diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 9737fa8..a304d63 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ It runs these steps, in this order, and every one of them is idempotent:
 | 1. Directories | creates the 19 directories the shell and scripts expect, before anything writes into them |
 | 2. `BLOB_PATH` | symlinks `~/.local/share/blob` to this checkout |
 | 3. Packages | installs what is missing from `packages/`, bootstrapping `yay` first on a machine that has no AUR helper |
-| 4. Config | copies `hypr/`, the themed app configs, `blob/shell.json`, and the uwsm environment into `~/.config`, and writes `/etc/profile.d/blob.sh` so a login shell finds the `blob` command |
+| 4. Config | copies `hypr/`, the themed app configs, `blob/shell.json`, and the uwsm environment into `~/.config`, sets the default apps for images, video, PDFs and office files, and writes `/etc/profile.d/blob.sh` so a login shell finds the `blob` command |
 | 5. First theme | links `~/wallpapers` to the checkout, applies `flats` headless, picks a background, and links the btop and Neovim theme files, so the first login is not a blank desktop |
 | 6. User units | installs the session services into `~/.config/systemd/user` and enables them |
 | 7. systemd drop-ins | writes the shutdown timeouts, oomd thresholds, plocate prune paths, and sleep hooks under `/etc` |
diff --git a/docs/install.md b/docs/install.md
index a062953..d16e041 100644
--- a/docs/install.md
+++ b/docs/install.md
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ with `--check`.
 | `install/steps/services.sh` | system services, systemd drop-ins, user units |
 | `install/steps/boot.sh` | the Plymouth boot splash, GRUB, and other-OS detection |
 | `install/steps/theme.sh` | the wallpaper link, the first theme, the first background |
+| `install/steps/apps.sh` | default applications for images, video, PDFs and office files |
 | `install/steps/login.sh` | SDDM, the session entry, and the first launch |
 | `install/steps/reload.sh` | reloading systemd, the user services, and a running session |
 
@@ -45,6 +46,10 @@ with `--check`.
    panels come up full of blanks. `fonts.conf` binds `monospace` to
    `JetBrainsMono Nerd Font`; `blob font set` rewrites the same file, and the
    installer then reports it as a local change and keeps your choice.
+   Default applications are set in `~/.config/mimeapps.list`: `imv` for
+   images, `mpv` for video and audio, `evince` for PDFs, and LibreOffice for
+   documents, spreadsheets and presentations. A file type that already has a
+   default there is left alone. See [packages.md](packages.md#desktop-applications).
    `~/.bashrc` gets one line sourcing `session/bashrc`. The line is added once,
    a `.bak` is kept, and a `~/.bashrc` that already has it is left alone.
    `session/profile.sh` also goes to `/etc/profile.d/blob.sh`, which sources
diff --git a/docs/packages.md b/docs/packages.md
index 8456c4a..7a2cb9a 100644
--- a/docs/packages.md
+++ b/docs/packages.md
@@ -136,6 +136,23 @@ Omarchy's own package list, because they were installed by hand on this machine:
 
 `playerctl` is in official `extra`, so it sits in the repo list.
 
+## Desktop applications
+
+The everyday apps come from the official repositories with everything else:
+
+| Package | Opens |
+| --- | --- |
+| `imv` | images |
+| `mpv` | video and audio |
+| `evince` | PDFs |
+| `libreoffice-fresh` | documents, spreadsheets and presentations (Writer, Calc, Impress) |
+| `kdenlive` | video editing |
+
+`install.sh` makes them the default for their file types through `xdg-mime`,
+which writes `~/.config/mimeapps.list`. A type that already has a default in
+that file is left alone, so a choice you made yourself always wins, and an app
+that is not installed is skipped.
+
 ## The boot splash
 
 `install.sh` sets the splash to `branding/blob_boot.png`. To change it later:
diff --git a/install.sh b/install.sh
index f86e283..d360d47 100755
--- a/install.sh
+++ b/install.sh
@@ -51,6 +51,7 @@ source "$repo_dir/install/steps/config.sh"
 source "$repo_dir/install/steps/services.sh"
 source "$repo_dir/install/steps/boot.sh"
 source "$repo_dir/install/steps/theme.sh"
+source "$repo_dir/install/steps/apps.sh"
 source "$repo_dir/install/steps/login.sh"
 source "$repo_dir/install/steps/reload.sh"
 
@@ -73,6 +74,7 @@ install_bash_integration
 install_user_units
 install_systemd_dropins
 install_zen_config
+install_default_apps
 
 link_wallpapers
 install_default_theme
diff --git a/install/steps/apps.sh b/install/steps/apps.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a0e31be
--- /dev/null
+++ b/install/steps/apps.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+mimeapps_file="$config_dir/mimeapps.list"
+
+default_app_associations=(
+  "imv.desktop:image/png image/jpeg image/gif image/webp image/bmp image/tiff image/avif image/heif image/svg+xml"
+  "mpv.desktop:video/mp4 video/x-matroska video/webm video/quicktime video/x-msvideo video/mpeg video/ogg audio/mpeg audio/flac audio/ogg audio/x-wav audio/mp4"
+  "org.gnome.Evince.desktop:application/pdf"
+  "libreoffice-writer.desktop:application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.text application/msword application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document application/rtf"
+  "libreoffice-calc.desktop:application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.spreadsheet application/vnd.ms-excel application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet text/csv"
+  "libreoffice-impress.desktop:application/vnd.oasis.opendocument.presentation application/vnd.ms-powerpoint application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.presentationml.presentation"
+)
+
+mime_default_chosen() {
+  [[ -f $mimeapps_file ]] || return 1
+  awk -v mime="$1" '
+    /^\[/ { in_defaults = ($0 == "[Default Applications]"); next }
+    in_defaults && index($0, mime "=") == 1 { found = 1 }
+    END { exit found ? 0 : 1 }
+  ' "$mimeapps_file"
+}
+
+install_default_apps() {
+  if ! command -v xdg-mime &>/dev/null; then
+    say "SKIP  default applications (xdg-utils not installed)"
+    return 0
+  fi
+
+  local pending=() entry desktop_file mime_types mime_type
+  for entry in "${default_app_associations[@]}"; do
+    desktop_file="${entry%%:*}"
+    mime_types="${entry#*:}"
+    [[ -f /usr/share/applications/$desktop_file ]] || continue
+    for mime_type in $mime_types; do
+      mime_default_chosen "$mime_type" && continue
+      pending+=("$desktop_file:$mime_type")
+    done
+  done
+
+  if (( ${#pending[@]} == 0 )); then
+    say "ok    default applications"
+    return 0
+  fi
+
+  note_change
+  if [[ $check == true ]]; then
+    say "would set ${#pending[@]} default application association(s)"
+    return 0
+  fi
+
+  for entry in "${pending[@]}"; do
+    xdg-mime default "${entry%%:*}" "${entry#*:}"
+  done
+  say "set   ${#pending[@]} default application association(s)"
+}
diff --git a/packages/blob.packages b/packages/blob.packages
index 7e944fb..14d2008 100644
--- a/packages/blob.packages
+++ b/packages/blob.packages
@@ -126,12 +126,19 @@ tesseract-data-eng
 qrencode
 zbar
 
-# Media
+# Media: video and audio player, image viewer, PDF viewer
 mpv
 mpv-mpris
 imv
 evince
 
+# Office and video editing
+libreoffice-fresh
+kdenlive
+
+# Default application associations, set by install/steps/apps.sh
+xdg-utils
+
 # Files
 nautilus
 nautilus-python