Omarchy shell IPC helpers"
 GROUP_DESCRIPTIONS[screensaver]="Screensaver branding and animation"
 GROUP_DESCRIPTIONS[snapshot]="System snapshots"
 GROUP_DESCRIPTIONS[style]="Global UI style controls"
diff --git a/bin/omarchy-capture-screenrecording b/bin/omarchy-capture-screenrecording
index 75beedc3..5532b4aa 100755
--- a/bin/omarchy-capture-screenrecording
+++ b/bin/omarchy-capture-screenrecording
@@ -255,7 +255,7 @@ stop_screenrecording() {
 }
 
 toggle_screenrecording_indicator() {
-  omarchy-shell-ipc --if-running bar refreshScreenRecording >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
+  omarchy-shell bar refreshScreenRecording >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
 }
 
 screenrecording_active() {
diff --git a/bin/omarchy-first-run b/bin/omarchy-first-run
index 9f48eb3d..737e1a3b 100755
--- a/bin/omarchy-first-run
+++ b/bin/omarchy-first-run
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ if [[ -f $FIRST_RUN_MODE ]]; then
 
   bash "$OMARCHY_PATH/install/first-run/battery-monitor.sh"
   bash "$OMARCHY_PATH/install/first-run/recover-internal-monitor.sh"
+  bash "$OMARCHY_PATH/install/first-run/omarchy-shell.sh"
   bash "$OMARCHY_PATH/install/first-run/cleanup-reboot-sudoers.sh"
   bash "$OMARCHY_PATH/install/first-run/firewall.sh"
   bash "$OMARCHY_PATH/install/first-run/dns-resolver.sh"
diff --git a/bin/omarchy-launch-bar-settings b/bin/omarchy-launch-bar-settings
index 08aa584a..6f59409a 100755
--- a/bin/omarchy-launch-bar-settings
+++ b/bin/omarchy-launch-bar-settings
@@ -2,4 +2,4 @@
 
 # omarchy:summary=Launch the Omarchy bar settings panel
 
-exec omarchy-shell-ipc shell summon omarchy.settings "{}"
+exec omarchy-shell shell summon omarchy.settings "{}"
diff --git a/bin/omarchy-menu b/bin/omarchy-menu
index bc3b30ff..e947995e 100755
--- a/bin/omarchy-menu
+++ b/bin/omarchy-menu
@@ -4,8 +4,8 @@
 # omarchy:args=[toggle|summon|close|refresh|ping] [route]
 # omarchy:examples=omarchy menu | omarchy menu toggle system | omarchy menu summon style.theme | omarchy menu refresh
 
-# Thin wrapper around `omarchy-shell-ipc menu`. Keybinds and the bar icon
-# call omarchy-shell-ipc directly to skip the omarchy-CLI dispatch hop;
+# Thin wrapper around `omarchy-shell menu`. Keybinds and the bar icon
+# call omarchy-shell directly to skip the omarchy-CLI dispatch hop;
 # this exists so humans get `omarchy menu toggle X` etc.
 
 verb="${1-toggle}"
@@ -13,10 +13,10 @@ route="${2-root}"
 
 case "$verb" in
   toggle | summon)
-    exec omarchy-shell-ipc menu "$verb" "$route"
+    exec omarchy-shell menu "$verb" "$route"
     ;;
   close | refresh | ping)
-    exec omarchy-shell-ipc menu "$verb"
+    exec omarchy-shell menu "$verb"
     ;;
   -h | --help | help)
     cat <<USAGE
diff --git a/bin/omarchy-menu-clipboard b/bin/omarchy-menu-clipboard
index f0655595..0971c4af 100755
--- a/bin/omarchy-menu-clipboard
+++ b/bin/omarchy-menu-clipboard
@@ -3,4 +3,4 @@
 # omarchy:group=menu
 # omarchy:examples=omarchy menu clipboard
 
-omarchy-shell-ipc shell toggle omarchy.clipboard-picker "{}"
+omarchy-shell shell toggle omarchy.clipboard-picker "{}"
diff --git a/bin/omarchy-menu-emoji b/bin/omarchy-menu-emoji
index 06acf0ec..9e2a9d0f 100755
--- a/bin/omarchy-menu-emoji
+++ b/bin/omarchy-menu-emoji
@@ -3,4 +3,4 @@
 # omarchy:group=menu
 # omarchy:examples=omarchy menu emoji
 
-omarchy-shell-ipc shell toggle omarchy.emoji-picker "{}"
+omarchy-shell shell toggle omarchy.emoji-picker "{}"
diff --git a/bin/omarchy-menu-images b/bin/omarchy-menu-images
index 1eba5313..8af5948f 100755
--- a/bin/omarchy-menu-images
+++ b/bin/omarchy-menu-images
@@ -223,67 +223,17 @@ if [[ $cache_only == true || $prepare_only == true ]]; then
   exit 0
 fi
 
-# Image rows can contain newlines and tabs, which don't survive a positional
-# bash argv into `quickshell ipc call`. Base64-encode for transit; the
-# ImagePicker plugin Qt.atob()s on the other side.
+# Image rows can contain newlines and tabs, which don't survive positional
+# shell IPC arguments. Base64-encode for transit; the ImagePicker plugin
+# Qt.atob()s on the other side.
 rows_b64=$(printf '%s' "$rows" | base64 -w 0)
 
 if [[ $preload == true ]]; then
-  omarchy-shell-ipc image-selector preload "$rows_b64" "$selected_list_image" "$show_labels" "$filterable" >/dev/null || true
+  omarchy-shell image-selector preload "$rows_b64" "$selected_list_image" "$show_labels" "$filterable" >/dev/null || true
   exit 0
 fi
 
-send_builtin_ipc_request() {
-  perl -MCwd=abs_path -MEncode=encode,decode -MSocket \
-    -e '
-      sub read_qstring {
-        my ($data, $offset) = @_;
-        return ("", $offset) if $offset + 4 > length($data);
-        my $length = unpack("N", substr($data, $offset, 4));
-        $offset += 4;
-        return ("", $offset) if $length == 0xffffffff || $offset + $length > length($data);
-        return (decode("UTF-16BE", substr($data, $offset, $length)), $offset + $length);
-      }
-
-      sub qstring {
-        my $encoded = encode("UTF-16BE", $_[0] // "");
-        return pack("N", length($encoded)) . $encoded;
-      }
-
-      my $shell_qml = abs_path(shift @ARGV);
-      my @open_args = @ARGV;
-      my $runtime_dir = $ENV{"XDG_RUNTIME_DIR"} || "/run/user/$<";
-      my $payload = chr(3) . qstring("image-selector") . qstring("open") . pack("N", scalar @open_args) . join("", map { qstring($_) } @open_args);
-      my @candidates;
-
-      for my $lock_path (glob("$runtime_dir/quickshell/by-id/*/instance.lock")) {
-        my $data;
-        next unless open(my $lock, "<:raw", $lock_path);
-        { local $/; $data = <$lock>; }
-        close($lock);
-        my (undef, $offset) = read_qstring($data, 0);
-        my ($path) = read_qstring($data, $offset);
-        next unless $path && abs_path($path) eq $shell_qml;
-        (my $socket_path = $lock_path) =~ s{/instance\.lock$}{/ipc.sock};
-        push @candidates, [(stat($lock_path))[9] || 0, $socket_path];
-      }
-
-      for my $candidate (sort { $b->[0] <=> $a->[0] } @candidates) {
-        socket(my $client, AF_UNIX, SOCK_STREAM, 0) || next;
-        if (connect($client, sockaddr_un($candidate->[1]))) {
-          syswrite($client, $payload);
-          close($client);
-          exit 0;
-        }
-        close($client);
-      }
-
-      exit 1;
-    ' "$OMARCHY_PATH/default/quickshell/omarchy-shell/shell.qml" \
-    "" "$rows_b64" "$selected_list_image" "$selection_file" "$done_file" "$show_labels" "$filterable"
-}
-
-if ! send_builtin_ipc_request && ! omarchy-shell-ipc image-selector open \
+if ! omarchy-shell image-selector open \
      "" \
      "$rows_b64" \
      "$selected_list_image" \
diff --git a/bin/omarchy-notification-dismiss b/bin/omarchy-notification-dismiss
index 5779dc02..20651510 100755
--- a/bin/omarchy-notification-dismiss
+++ b/bin/omarchy-notification-dismiss
@@ -8,4 +8,4 @@ if (($# == 0)); then
   exit 1
 fi
 
