• Home Page, Headlines
 • DW Weekly, Comments
 • Packages, Package Management
 • Glossary, FAQ, Mobile Site
 • Search, Sitemap
 • Major Distributions
 • Submit Distribution
 • Upcoming Releases
 • About DistroWatch
 • Beginner's Guide
 • Torrents, Page Hit Ranking
 • Advertise

CachyOS RSS Feed DistroWatch.com: CachyOS

CachyOS


Last Update: 2026-06-28 15:42 UTC


CachyOS is a Linux distribution based on Arch Linux. It focuses on speed and security optimisations - the default Linux kernel is heavily optimised using the BORE (Burst-Oriented Response Enhancer) scheduler, while the desktop packages are compiled with LTO, x86-64-v3 and x86-64-v4, Zen 4 optimization, security flags and performance improvements. The available desktop environments, window managers and Wayland compositors include bspwm, Budgie, Cinnamon, COSMIC, GNOME, Hyprland, i3, KDE Plasma, LXDE, LXQt, MATE, Niri, Openbox, Qtile, Sway, UKUI, Wayfire and Xfce. CachyOS also ships with both graphical and command-line system installers.

Popularity (hits per day): 12 months: 1 (3,943), 6 months: 1 (3,304), 3 months: 1 (2,861), 4 weeks: 1 (2,342), 1 week: 1 (2,467)

Average visitor rating: 8.1/10 from 488 review(s).


CachyOS Summary
Distribution CachyOS
Home Page https://cachyos.org/
Mailing Lists --
User Forums https://discuss.cachyos.org/
Alternative User Forums DiscordMastodon
Documentation https://wiki.cachyos.org/
Screenshots https://wiki.cachyos.org/installation/desktop_environments/DistroWatch Gallery
Screencasts
Download Mirrors https://cachyos.org/download
Bug Tracker https://github.com/CachyOS/distribution/issues
Related Websites GitHub
Reviews 26x: Ordinatechnicalternativalinux (Italian)
25x: FOSS ForceDistroWatch
22x: DistroWatch
Where To Donate, Buy or Try Patreon

Recent Related News and Releases
  Releases announcements with download links and checksums:
 • 2026-04-26: Distribution Release: CachyOS 260426
 • 2026-03-08: Distribution Release: CachyOS 260308
 • 2026-01-24: Distribution Release: CachyOS 260124
 • 2025-11-30: Distribution Release: CachyOS 251129
 • 2025-08-24: Distribution Release: CachyOS 250824
 • 2025-07-13: Distribution Release: CachyOS 250713
 • 2025-03-30: Distribution Release: CachyOS 250330
 • 2024-12-22: Distribution Release: CachyOS 241221
 • 2024-11-11: Distribution Release: CachyOS 241110
 • 2024-03-14: Distribution Release: CachyOS 240313
 • More CachyOS releases...

  Headlines:
 • 2025-12-28 CachyOS team plans server edition
 • 2025-08-24 CachyOS offers web-based package browsing
 • 2025-04-24 CachyOS ships with stress testing tool
 • More CachyOS headlines...

Table Notes and Explanations

(Please refer to the table below.)
  • Select view:
  • To compare the software in this project to the software available in other distributions, please see our Compare Packages page.
  • Notes: In case where multiple versions of a package are shipped with a distribution, only the default version appears in the table. For indication about the GNOME version, please check the "nautilus" and "gnome-shell" packages. The Apache web server is listed as "httpd" and the Linux kernel is listed as "linux". The KDE desktop is represented by the "plasma-desktop" package and the Xfce desktop by the "xfdesktop" package.
  • Colour scheme: green text = latest stable version, red text = development or beta version. The function determining beta versions is not 100% reliable due to a wide variety of versioning schemes.
TUXEDO
TUXEDO Computers

TUXEDO Computers - Linux Hardware in a tailor made suite
Choose from a wide range of laptops and PCs in various sizes and shapes at TUXEDOComputers.com. Every machine comes pre-installed and ready-to-run with Linux. Full 24 months of warranty and lifetime support included!

Learn more about our full service package and all benefits from buying at TUXEDO.

NovaCustom
NovaCustom PrivacyGuard Laptop

NovaCustom PrivacyGuard Laptops - Escape from Big Tech

The NovaCustom PrivacyGuard Laptop is ideal for anyone who prioritizes privacy. Comes with Dasharo coreboot open source firmware and Zorin OS Pro, free from influence of Big Tech.

Star Labs

Star Labs Systems | Laptops designed for Linux

Star Labs - Laptops built for Linux.
View our range including the highly anticipated StarFighter. Available with coreboot open-source firmware and a choice of Ubuntu, elementary, Manjaro and more. Visit Star Labs for information, to buy and get support.



