🚀 CachyOS June 2026 Release

Hello CachyOS Enthusiasts! We are thrilled to announce our fourth major update of the year. This release introduces the stunning Hyprland Noctalia desktop, integrates DNS-over-QUIC, boosts performance via GCC and Python optimizations, and delivers a host of critical fixes for hardware detection and the installer.

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⚡ Performance & Package Enhancements

The core package stack has been refined to squeeze more power out of your hardware.

Compiler & Runtime Optimizations

• Python: Now implements extended PGO (Profile Guided Optimization), resulting in a measurable increase in performance for Python-based workloads.
• GCC: We've integrated a specific patch for generic x86 branch misprediction tuning. This allows GCC to more accurately calculate the cost of branch mispredictions on modern AMD and Intel architectures.
  • Technical Note: The optimization aims to reduce the penalty $\Delta P$ where $\Delta P = \text{misprediction cost} \times \text{frequency}$.
• OpenBLAS: Resolved a regression that impacted performance on CPUs with high core counts, as previously noted in Phoronix Benchmarks.

System Tooling

• pacman: Enhanced security via network isolation for hooks and scriptlets; these will no longer access the internet by default.
• Proton: The package proton-cachyos has been rebranded to proton-cachyos-native.

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🖥️ Desktop & Installer Evolution

We are expanding the visual and functional options available during the initial setup.

New Visuals & Tools

Installer Improvements

The installation process is now more robust:

• Audio: The audio package group now bundles realtime-privileges.
• Live Environment: Enhanced detection for keyboard variants and layouts.
• Cleanup:
  • Removed the redundant Limine post-install phase.
  • Calamares cleanup now triggers after all installation scripts finish.
  • Automatic removal of /etc/calamares directories.
• Configuration: Fixed issues with locale1 and keyboard layout ordering, and ensured the correct pacman config is migrated to the target system.

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🛠️ CachyOS-Welcome & chwd

The Welcome App

The CachyOS-Welcome utility has grown significantly:

• Networking: Now supports DNS over QUIC (DoQ) via blocky, allowing for custom endpoints.
• Support: A new dedicated Troubleshooting page is available.
• Terminal: Added support for the Ptyxis terminal.
• Localization:
  • New: Azerbaijani and Greek.
  • Updated: Italian, German, French, Japanese, and Bulgarian.
  • French: Added specific "Involvement" and "Readme" pages.

chwd (CachyOS Hardware Detection)

• Multi-GPU Logic: Now resolves conflicts on systems with incompatible driver branches (e.g., mixing different NVIDIA generations) by selecting the best common driver or defaulting to the primary GPU.
• Virtualization: Added 32-bit Vulkan drivers for VMs and corrected VM vendor IDs.
• Misc: Added Turkish localization, fixed the Mesa removal guard, and disabled unnecessary fprintd activation.
• Handhelds: cachyos-handheld has been removed from the handheld package lists.

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⚙️ System Settings & Bug Fixes

cachyos-settings

To eliminate the frustrating 90-second hang during power-off, we have implemented strict timeouts for user services:

• Startup Timeout: 15 seconds
• Shutdown Timeout: 10 seconds

General Fixes

• CachyOS-Welcome:
  • The "Install Apps" button is now hidden if cachyos-pi is missing, preventing a crash.
  • Fixed a crash occurring when saved settings were unreadable; the system now gracefully resets to defaults.
  • Corrected global-service disabling via polkit and tweak detection (e.g., graphical-session.target.wants).

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🔄 Update & Installation

Manual Changes

• No manual intervention required for existing users.

To update your system, simply run the standard command:

sudo pacman -Syu

📥 Download Links

Desktop Edition (ISO):

• SourceForge: [Mirror Link]
• CDN 1: https://iso.cachyos.org/desktop/260628/cachyos-desktop-linux-260628.iso
• CDN 2: https://cdn77.cachyos.org/ISO/desktop/260628/cachyos-desktop-linux-260628.iso
• Germany: https://mirror.cachyos.org/ISO/desktop/260628/ca