-omarchy-shell-ipc notifications dismiss "$1" >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
+omarchy-shell notifications dismiss "$1" >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
diff --git a/bin/omarchy-notification-weather b/bin/omarchy-notification-weather
index 9c6dbf31..52835cdd 100755
--- a/bin/omarchy-notification-weather
+++ b/bin/omarchy-notification-weather
@@ -2,4 +2,4 @@
 
 # omarchy:summary=Show the current weather notification
 
-omarchy-shell-ipc weatherFlyout show
+omarchy-shell weatherFlyout show
diff --git a/bin/omarchy-osd b/bin/omarchy-osd
index 3090bd87..ed3ef72a 100755
--- a/bin/omarchy-osd
+++ b/bin/omarchy-osd
@@ -34,4 +34,4 @@ payload=$(jq -cn \
   --arg max "$max" \
   '{icon:$icon,message:$message,value:$value,progressText:$progressText,max:$max}')
 
-omarchy-shell-ipc osd show "$payload" >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
+omarchy-shell osd show "$payload" >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
diff --git a/bin/omarchy-restart-shell b/bin/omarchy-restart-shell
index d6e06f5f..d00be603 100755
--- a/bin/omarchy-restart-shell
+++ b/bin/omarchy-restart-shell
@@ -3,13 +3,5 @@
 # omarchy:summary=Restart the Omarchy shell
 # omarchy:examples=omarchy restart shell
 
-CONFIG_DIR="$OMARCHY_PATH/default/quickshell/omarchy-shell"
-
-# Skip `quickshell kill` (graceful IPC exit) — it currently trips an upstream
-# crash in IpcKillCommand::exec (Quickshell #539), which leaves the Wayland
-# surface lingering and produces a duplicate bar when the new instance starts.
-# A SIGKILL drops the client connection and the compositor cleans up surfaces
-# immediately, with no state to flush since the shell holds nothing persistent.
-pkill -KILL -f "quickshell -p $CONFIG_DIR" 2>/dev/null
-
-setsid uwsm-app -- quickshell -p "$CONFIG_DIR" >/dev/null 2>&1 &
+systemctl --user enable omarchy-shell.service >/dev/null
+systemctl --user restart omarchy-shell.service
diff --git a/bin/omarchy-shell b/bin/omarchy-shell
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..128d5d2f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bin/omarchy-shell
@@ -0,0 +1,141 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+# omarchy:summary=Send an IPC call to the running Omarchy shell
+# omarchy:args=<target> <method> [args...]
+# omarchy:examples=omarchy shell shell ping | omarchy-shell menu toggle root
+
+if [[ $# -eq 0 || $1 == "-h" || $1 == "--help" ]]; then
+  cat <<USAGE
+Usage: omarchy-shell <target> <method> [args...]
+
+Forwards an IPC call to the supervised omarchy-shell service. The shell is
+expected to already be running; this command does not start it.
+
+Examples:
+  omarchy-shell shell ping
+  omarchy-shell shell summon omarchy.settings "{}"
+  omarchy-shell shell listPlugins
+  omarchy-shell menu toggle root
+USAGE
+  exit 0
+fi
+
+if (( $# < 2 )); then
+  echo "Usage: omarchy-shell <target> <method> [args...]" >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+if [[ -z ${OMARCHY_PATH:-} ]]; then
+  echo "OMARCHY_PATH is not set" >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+SHELL_QML="$OMARCHY_PATH/default/quickshell/omarchy-shell/shell.qml"
+
+perl -MCwd=abs_path -MEncode=encode,decode -MSocket -MIO::Handle \
+  -e '
+    binmode STDOUT, ":encoding(UTF-8)";
+    binmode STDERR, ":encoding(UTF-8)";
+    $SIG{PIPE} = "IGNORE";
+
+    sub read_qstring {
+      my ($data, $offset) = @_;
+      return (undef, $offset) if $offset + 4 > length($data);
+      my $length = unpack("N", substr($data, $offset, 4));
+      $offset += 4;
+      return (undef, $offset) if $length == 0xffffffff || $offset + $length > length($data);
+      return (decode("UTF-16BE", substr($data, $offset, $length)), $offset + $length);
+    }
+
+    sub qstring {
+      my $encoded = encode("UTF-16BE", $_[0] // "");
+      return pack("N", length($encoded)) . $encoded;
+    }
+
+    sub write_all {
+      my ($client, $payload) = @_;
+      my $written = 0;
+      while ($written < length($payload)) {
+        my $n = syswrite($client, $payload, length($payload) - $written, $written);
+        return 0 unless defined $n;
+        $written += $n;
+      }
+      return 1;
+    }
+
+    sub print_success {
+      my ($response) = @_;
+      my ($message) = read_qstring($response, 2);
+      return 0 unless defined $message && length($message);
+      print $message;
+      print "\n" unless substr($message, -1) eq "\n";
+      return 0;
+    }
+
+    my $shell_qml_arg = shift @ARGV;
+    my $shell_qml = abs_path($shell_qml_arg);
+    my $target = shift @ARGV;
+    my $function = shift @ARGV;
+    my @args = @ARGV;
+    my $runtime_dir = $ENV{"XDG_RUNTIME_DIR"} || "/run/user/$<";
+    my $payload = chr(3) . qstring($target) . qstring($function) . pack("N", scalar @args) . join("", map { qstring($_) } @args);
+    my @candidates;
+
+    if (!defined $shell_qml) {
+      print STDERR "omarchy-shell config not found: $shell_qml_arg\n";
+      exit 1;
+    }
+
+    for my $lock_path (glob("$runtime_dir/quickshell/by-id/*/instance.lock")) {
+      my $data;
+      next unless open(my $lock, "<:raw", $lock_path);
+      { local $/; $data = <$lock>; }
+      close($lock);
+      my (undef, $offset) = read_qstring($data, 0);
+      my ($path) = read_qstring($data, $offset);
+      next unless $path;
+      my $abs_path = abs_path($path);
+      next unless defined $abs_path && $abs_path eq $shell_qml;
+      (my $socket_path = $lock_path) =~ s{/instance\.lock$}{/ipc.sock};
+      push @candidates, [(stat($lock_path))[9] || 0, $socket_path];
+    }
+
+    for my $candidate (sort { $b->[0] <=> $a->[0] } @candidates) {
+      socket(my $client, AF_UNIX, SOCK_STREAM, 0) || next;
+      if (connect($client, sockaddr_un($candidate->[1]))) {
+        unless (write_all($client, $payload)) {
+          close($client);
+          next;
+        }
+
+        my $response = "";
+        while (1) {
+          my $buffer = "";
+          my $n = sysread($client, $buffer, 65536);
+          last unless defined $n && $n > 0;
+          $response .= $buffer;
+        }
+        close($client);
+
+        next unless length($response);
+        my $code = ord(substr($response, 0, 1));
+        if ($code == 5) {
+          print_success($response);
+          exit 0;
+        } elsif ($code == 2) {
+          print STDERR "Target not found.\n";
+        } elsif ($code == 3) {
+          print STDERR "Function not found.\n";
+        } elsif ($code == 4) {
+          print STDERR "Invalid arguments.\n";
+        } else {
+          print STDERR "Unexpected IPC response: $code\n";
+        }
+        exit 1;
+      }
+      close($client);
+    }
+
+    print STDERR "omarchy-shell is not running\n";
+    exit 1;
+  ' "$SHELL_QML" "$@"
diff --git a/bin/omarchy-shell-ipc b/bin/omarchy-shell-ipc
deleted file mode 100755
index 1a634c37..00000000
--- a/bin/omarchy-shell-ipc
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,61 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/bash
-
-# omarchy:summary=Send an IPC call to omarchy-shell, starting it if not running
-# omarchy:hidden=true
-
-if [[ $# -eq 0 || $1 == "-h" || $1 == "--help" ]]; then
-  cat <<USAGE
-Usage: omarchy-shell-ipc [--if-running] <target> <method> [args...]
-
-Forwards a quickshell ipc call to omarchy-shell. Starts the shell if it
-isn't already running, unless --if-running is passed (in which case the
-call is silently skipped when no shell instance exists).
-
-Examples:
-  omarchy-shell-ipc shell ping
-  omarchy-shell-ipc shell summon omarchy.settings "{}"
-  omarchy-shell-ipc shell hide omarchy.image-picker
-  omarchy-shell-ipc shell listPlugins
-  omarchy-shell-ipc shell listShellConfig
-  omarchy-shell-ipc shell rescanPlugins
-  omarchy-shell-ipc --if-running bar refreshIndicators
-  omarchy-shell-ipc image-selector ping
-  omarchy-shell-ipc image-selector cancel ""
-USAGE
-  exit 0
-fi
-
-if_running=0
-if [[ $1 == "--if-running" ]]; then
-  if_running=1
-  shift
-fi
-
-SHELL_DIR="$OMARCHY_PATH/default/quickshell/omarchy-shell"
-
-shell_running() {
-  quickshell list -p "$SHELL_DIR" 2>/dev/null | grep -q '^Instance '
-}
-
-if (( if_running )); then
-  shell_running || exit 0
-else
-  # Serialize concurrent invocations so two CLI callers don't both spawn the shell
-  # when no instance is running yet.
-  lockfile="${XDG_RUNTIME_DIR:-/tmp}/omarchy-shell-ipc.lock"
-  {
-    flock 9
-    if ! shell_running; then
-      # 9<&- so the spawned shell does not inherit (and keep) the lock fd; the
-      # spawned process is long-lived and would otherwise hold the lock for the
-      # remainder of the session, deadlocking every subsequent helper invocation.
-      setsid uwsm-app -- quickshell -p "$SHELL_DIR" >/dev/null 2>&1 9<&- &
-      for _ in 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10; do
-        sleep 0.2
-        shell_running && break
-      done
-    fi
-  } 9>"$lockfile"
-fi
-
-exec quickshell ipc -p "$SHELL_DIR" call -- "$@"
diff --git a/bin/omarchy-shell-ipc-fast b/bin/omarchy-shell-ipc-fast
deleted file mode 100755
index 7a37a707..00000000
--- a/bin/omarchy-shell-ipc-fast
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,60 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/bash
-
-# omarchy:summary=Send a fire-and-forget IPC call to a running omarchy-shell
-# omarchy:hidden=true
-
-SHELL_QML="$OMARCHY_PATH/default/quickshell/omarchy-shell/shell.qml"
-
-if (( $# < 2 )); then
-  echo "Usage: omarchy-shell-ipc-fast <target> <function> [args...]" >&2
-  exit 1
-fi
-
-perl -MCwd=abs_path -MEncode=encode,decode -MSocket \
-  -e '
-    sub read_qstring {
-      my ($data, $offset) = @_;
-      return ("", $offset) if $offset + 4 > length($data);
-      my $length = unpack("N", substr($data, $offset, 4));
-      $offset += 4;
-      return ("", $offset) if $length == 0xffffffff || $offset + $length > length($data);
-      return (decode("UTF-16BE", substr($data, $offset, $length)), $offset + $length);
-    }
-
-    sub qstring {
-      my $encoded = encode("UTF-16BE", $_[0] // "");
-      return pack("N", length($encoded)) . $encoded;
-    }
-
-    my $shell_qml = abs_path(shift @ARGV);
-    my $target = shift @ARGV;
-    my $function = shift @ARGV;
-    my @args = @ARGV;
-    my $runtime_dir = $ENV{"XDG_RUNTIME_DIR"} || "/run/user/$<";
-    my $payload = chr(3) . qstring($target) . qstring($function) . pack("N", scalar @args) . join("", map { qstring($_) } @args);
-    my @candidates;
-
-    for my $lock_path (glob("$runtime_dir/quickshell/by-id/*/instance.lock")) {
-      my $data;
-      next unless open(my $lock, "<:raw", $lock_path);
-      { local $/; $data = <$lock>; }
-      close($lock);
-      my (undef, $offset) = read_qstring($data, 0);
-      my ($path) = read_qstring($data, $offset);
-      next unless $path && abs_path($path) eq $shell_qml;
-      (my $socket_path = $lock_path) =~ s{/instance\.lock$}{/ipc.sock};
-      push @candidates, [(stat($lock_path))[9] || 0, $socket_path];
-    }
-
-    for my $candidate (sort { $b->[0] <=> $a->[0] } @candidates) {
-      socket(my $client, AF_UNIX, SOCK_STREAM, 0) || next;
-      if (connect($client, sockaddr_un($candidate->[1]))) {
-        syswrite($client, $payload);
-        close($client);
-        exit 0;
-      }
-      close($client);
-    }
-
-    exit 1;
-  ' "$SHELL_QML" "$@"
diff --git a/bin/omarchy-theme-bg-set b/bin/omarchy-theme-bg-set
index 427262ce..f31d554b 100755
--- a/bin/omarchy-theme-bg-set
+++ b/bin/omarchy-theme-bg-set
@@ -22,4 +22,4 @@ ln -nsf "$BACKGROUND" "$CURRENT_BACKGROUND_LINK"
 