Feature 260628 251129 241221 231210 221230
Release Date 2026-06-28 2025-11-29 2024-12-21 2023-12-10 2022-12-30
End Of Life          
Price (US$) Free Free Free Free Free
Image Size (MB) 3000-3100 2900-3000 2600-2700 2300-2500 2200-2300
Free Download ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO
Installation Calamares Calamares Calamares Calamares Calamares
Default Desktop KDE Plasma KDE Plasma KDE Plasma GNOME, KDE Plasma GNOME, KDE Plasma
Default Browser Firefox Firefox Firefox Firefox Firefox
Package Format pkg pkg pkg pkg pkg
Package Management pacman pacman pacman pacman pacman
Release Model Rolling Rolling Rolling Rolling Rolling
Office Suite -- -- -- -- --
Processor Architecture x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64
Init Software systemd systemd systemd systemd systemd
Journaled File Systems Btrfs, ext4, JFS, XFS Btrfs, ext4, JFS, XFS Btrfs, ext4, JFS, ReiserFS, XFS Btrfs, ext4, JFS, ReiserFS, XFS Btrfs, ext4, JFS, ReiserFS, XFS
Multilingual Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Full Package List 260628 251129 241221 231210 221230
Package 260628 251129 241221 231210 221230
alsa-lib (1.2.16.1) 1.2.16.1 1.2.14 1.2.13 1.2.10 1.2.8
amdgpu (25.0.0) -- 25.0.0 23.0.0 -- 19.1.0
apparmor (5.0.2) -- -- -- -- --
apt (3.3.1) -- -- -- -- --
bash (5.3) 5.3 5.3 5.2 5.2 5.1
bind (9.20.24) 9.20.24 9.20.16 9.20.4 9.18.20 9.18.10
chromium (150.0.7871.114) -- -- -- -- --
cinnamon (6.6.8) -- -- -- -- --
cups (2.4.19) -- -- -- -- --
e2fsprogs (1.47.4) 1.47.4 1.47.3 1.47.1 1.47.0 1.46.5
ffmpeg (8.1.2) 8.1.2 8.0.1 7.1 6.1 5.1.2
firefox (152.0.6) 152.0.3 145.0.2 -- -- 108.0.1
flatpak (1.18.0) -- -- -- -- --
freetype (2.14.3) 2.14.3 2.13.3 2.13.3 2.13.2 2.12.1
gcc (16.1.0) 16.1.1 -- -- 13.2.1 12.2.0
gimp (3.2.4) -- -- -- -- --
git (2.55.0) 2.54.0 2.52.0 2.47.1 2.43.0 2.39.0
glibc (2.43) 2.43 2.42 2.40 2.38 2.36
gnome-shell (50.3) -- -- -- 45.2 43.2
grub (2.14) 2.14 2.12 2.12 2.12rc1 2.06
gtk (4.22.4) 3.24.52 3.24.51 3.24.43 4.12.4 4.8.3
httpd (2.4.68) -- -- -- -- --
hyprland (0.55.4) -- -- -- -- --
inkscape (1.4.4) -- -- -- -- --
kmod (34.2) 34.2 34.2 33 31 30
krita (6.0.2.1) -- -- -- -- --
Package 260628 251129 241221 231210 221230
LibreOffice (26.2.4) -- -- -- -- --
libselinux (3.11) -- -- -- -- --
linux (7.1.3) 7.0.11 6.12.58 6.12.6 6.6.5 6.1.1
mariadb (12.3.2) -- -- -- -- --
mate-desktop (1.28.2) -- -- -- -- --
mesa (26.1.4) 26.1.2 25.2.6 24.3.1 23.3.0 22.3.1
nautilus (50.2.2) -- -- -- 45.2.1 43.1
NVIDIA (610.43.03) -- -- -- 545.29.06 525.60.11
openjdk (26.0.1) -- -- -- -- --
openssh (10.4p1) 10.3p1 10.2p1 9.9p1 9.5p1 9.1p1
openssl (4.0.1) 3.6.3 3.6.0 3.4.0 3.1.4 3.0.7
perl (5.42.2) 5.42.2 5.42.0 5.40.0 5.38.1 5.36.0
php (8.5.8) -- -- -- -- --
plasma-desktop (6.7.2) 6.7.1 6.5.3 6.2.4 5.27.10 5.26.4
postfix (3.11.5) -- -- -- -- --
postgresql (18.4) -- -- -- -- --
Python (3.14.6) 3.14.6 3.13.7 3.12.7 3.11.5 3.10.9
qt (6.11.1) 6.11.1 6.10.1 6.8.1 5.15.11 5.15.7
samba (4.24.4) 4.24.3 4.23.3 4.21.2 4.19.3 4.17.4
systemd (261.1) 261.1 258.2 257 255 252.4
thunderbird (152.0.1) -- -- -- -- --
vim (9.2) 9.2 9.1 9.1 9.0 9.0
vlc (3.0.23) -- -- 3.0.21 -- --
wayland (1.25.0) 1.25.0 1.24.0 1.23.1 1.22.0 1.21.0
xfdesktop (4.20.2) -- -- -- -- --
xorg-server (21.1.24) 21.1.23 21.1.21 21.1.15 21.1.9 21.1.6