 # Update the live shell background immediately when it is running. The
 # background plugin also polls this symlink, but IPC avoids the visible delay.
-omarchy-shell-ipc-fast background set "$BACKGROUND" >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
+omarchy-shell background set "$BACKGROUND" >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
diff --git a/bin/omarchy-theme-set b/bin/omarchy-theme-set
index 3ffcfbaa..5ce64f81 100755
--- a/bin/omarchy-theme-set
+++ b/bin/omarchy-theme-set
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ run_parallel() {
 }
 
 shell_ipc() {
-  timeout 2 omarchy-shell-ipc --if-running "$@" >/dev/null 2>&1
+  timeout 2 omarchy-shell "$@" >/dev/null 2>&1
 }
 
 snapshot_background_path() {
diff --git a/bin/omarchy-toggle-idle b/bin/omarchy-toggle-idle
index 757f04b9..9685f047 100755
--- a/bin/omarchy-toggle-idle
+++ b/bin/omarchy-toggle-idle
@@ -10,4 +10,4 @@ else
   omarchy-notification-send -g "󰾪" "Idle behavior on" "System can now sleep / lock on idle"
 fi
 
-omarchy-shell-ipc --if-running bar refreshIndicators >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
+omarchy-shell bar refreshIndicators >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
diff --git a/bin/omarchy-toggle-notification-silencing b/bin/omarchy-toggle-notification-silencing
index 965af896..c3787a18 100755
--- a/bin/omarchy-toggle-notification-silencing
+++ b/bin/omarchy-toggle-notification-silencing
@@ -3,4 +3,4 @@
 # omarchy:summary=Toggle notification do-not-disturb mode
 
 state=$(omarchy-shell notifications toggleDnd 2>/dev/null || echo "")
-omarchy-shell --if-running bar refreshIndicators >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
+omarchy-shell bar refreshIndicators >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
diff --git a/bin/omarchy-update-available-reset b/bin/omarchy-update-available-reset
index d034fdbe..5c8cf30e 100755
--- a/bin/omarchy-update-available-reset
+++ b/bin/omarchy-update-available-reset
@@ -2,5 +2,5 @@
 
 # omarchy:summary=Ensure the status bar icon offering the available update is removed
 
-omarchy-shell-ipc --if-running bar refreshUpdate >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
+omarchy-shell bar refreshUpdate >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
 exit 0
diff --git a/config/hypr/bindings.lua b/config/hypr/bindings.lua
index 3a6c76e5..ced13f91 100644
--- a/config/hypr/bindings.lua
+++ b/config/hypr/bindings.lua
@@ -32,9 +32,9 @@ hl.bind("SUPER + SHIFT + ALT + X", hl.dsp.exec_cmd([[omarchy-launch-webapp "http
 
 -- Overwrite existing bindings with hl.unbind() first if needed.
 -- hl.unbind("SUPER + SPACE")
--- hl.bind("SUPER + SPACE", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("omarchy-shell-ipc menu toggle root"), { description = "Omarchy menu" })
+-- hl.bind("SUPER + SPACE", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("omarchy-shell menu toggle root"), { description = "Omarchy menu" })
 
 -- Logitech MX Keys examples:
 -- hl.bind("SUPER + SHIFT + S", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("omarchy-capture-screenshot"))
 -- hl.bind("SUPER + H", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("voxtype record toggle"))
--- hl.bind("SUPER + PERIOD", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("omarchy-shell-ipc shell toggle omarchy.emoji-picker \"{}\""))
+-- hl.bind("SUPER + PERIOD", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("omarchy-shell shell toggle omarchy.emoji-picker \"{}\""))
diff --git a/config/omarchy/extensions/omarchy-menu.jsonc b/config/omarchy/extensions/omarchy-menu.jsonc
index bf32d350..d989e1f3 100644
--- a/config/omarchy/extensions/omarchy-menu.jsonc
+++ b/config/omarchy/extensions/omarchy-menu.jsonc
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@
   //   action      Shell command to run. If omitted, the row is a submenu.
   //   target      Existing submenu id to open. Use for links/aliases.
   //   provider    Runtime provider function/command returning JSON rows.
-  //   aliases     alternate `omarchy-shell-ipc menu summon <name>` routes; also searchable.
+  //   aliases     alternate `omarchy-shell menu summon <name>` routes; also searchable.
   //   keywords    Extra search terms beyond id/label/aliases.
   //   description Optional subtitle and extra search text.
   //   when        Shell condition; hide row when it fails.
diff --git a/config/systemd/user/omarchy-shell.service b/config/systemd/user/omarchy-shell.service
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..30fc93e6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/config/systemd/user/omarchy-shell.service
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+[Unit]
+Description=Omarchy Shell
+PartOf=graphical-session.target
+After=graphical-session.target
+StartLimitIntervalSec=30
+StartLimitBurst=5
+
+[Service]
+Type=exec
+Environment=OMARCHY_PATH=%h/.local/share/omarchy
+ExecStart=/usr/bin/quickshell -p %h/.local/share/omarchy/default/quickshell/omarchy-shell
+Restart=always
+RestartSec=2
+Slice=session-graphical.slice
+
+[Install]
+WantedBy=graphical-session.target
diff --git a/default/hypr/autostart.lua b/default/hypr/autostart.lua
index b1053cad..14700187 100644
--- a/default/hypr/autostart.lua
+++ b/default/hypr/autostart.lua
@@ -1,15 +1,15 @@
 hl.on("hyprland.start", function()
-  hl.exec_cmd("omarchy-restart-shell")
+  -- Slow app launch fix -- set systemd vars before starting session services.
+  hl.exec_cmd("systemctl --user import-environment $(env | cut -d'=' -f 1)")
+  hl.exec_cmd("dbus-update-activation-environment --systemd --all")
+
+  hl.exec_cmd("systemctl --user start omarchy-shell.service")
   hl.exec_cmd("uwsm-app -- hypridle")
   hl.exec_cmd("uwsm-app -- fcitx5 --disable notificationitem")
   hl.exec_cmd("omarchy-first-run")
   hl.exec_cmd("omarchy-powerprofiles-init")
   hl.exec_cmd("uwsm-app -- omarchy-hyprland-monitor-watch")
 
-  -- Slow app launch fix -- set systemd vars.
-  hl.exec_cmd("systemctl --user import-environment $(env | cut -d'=' -f 1)")
-  hl.exec_cmd("dbus-update-activation-environment --systemd --all")
-
   -- Run post-boot hooks after startup config has loaded.
   hl.exec_cmd("sleep 2 && omarchy-hook post-boot")
 end)
diff --git a/default/hypr/bindings/clipboard.lua b/default/hypr/bindings/clipboard.lua
index 8a4b034f..cd3256a5 100644
--- a/default/hypr/bindings/clipboard.lua
+++ b/default/hypr/bindings/clipboard.lua
@@ -13,4 +13,4 @@ end
 o.bind("SUPER + C", "Universal copy", send_shortcut_once("CTRL", "Insert"))
 o.bind("SUPER + V", "Universal paste", send_shortcut_once("SHIFT", "Insert"))
 o.bind("SUPER + X", "Universal cut", send_shortcut_once("CTRL", "X"))
-o.bind("SUPER + CTRL + V", "Clipboard manager", "omarchy-shell-ipc shell toggle omarchy.clipboard-picker \"{}\"")
+o.bind("SUPER + CTRL + V", "Clipboard manager", "omarchy-shell shell toggle omarchy.clipboard-picker \"{}\"")
diff --git a/default/hypr/bindings/utilities.lua b/default/hypr/bindings/utilities.lua
index f126fa38..eb5533a2 100644
--- a/default/hypr/bindings/utilities.lua
+++ b/default/hypr/bindings/utilities.lua
@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 hl.bind("SUPER + SPACE", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("omarchy-launch-walker"), { description = "Launch apps" })
-hl.bind("SUPER + CTRL + E", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("omarchy-shell-ipc shell toggle omarchy.emoji-picker \"{}\""), { description = "Emoji picker" })
-hl.bind("SUPER + CTRL + C", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("omarchy-shell-ipc menu toggle capture"), { description = "Capture menu" })
-hl.bind("SUPER + CTRL + O", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("omarchy-shell-ipc menu toggle toggle"), { description = "Toggle menu" })
-hl.bind("SUPER + CTRL + H", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("omarchy-shell-ipc menu toggle hardware"), { description = "Hardware menu" })
-hl.bind("SUPER + ALT + SPACE", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("omarchy-shell-ipc menu toggle root"), { description = "Omarchy menu" })
-hl.bind("SUPER + SHIFT + code:201", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("omarchy-shell-ipc menu toggle root"), { description = "Omarchy menu" })
-hl.bind("SUPER + ESCAPE", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("omarchy-shell-ipc menu toggle system"), { description = "System menu" })
-hl.bind("XF86PowerOff", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("omarchy-shell-ipc menu toggle system"), { locked = true, description = "Power menu" })
+hl.bind("SUPER + CTRL + E", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("omarchy-shell shell toggle omarchy.emoji-picker \"{}\""), { description = "Emoji picker" })
+hl.bind("SUPER + CTRL + C", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("omarchy-shell menu toggle capture"), { description = "Capture menu" })
+hl.bind("SUPER + CTRL + O", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("omarchy-shell menu toggle toggle"), { description = "Toggle menu" })
+hl.bind("SUPER + CTRL + H", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("omarchy-shell menu toggle hardware"), { description = "Hardware menu" })
+hl.bind("SUPER + ALT + SPACE", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("omarchy-shell menu toggle root"), { description = "Omarchy menu" })
+hl.bind("SUPER + SHIFT + code:201", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("omarchy-shell menu toggle root"), { description = "Omarchy menu" })
+hl.bind("SUPER + ESCAPE", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("omarchy-shell menu toggle system"), { description = "System menu" })
+hl.bind("XF86PowerOff", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("omarchy-shell menu toggle system"), { locked = true, description = "Power menu" })
 hl.bind("SUPER + K", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("omarchy-menu-keybindings"), { description = "Show key bindings" })
 hl.bind("SUPER + ALT + K", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("omarchy-menu-tmux-keybindings"), { description = "Show Tmux key bindings" })
 hl.bind("XF86Calculator", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("gnome-calculator"), { description = "Calculator" })
@@ -16,18 +16,18 @@ hl.bind("SUPER + SHIFT + CTRL + UP", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("omarchy-style-bar-position
 hl.bind("SUPER + SHIFT + CTRL + DOWN", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("omarchy-style-bar-position bottom"), { description = "Move bar to bottom" })
 hl.bind("SUPER + SHIFT + CTRL + LEFT", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("omarchy-style-bar-position left"), { description = "Move bar to left" })
 hl.bind("SUPER + SHIFT + CTRL + RIGHT", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("omarchy-style-bar-position right"), { description = "Move bar to right" })
-hl.bind("SUPER + CTRL + SPACE", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("omarchy-shell-ipc menu toggle background"), { description = "Background switcher" })
-hl.bind("SUPER + SHIFT + CTRL + SPACE", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("omarchy-shell-ipc menu toggle theme"), { description = "Theme menu" })
+hl.bind("SUPER + CTRL + SPACE", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("omarchy-shell menu toggle background"), { description = "Background switcher" })
+hl.bind("SUPER + SHIFT + CTRL + SPACE", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("omarchy-shell menu toggle theme"), { description = "Theme menu" })
 hl.bind("SUPER + BACKSPACE", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("omarchy-hyprland-window-transparency-toggle"), { description = "Toggle window transparency" })
 hl.bind("SUPER + SHIFT + BACKSPACE", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("omarchy-hyprland-window-gaps-toggle"), { description = "Toggle window gaps" })
 hl.bind("SUPER + CTRL + BACKSPACE", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("omarchy-hyprland-window-single-square-aspect-toggle"), { description = "Toggle single-window square aspect" })
 