Reader Ratings
Reader supplied reviews for CachyOS

Average rating
8.1
from 488 review(s)



What are your thoughts on CachyOS?
Please include a few pros and a few cons, along with your overall impression of the operating system.
Our FAQ page has tips on writing a good mini-review.

Version:

Rating:    out of 10

Your review (minimum 250 words):




Past reviews - sort by:

Version: 260628
Rating: 9
Date: 2026-07-07
Country: Canada
Votes: 0


For me on a laptop CachyOS performance gains are extremely notable due to the power savings. On Ubuntu when I would do nothing but play a video id be using 13W after installing and configuring performance modules however on cachyos out of the box doing the same thing id only be using 8W which is a massive difference for battery life on a laptop and actually allows me to use Linux instead of windows for days where I need to leave home.

Not the mention how great KDE plasma has been. Feels just like a better version of windows honestly people recommend mint because it just works and looks like windows but in my experience cachy has just givin a better experience with better performance,

Issues: Ive only had one issue that took more than 5 mins to figure out and its regarding the brightness of my oled screen. On the lastest kernel the brightness just doesn't change. Like you can change its percent but the screen doesn't change and stays maxed out. I found 2 solutions. Changing to hdr mode and just sticking with it or switching to the LTS kernel which just works as well. However its a little annoying that it doesn't work Ive had many more problems on other distros and the performance and battery life gains are well worth it.


Was this review helpful? Yes No
Version: 260628
Rating: 10
Date: 2026-07-07
Country: Germany
Votes: 0


Everything runs extremely smooth, I have not had any issues and all applications immediately worked out-of-the-box for me. I am currently running Cachy on three systems (8 years old laptop, 5 years old desktop PC and a 2-3 years old gaming laptop).

I have used all major OS's over the years. Starting with Windows 95, macOS (some of the leopards) between 2010-2016 and Linux during my time at the university, between 2003-2009 and also between 2014-2016. Now, after my experiences with Windows 11, I have exclusively switched to Cachy for, not only its gaming potential, but also the broad supply of packages of all sorts.

I am glad to have a lot of viable choice between different working combinations of desktop environment to pick from but also a very accessible variant with the recommended start. My setup on those machines simply feel like home, especially compared to the ones I used the last 10 years.


Was this review helpful? Yes No
Version: 260628
Rating: 9
Date: 2026-06-30
Country: Indonesia
Votes: 0


I can't deny that, even though I've only been dual-booting Windows 11 and Zorin 18 for about a month to get used to Linux for a full migration, there's something odd about how CachyOS (though people say it's complicated because of Arch) can do things Zorin can't.

For example, I have a dual-slot HDD dock, and in Windows 11 and ZorinOS 18, only one works, not both. I thought my HDD dock was broken, considering it's old and I've had it since the Windows 7 era. But miraculously, in Cachy, both work perfectly, and I can copy and paste between the HDDs in the dock without any problems. And who would have thought that screen brightness could be controlled via keyboard buttons in CachyOS, even though this is a home PC, not a laptop? ZorinOS tempted me to use Linux, but Cachy does it even better. The BORE kernel makes my old PC feel powerful again, everything is responsive, and so far, it's stable.

Yes, I'm a bit unfamiliar with KDE Plasma, but that's just a matter of getting used to. It's been 3 months now since I've been using Linux as my daily driver, and so far it's been fun and the vibe is positive for users who are moving away from Windows 11.


Was this review helpful? Yes No

See all 488 reader reviews of CachyOS...



Copyright © 2001 - 2026 Atea Ataroa Limited. All rights reserved. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Privacy policy. Change privacy settings.

Contact, corrections and suggestions: Jesse Smith

Tips: bc1qxes3k2wq3uqzr074tkwwjmwfe63z70gwzfu4lx
lnurl1dp68gurn8ghj7ampd3kx2ar0veekzar0wd5xjtnrdakj7tnhv4kxctttdehhwm30d3h82unvwqhhxarpw3jkc7tzw4ex6cfexyfua2nr
86fA3qPTeQtNb2k1vLwEQaAp3XxkvvvXt69gSG5LGunXXikK9koPWZaRQgfFPBPWhMgXjPjccy9LA9xRFchPWQAnPvxh5Le
PayPal.me/distrowPatreon.com/distrowatch