 -- xkbcommon names the comma keysym "comma"; the upper-case "COMMA" does not match.
-hl.bind("SUPER + comma", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("omarchy-shell-ipc notifications dismissOne"), { description = "Dismiss last notification" })
-hl.bind("SUPER + SHIFT + comma", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("omarchy-shell-ipc notifications dismissAll"), { description = "Dismiss all notifications" })
+hl.bind("SUPER + comma", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("omarchy-shell notifications dismissOne"), { description = "Dismiss last notification" })
+hl.bind("SUPER + SHIFT + comma", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("omarchy-shell notifications dismissAll"), { description = "Dismiss all notifications" })
 hl.bind("SUPER + CTRL + comma", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("omarchy-toggle-notification-silencing"), { description = "Toggle silencing notifications" })
-hl.bind("SUPER + ALT + comma", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("omarchy-shell-ipc notifications invokeLast"), { description = "Invoke last notification" })
-hl.bind("SUPER + SHIFT + ALT + comma", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("omarchy-shell-ipc notifications showHistory"), { description = "Open notification history" })
+hl.bind("SUPER + ALT + comma", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("omarchy-shell notifications invokeLast"), { description = "Invoke last notification" })
+hl.bind("SUPER + SHIFT + ALT + comma", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("omarchy-shell notifications showHistory"), { description = "Open notification history" })
 
 hl.bind("SUPER + CTRL + I", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("omarchy-toggle-idle"), { description = "Toggle locking on idle" })
 hl.bind("SUPER + CTRL + N", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("omarchy-toggle-nightlight"), { description = "Toggle nightlight" })
@@ -37,15 +37,15 @@ hl.bind("switch:on:Lid Switch", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("omarchy-hw-external-monitors &&
 hl.bind("switch:off:Lid Switch", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("omarchy-hyprland-monitor-internal on"), { locked = true })
 
 hl.bind("PRINT", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("omarchy-capture-screenshot"), { description = "Screenshot" })
-hl.bind("ALT + PRINT", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("omarchy-capture-screenrecording --stop-recording || omarchy-shell-ipc menu toggle trigger.capture.screenrecord"), { description = "Screenrecording" })
+hl.bind("ALT + PRINT", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("omarchy-capture-screenrecording --stop-recording || omarchy-shell menu toggle trigger.capture.screenrecord"), { description = "Screenrecording" })
 hl.bind("SUPER + PRINT", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("pkill hyprpicker || hyprpicker -a"), { description = "Color picker" })
 hl.bind("SUPER + CTRL + PRINT", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("omarchy-capture-text-extraction"), { description = "Extract text (OCR) from screenshot" })
 
-hl.bind("SUPER + CTRL + S", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("omarchy-shell-ipc menu toggle share"), { description = "Share" })
+hl.bind("SUPER + CTRL + S", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("omarchy-shell menu toggle share"), { description = "Share" })
 
 hl.bind("SUPER + CTRL + PERIOD", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("omarchy-transcode"), { description = "Transcode" })
 
-hl.bind("SUPER + CTRL + R", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("omarchy-shell-ipc menu toggle reminder-set"), { description = "Set reminder" })
+hl.bind("SUPER + CTRL + R", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("omarchy-shell menu toggle reminder-set"), { description = "Set reminder" })
 hl.bind("SUPER + CTRL + ALT + R", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("omarchy-reminder show"), { description = "Show reminders" })
 hl.bind("SUPER + SHIFT + CTRL + R", hl.dsp.exec_cmd("omarchy-reminder clear"), { description = "Clear reminders" })
 
diff --git a/default/omarchy/omarchy-menu.jsonc b/default/omarchy/omarchy-menu.jsonc
index 925dbc3c..479c944b 100644
--- a/default/omarchy/omarchy-menu.jsonc
+++ b/default/omarchy/omarchy-menu.jsonc
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
   // Dotted IDs define the tree. Use provider:"name" only when the submenu
   // calls provider_name() or a command named "name" to return JSON rows.
   // Optional fields:
-  //   aliases        alternate `omarchy-shell-ipc menu summon <name>` routes; also searchable
+  //   aliases        alternate `omarchy-shell menu summon <name>` routes; also searchable
   //   keywords       extra search terms beyond id/label/aliases
   //   when           shell condition; hide row when it fails
   //   checked        shell condition; append ✓ when it succeeds
diff --git a/default/quickshell/omarchy-shell/README.md b/default/quickshell/omarchy-shell/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..b81af154
--- /dev/null
+++ b/default/quickshell/omarchy-shell/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,218 @@
+# Omarchy shell
+
+`omarchy-shell` is a single long-running [Quickshell](https://quickshell.org/)
+instance that hosts the Omarchy desktop. A supervised user systemd service
+keeps one shell running per graphical session; everything else — the bar,
+the bar settings UI, the background switcher, future panels and overlays —
+runs **inside** the shell as a plugin.
+
+Hosting everything inside one shell means:
+
+- shared services and singletons live once, not once per process
+- summoning a panel is an IPC call into a process that is already running,
+  not a fresh `quickshell -p ...` cold start
+- third-party plugins can be loaded from disk without changing any source
+  code in Omarchy itself
+
+The runtime layout in this branch:
+
+```
+default/quickshell/omarchy-shell/
+  shell.qml              entry point (ShellRoot)
+  shell-defaults.json    canonical out-of-the-box config
+  services/
+    PluginRegistry.qml   discovers, validates plugins, looks up enabled state in shell.json
+    BarWidgetRegistry.qml unified registry for bar widgets (1p + 3p)
+  ui/
+    settings/
+      DynamicSettingsForm.qml  renders plugin-declared schemas
+  plugins/
+    bar/                 first-party plugins (see plugins/README.md)
+    settings/
+    image-picker/
+    menu/
+    notifications/
+    osd/
+    polkit/
+```
+
+The plugin discovery path is documented in [plugins/README.md](plugins/README.md).
+
+## Plugin manifest
+
+Every plugin ships a `manifest.json` describing what it is and how the
+shell should load it. Minimal example:
+
+```json
+{
+  "schemaVersion": 1,
+  "id": "my.org.cool-clock",
+  "name": "Cool clock",
+  "version": "1.0.0",
+  "author": "You",
+  "description": "A clock that does cool things",
+  "kinds": ["bar-widget"],
+  "activation": "on-demand",
+  "entryPoints": { "barWidget": "Widget.qml" },
+  "barWidget": {
+    "displayName": "Cool clock",
+    "category": "Time",
+    "allowMultiple": false,
+    "defaults": { "format": "HH:mm" },
+    "schema": [
+      { "key": "format", "type": "string", "label": "Format" }
+    ]
+  }
+}
+```
+
+Supported `kinds`:
+
+| Kind         | What it is                                                   |
+|--------------|--------------------------------------------------------------|
+| `bar-widget` | A component that the bar can drop into a section             |
+| `panel`      | A persistent or summoned floating window (e.g. bar settings) |
+| `overlay`    | A fullscreen overlay (e.g. background switcher)              |
+| `menu`       | A summoned menu surface                                      |
+| `service`    | A headless singleton, no UI                                  |
+| `bar`        | Reserved for the first-party bar host (`omarchy.bar`). Third-party plugins should ship `bar-widget`s; they do not replace the host bar. |
+
+`activation` is either `persistent` (loaded on startup, never unloaded) or
+`on-demand` (loaded by `shell summon <id>` and unloaded by `shell hide`).
+Plugins that need to outlive a single summon can set `keepLoaded: true`
+(e.g. the image picker keeps its overlay window mounted between
+summons).
+
+The full schema lives in `services/PluginRegistry.qml`.
+
+## Installing a third-party plugin
+
+1. Drop the plugin into `~/.config/omarchy/plugins/<plugin-id>/`.
+   The directory must contain a `manifest.json` plus the QML files
+   referenced from its `entryPoints`.
+2. `omarchy-shell shell rescanPlugins`.
+3. Enable the plugin with `omarchy-shell shell setPluginEnabled <id> true`.
+4. If it's a `bar-widget`, add it to a layout section from the bar editor.
+
+First-party plugins under `default/quickshell/omarchy-shell/plugins/`
+are discovered the same way and cannot be disabled.
+
+## IPC contract
+
+The shell exposes a single `shell` IPC target plus whatever extra targets
+individual plugins register (e.g. the bar's `bar` target for refresh
+hooks, the image picker's `image-selector` target). `omarchy-menu` uses the
+shell target to summon the first-party `omarchy.menu` plugin instead of
+running a separate Quickshell instance.
+
+| Method                                   | Returns | Effect                                                |
+|------------------------------------------|---------|-------------------------------------------------------|
+| `ping`                                   | `ok`    | health check                                          |
+| `summon <id> <payloadJson>`              | `ok` / `unknown` | load + open a panel/overlay plugin           |
+| `hide <id>`                              | —       | close a previously-summoned plugin                    |
+| `toggle <id> <payloadJson>`              | —       | summon if closed, hide if open                        |
+| `rescanPlugins`                          | —       | re-walk plugin dirs and pick up new/changed manifests |
+| `setPluginEnabled <id> <enabled>`        | —       | flip the persisted enabled bit (see note)             |
+| `listPlugins`                            | JSON    | every discovered plugin (id, name, kinds, enabled)    |
+
+Direct invocation:
+
+```
+quickshell ipc -p $OMARCHY_PATH/default/quickshell/omarchy-shell call shell ping
+```
+
+The `omarchy-shell.service` user unit starts the shell for the graphical
+session and restarts it if it exits. Use `omarchy-restart-shell` to reload
+the long-running shell process.
+
+A convenience wrapper, [`omarchy-shell`](../../../bin/omarchy-shell),
+forwards IPC calls to the running service. It does not start the shell; the
+systemd unit owns the shell lifecycle.
+
+```
+omarchy-shell shell ping
+omarchy-shell shell summon omarchy.settings "{}"
+omarchy-shell shell listPlugins
+omarchy-shell shell rescanPlugins
+```
+
+**Note on `setPluginEnabled`:** the `enabled` argument is a string. Only the
+literal `"true"` enables the plugin; every other value (including `"True"`,
+`"1"`, `"yes"`, or omitted) disables it. This keeps the IPC surface
+type-stable across QML's `string`-only IPC arguments.
+
+## Persisted state
+
+There is one user config file. Everything that distinguishes your
+customization from the shipped defaults lives in it.
+
+| Path                              | Owner          | Purpose                                                |
+|-----------------------------------|----------------|--------------------------------------------------------|
+| `~/.config/omarchy/shell.json`    | the shell      | full layout + per-entry settings + enabled plugin list |
+| `~/.config/omarchy/plugins/<id>/` | user           | drop-in third-party plugin source files                |
+
+The `shell-defaults.json` bundled with the shell describes the
+fresh-install state. When the user has no `shell.json`, the shell uses
+the defaults verbatim. Once the user customizes anything, `shell.json`
+becomes the authoritative file — we do **not** deep-merge defaults back
+in. Pressing **Reset bar to defaults** in `omarchy launch bar settings`
+rewrites the `bar` subtree from the current `shell-defaults.json`.
+
+### shell.json shape
+
+```json
+{
+  "version": 1,
+  "bar": {
+    "position": "top",
+    "transparent": false,
+    "centerAnchor": "calendar",
+    "fontFamily": "JetBrainsMono Nerd Font",
+    "layout": {
+      "left":   [ { "id": "omarchy" }, { "id": "workspaces" } ],
+      "center": [ { "id": "calendar", "format": "HH:mm" } ],
+      "right": [
+        { "id": "audioPanel" }
+      ]
+    }
+  },
+  "plugins": [
+    { "id": "omarchy.settings" },
+    { "id": "omarchy.image-picker" }
+  ]
+}
+```
+
+### Storage rules
+
+1. **Every plugin instance is one entry.** Either in `bar.layout.<section>`
+   for bar widgets, or in `plugins[]` for panels, overlays, services,
+   menus, and anything else non-bar.
+2. **Settings are inline on the entry.** No `config:` sub-object, no
+   separate per-plugin settings file, no merge layers. The fields on each
+   entry are the values the plugin sees.
+3. **Enabled ⇔ present.** A plugin is enabled iff its id appears somewhere
+   in shell.json. For bar widgets, the bar settings UI adds/removes layout
+   entries; other plugin kinds are enabled with the shell IPC.
+4. **Multiple instances** are allowed when a manifest sets
+   `allowMultiple: true`. Each instance is independent — e.g. two clocks
+   in different timezones are just two `{"id":"calendar", "timezone": ...}`
+   entries with their own values.
+5. **`version: 1` is required** at the top level. The shell will fall back
+   to defaults rather than load an unknown version.
+
+## Implementation history
+
+Built up in phases on this branch:
+
+- Phase 1 — `omarchy-shell phase 1: host the existing bar in a single shell`
+- Phase 2 — `omarchy-shell phase 2: plugin registry and bar widget registry`
+- Phase 3 — `omarchy-shell phase 3: fold bar-settings into the shell as a panel plugin`
+- Phase 4 — `omarchy-shell phase 4: absorb background-switcher as a plugin`
+- Phase 5 — `omarchy-shell phase 5: docs, cleanup, and migration crumbs`
+- Phase 6 — `omarchy-shell phase 6: reviewer cleanup (path traversal, collision, races)`
+- Phase 7 — `omarchy-shell phase 7: replace socket with IpcHandler, rename to image-picker`
+- Phase 8a — `omarchy-shell phase 8a: unified shell.json with inline plugin settings`
+
+Shared services and Pipewire/UPower/Hyprland consolidation are explicitly
+out of scope here and deferred to a follow-up after a review pass.
diff --git a/default/quickshell/omarchy-shell/plugins/README.md b/default/quickshell/omarchy-shell/plugins/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..948a2e9d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/default/quickshell/omarchy-shell/plugins/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,99 @@
+# First-party plugins
+
+These plugins ship with Omarchy and are loaded by the shell at startup.
+They use the same `manifest.json` contract as third-party plugins; the
+only difference is that the shell flags them with `__isFirstParty: true`
+so they cannot be disabled.
+
+User-installed plugins live alongside these conceptually but on disk under
+`~/.config/omarchy/plugins/<plugin-id>/` rather than in this directory.
+
+| Plugin        | id                      | kinds     | activation | entry point                         |
+|---------------|-------------------------|-----------|------------|-------------------------------------|
+| Bar           | `omarchy.bar`           | `bar`     | persistent | `bar/Bar.qml`                       |
+| Bar settings  | `omarchy.settings`      | `panel`   | on-demand  | `settings/SettingsPanel.qml`        |
+| Image picker  | `omarchy.image-picker`  | `overlay` | on-demand  | `image-picker/ImagePicker.qml`      |
+| Emoji picker  | `omarchy.emoji-picker`  | `overlay` | on-demand  | `emoji-picker/EmojiPicker.qml`      |
+| Clipboard mgr | `omarchy.clipboard-picker`| `overlay` | on-demand  | `clipboard-picker/ClipboardPicker.qml`|
+| Omarchy menu  | `omarchy.menu`          | `menu`    | on-demand  | `menu/Menu.qml`                     |
+| Notifications | `omarchy.notifications` | `service` | persistent | `notifications/Service.qml`         |
+| OSD           | `omarchy.osd`           | `panel`   | persistent | `osd/Osd.qml`                       |
+| Polkit agent  | `omarchy.polkit`        | `service` | persistent | `polkit/PolkitAgent.qml`            |
+
+## Bar
+
+The status bar. Mounted at startup, lives forever. Layout lives in the
+top-level `bar:` subtree of `~/.config/omarchy/shell.json` (with the shell
+providing [`shell-defaults.json`](../shell-defaults.json) when the user has
+no file). Owns the `bar` IPC target for refresh hooks fired by indicator
+scripts. See [`bar/README.md`](bar/README.md) for the widget catalogue
+and customization schema.
+
+## Bar settings
+
+Visual editor for the bar layout. Summoned by
+`omarchy-shell shell summon omarchy.settings "{}"` (which is what
+`omarchy launch bar settings` ultimately calls). Provides:
+
+- bar position and center-anchor controls
+- per-section add/move/remove/edit of bar widget entries
+- dynamic per-widget settings forms that write inline back to the
+  corresponding shell.json entry
+
+## Image picker
+
+Fullscreen image-grid selector overlay. Used by `omarchy-menu-images`
+(wallpaper picker) and `omarchy-theme-switcher` (theme picker) and any
+other caller that wants to present a directory of images with previews.
+
+Two ways to drive it:
+
+- Shell-level summon: `omarchy-shell shell summon omarchy.image-picker '<jsonPayload>'`.
+  The payload can carry `imageDirs`, `imageRows`, `selectedImage`,
+  `selectionFile`, `doneFile`, `showLabels`, `filterable`. Best for
+  in-shell callers that already speak JSON.
+- Direct IPC target: `omarchy-shell image-selector open <imageDirs> <imageRowsB64> <selectedImage> <selectionFile> <doneFile> <showLabels> <filterable>`.
+  Positional args; `imageRowsB64` is base64-encoded so embedded newlines /
+  tabs survive the bash argv handoff. This is what `omarchy-menu-images`
+  uses. Colors come from the central shell theme singleton; there is no
+  per-call override surface.
+
+The selection round-trip remains file-based: callers create a
+`selection_file` and `done_file` (both `mktemp`), pass the paths, and
+poll `done_file` for existence. The plugin writes the chosen path into
+`selection_file` and touches `done_file` when it's done. `cancel` IPC
+clears it without writing a selection.
+
+The plugin has `keepLoaded: true` so the layer-shell window survives
+between summons within a single shell session.
+
+## Polkit agent
+
+Theme-aware authentication dialog for privileged actions. It uses
+Quickshell's native `Quickshell.Services.Polkit.PolkitAgent` backend and
+runs inside the long-lived `omarchy-shell` process, replacing the old
+`polkit-gnome-authentication-agent-1` autostart.
+
+## Omarchy menu
+
+Quickshell-powered replacement for the legacy Walker-driven `omarchy-menu`.
+The menu UI lives in `menu/Menu.qml` as a first-party `menu` plugin and is
+summoned through the shell (`omarchy-shell shell summon omarchy.menu ...`),
+so it shares the long-running `omarchy-shell` process instead of starting a
+second Quickshell instance.
+
+The menu definition lives outside the shell host code:
+
+- defaults: `default/omarchy/omarchy-menu.jsonc`
+- user extensions: `~/.config/omarchy/extensions/omarchy-menu.jsonc`
+
+The shell parses both JSONC files at startup (with `watchChanges: true`
+so edits take effect without a restart), evaluates `when:` / `checked:`
+bash expressions in a single batched subprocess, and executes the
+selected `action:` string directly via `Quickshell.execDetached`. The
+long-running shell process keeps the parsed menu in memory, so the
+keybind → IPC → visible path costs ~30ms cold.
+
+## Coming soon
+
+- `omarchy.theme-switcher` — folds theme switching into the shell.
diff --git a/default/quickshell/omarchy-shell/plugins/bar/Bar.qml b/default/quickshell/omarchy-shell/plugins/bar/Bar.qml
index 3b634c03..45218a84 100644
--- a/default/quickshell/omarchy-shell/plugins/bar/Bar.qml
+++ b/default/quickshell/omarchy-shell/plugins/bar/Bar.qml
@@ -1126,7 +1126,7 @@ Item {
     horizontalMargin: 7.5
     onPressed: function(button) {
       if (button === Qt.RightButton) root.run("xdg-terminal-exec")
-      else root.run("omarchy-shell-ipc menu toggle root")
+      else root.run("omarchy-shell menu toggle root")
     }
   }
 
@@ -1632,7 +1632,7 @@ Item {
     tooltipText: root.batteryTooltip()
     onPressed: function(button) {
       if (button === Qt.RightButton) root.run("omarchy-notification-send \"$(omarchy-battery-status)\"")
-      else root.run("omarchy-shell-ipc menu toggle power")
+      else root.run("omarchy-shell menu toggle power")
     }
   }
 }
diff --git a/default/quickshell/omarchy-shell/plugins/bar/README.md b/default/quickshell/omarchy-shell/plugins/bar/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..3bc72c1d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/default/quickshell/omarchy-shell/plugins/bar/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,174 @@
+# Omarchy bar
+
+This is the Quickshell implementation of the Omarchy status bar. It is
+shipped as a first-party plugin of [`omarchy-shell`](../../README.md), the
+long-running shell host. The bar is mounted at startup and lives inside
+the shell for its whole session.
+
+- `manifest.json` declares the plugin (`id: omarchy.bar`, `kind: bar`, `activation: persistent`) and points at `Bar.qml` as the entry point.
+- `Bar.qml` is Omarchy-owned bar engine code, loaded by the omarchy-shell host. Users should not edit it directly.
+- `widgets/` holds first-party widgets — modular, interactive components shipped with Omarchy.
+- `common/` holds shared QML helpers (buttons, sliders, popup cards).
+- The bar receives its config from the host shell as a `barConfig` property; the host loads it from `~/.config/omarchy/shell.json` (or `shell-defaults.json` when the user has no file).
+- `omarchy-style-bar-position` updates only the user shell.json file.
+
+## Customizing
+
+The bar config lives under the `bar:` key of [`~/.config/omarchy/shell.json`](../../README.md#shelljson-shape). Out of the box the shell uses [`shell-defaults.json`](../../shell-defaults.json). Once you customize anything via `omarchy launch bar settings` or by editing shell.json directly, your file is canonical — there is no deep-merge.
+
+Launch the visual editor with `omarchy launch bar settings` (or run `omarchy-launch-bar-settings`) to reorder widgets, add/remove them, and tweak per-widget options without editing JSON by hand. You can also right-click empty space to the left or right of the centered clock to open it; double-left-click the same empty space to toggle bar transparency.
+
+Example `shell.json` (bar subtree only shown):
+
+```json
+{
+  "version": 1,
+  "bar": {
+    "position": "top",
+    "transparent": false,
+    "centerAnchor": "calendar",
+    "layout": {
+      "left": [
+        { "id": "omarchy" },
+        { "id": "spacer", "size": 12 },
+        { "id": "workspaces" }
+      ],
+      "center": [
+        { "id": "media" },
+        { "id": "calendar", "format": "HH:mm" }
+      ],
+      "right": [
+        { "id": "audioPanel" },
+        { "id": "battery" }
+      ]
+    }
+  }
+}
+```
+
+`centerAnchor` pins one center module to the exact horizontal/vertical center and flanks others around it. Set to an empty string to disable anchoring (the center list is centered as a group).
+
+## Module catalogue
+
+### First-party interactive widgets (in `widgets/`)
+
+| Name | What it does | Interactions |
+|---|---|---|
+| `media` | MPRIS now-playing — scrolling track + artist, cover-art popup | left = play/pause · middle = next · scroll = prev/next · right = popup |
+| `audioPanel` | Volume icon + popup with master slider, output-device picker, per-app mixer | left = popup · right = mute · middle = audio TUI · scroll = volume |
+| `networkPanel` | Wi-Fi/Ethernet icon + popup with Wi-Fi scan, signal, connect, DNS provider selection | left = popup · right = nmtui |
+| `bluetoothPanel` | Bluetooth icon + popup with device list, connect/disconnect, battery | left = popup · right = toggle radio · middle = bluetoothctl TUI |
+| `calendar` | Clock + popup with month-grid calendar | left = popup · right = tz selector |
+| `notificationCenter` | Bell with badge + popup with recent notifications, DND toggle | left = popup · right = toggle DND |
+| `systemStats` | Inline CPU + memory sparklines, popup with detail | left = popup · right = terminal |
+| `weatherFlyout` | Weather icon + popup with forecast | left = popup · right = full notification |
+| `idleInhibitor` | Coffee-cup that toggles `omarchy-toggle-idle` | left = toggle |
+| `microphone` | Mic icon + scroll volume | left = mute toggle · middle = audio TUI · scroll = source volume |
+
+### Built-in legacy modules (in `shell.qml`)
+
+`omarchy`, `workspaces`, `clock`, `weather`, `update`, `voxtype`, `screenRecording`, `idle`, `notifications`, `tray`, `bluetooth`, `network`, `audio`, `cpu`, `battery`.
+
+These remain available — set them in `layout` to use them instead of the richer widget versions.
+
+## Orientation
+
+All widgets work in `top`, `bottom`, `left`, and `right` positions. Popups anchor on the side opposite the bar edge, sliding into the workspace. Vertical bars use 28px width; widgets that show text fall back to compact icon-only forms (e.g. `media` hides its scrolling label).
+
+## Custom user modules
+
+The schema accepts arbitrary module ids that you provide. Set `type` to `command` for shell-driven output or `qml` for a custom QML widget. Both still go under `bar.layout.<section>` in `shell.json`.
+
+Command module:
+
+```json
+{
+  "version": 1,
+  "bar": {
+    "layout": {
+      "right": [
+        { "id": "tray" },
+        { "id": "vpn", "type": "command", "exec": "~/.config/omarchy/bar/scripts/vpn-status", "interval": 5, "tooltip": "VPN", "onClick": "nm-connection-editor" },
+        { "id": "audioPanel" }
+      ]
+    }
+  }
+}
+```
+
+The command may print plain text or Waybar-style JSON, for example:
+
+```json
+{"text":"󰌆","tooltip":"Work VPN","class":"active"}
+```
+
+QML module:
+
+```json
+{
+  "version": 1,
+  "bar": {
+    "layout": {
+      "right": [
+        { "id": "gpu", "type": "qml" },
+        { "id": "audioPanel" }
+      ]
+    }
+  }
+}
+```
+
+Then create `~/.config/omarchy/bar/modules/gpu.qml`. If you want to store it elsewhere, add a `source` path.
+
+Custom QML modules should be an `Item` with `implicitWidth` and `implicitHeight`. They may optionally define these properties, which the bar fills after loading:
+
+```qml
+import QtQuick
+
+Item {
+  property var bar
+  property string moduleName
+  property var settings
+
+  implicitWidth: 28
+  implicitHeight: bar ? bar.barSize : 26
+
+  Text {
+    anchors.centerIn: parent
+    text: "GPU"
+    color: bar ? bar.foreground : "white"
+    font.family: bar ? bar.fontFamily : "monospace"
+    font.pixelSize: 12
+  }
+
+  MouseArea {
+    anchors.fill: parent
+    onClicked: if (bar) bar.run("omarchy-launch-or-focus-tui btop")
+  }
+}
+```
+
+## Bar properties available to widgets
+
+Widgets receive `bar` (the shell root), `moduleName` (string), and `settings` (object) injected at load time. The bar exposes:
+
+- `bar.foreground`, `bar.background`, `bar.urgent` — theme colors (live-updated)
+- `bar.fontFamily` — current monospace family
+- `bar.position` — `"top" | "bottom" | "left" | "right"`
+- `bar.vertical` — boolean shortcut
+- `bar.barSize` — 26 horizontal / 28 vertical
+- `bar.run(command)` — fire-and-forget bash exec
+- `bar.shellQuote(value)` — safe shell-quote a string
+- `bar.showTooltip(target, text)` / `bar.hideTooltip(target)` — shared tooltip popup
+- `bar.requestPopout(owner)` / `bar.releasePopout(owner)` — one-popup-at-a-time coordinator
+
+First-party widgets live in `widgets/<name>.qml` and are picked up by the
+shell's `BarWidgetRegistry` at startup; reference one by `id` in any
+layout list.
+
+Third-party widgets ship as separate plugins under
+`~/.config/omarchy/plugins/<plugin-id>/` with their own `manifest.json`
+declaring `kinds: ["bar-widget"]` and a `barWidget` entry point. See
+[../../README.md](../../README.md) for the manifest schema. Enable or
+rescan third-party plugins with `omarchy-shell shell setPluginEnabled`
+and `omarchy-shell shell rescanPlugins`.
diff --git a/default/quickshell/omarchy-shell/plugins/bar/widgets/notificationCenter.qml b/default/quickshell/omarchy-shell/plugins/bar/widgets/notificationCenter.qml
index 15cbf08e..2ce4c703 100644
--- a/default/quickshell/omarchy-shell/plugins/bar/widgets/notificationCenter.qml
+++ b/default/quickshell/omarchy-shell/plugins/bar/widgets/notificationCenter.qml
@@ -92,7 +92,7 @@ Item {
     }
   }
 
-  // Service-side IPC (omarchy-shell-ipc notifications showHistory) flips
+  // Service-side IPC (omarchy-shell notifications showHistory) flips
   // historyOpenRequested; we toggle our local popup state from here so the
   // keybind path lands in the same PopupCard the click path uses.
   Connections {
diff --git a/default/quickshell/omarchy-shell/plugins/menu/Menu.qml b/default/quickshell/omarchy-shell/plugins/menu/Menu.qml
index 1231c456..3c0c38dc 100644
--- a/default/quickshell/omarchy-shell/plugins/menu/Menu.qml
+++ b/default/quickshell/omarchy-shell/plugins/menu/Menu.qml
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ Item {
   property var pluginRegistry: null
 
   // Plugin lifecycle hooks. The host calls open(payloadJson) after
-  // `omarchy-shell-ipc shell summon omarchy.menu ...` and close() when hidden.
+  // `omarchy-shell shell summon omarchy.menu ...` and close() when hidden.
   property string pendingInitialMenu: "root"
 
   function open(payloadJson) {
@@ -616,7 +616,7 @@ Item {
 
   // ----------------------------------------------------------- IPC surface
   //
-  // `omarchy-shell-ipc menu summon <id>` is the keybind hot path — the
+  // `omarchy-shell menu summon <id>` is the keybind hot path — the
   // Hyprland bindings call straight into here, no bash hops. `refresh` is
   // a manual nudge for when watchChanges isn't enough (e.g. someone wired
   // a CI step that re-emits the JSONC).
@@ -646,7 +646,7 @@ Item {
       var id = root.resolveRoute(initialMenu)
       var entry = root.items[id]
       // If the resolved id is an action (i.e. the user invoked an alias for
-      // a leaf, e.g. `omarchy-shell-ipc menu summon screenrecord-stop`),
+      // a leaf, e.g. `omarchy-shell menu summon screenrecord-stop`),
       // run it directly instead of opening an action with no children.
       if (entry && entry.kind === "action" && entry.action) {
         Quickshell.execDetached(["bash", "-lc", entry.action])
diff --git a/default/quickshell/omarchy-shell/plugins/notifications/Service.qml b/default/quickshell/omarchy-shell/plugins/notifications/Service.qml
index 5d5ca495..f38ff9d8 100644
--- a/default/quickshell/omarchy-shell/plugins/notifications/Service.qml
+++ b/default/quickshell/omarchy-shell/plugins/notifications/Service.qml
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ Item {
   readonly property int liveBarSize: shell && shell.bar && !shell.bar.barHidden ? Math.max(0, shell.bar.barSize) : defaultBarSize
   readonly property int barClearance: liveBarSize + 12
 
-  // Fired by IPC (`omarchy-shell-ipc notifications showHistory`) so the
+  // Fired by IPC (`omarchy-shell notifications showHistory`) so the
   // bar widget can drop its PopupCard from the same anchor a click would.
   signal historyOpenRequested()
 
diff --git a/default/quickshell/omarchy-shell/scripts/indicators/notification-silencing.sh b/default/quickshell/omarchy-shell/scripts/indicators/notification-silencing.sh
index f981b402..7f8c5e8b 100755
--- a/default/quickshell/omarchy-shell/scripts/indicators/notification-silencing.sh
+++ b/default/quickshell/omarchy-shell/scripts/indicators/notification-silencing.sh
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 #!/bin/bash
 
-state=$(omarchy-shell-ipc notifications isDnd 2>/dev/null || echo off)
+state=$(omarchy-shell notifications isDnd 2>/dev/null || echo off)
 if [[ $state == "on" ]]; then
   echo '{"text": "󰂛", "tooltip": "Notifications silenced", "class": "active"}'
 else
diff --git a/install/first-run/omarchy-shell.sh b/install/first-run/omarchy-shell.sh
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..2d1636b6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/install/first-run/omarchy-shell.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+mkdir -p ~/.config/systemd/user
+cp "$OMARCHY_PATH/config/systemd/user/omarchy-shell.service" ~/.config/systemd/user/omarchy-shell.service
+systemctl --user daemon-reload
+systemctl --user enable --now omarchy-shell.service
diff --git a/migrations/1779047753.sh b/migrations/1779047753.sh
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..4ba65754
--- /dev/null
+++ b/migrations/1779047753.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+echo "Run omarchy-shell as a supervised user service"
+
+mkdir -p ~/.config/systemd/user
+cp "$OMARCHY_PATH/config/systemd/user/omarchy-shell.service" ~/.config/systemd/user/omarchy-shell.service
+systemctl --user daemon-reload
+
+for file in ~/.config/hypr/bindings.lua ~/.config/hypr/bindings/*.lua; do
+  [[ -f $file ]] || continue
+  sed -i 's/omarchy-shell-ipc-fast/omarchy-shell/g; s/omarchy-shell-ipc/omarchy-shell/g; s/omarchy-shell[[:space:]]\+--if-running/omarchy-shell/g' "$file"
+done
+
+if ! systemctl --user is-active --quiet omarchy-shell.service && omarchy-cmd-present quickshell; then
+  quickshell kill -p "$OMARCHY_PATH/default/quickshell/omarchy-shell" >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
+fi
+
+systemctl --user enable --now omarchy-shell.service || true