· release

CachyOS April 2026 Release

Shelly Package Manager, DNS-over-HTTPS, Fingerprint sudo

Hello CachyOS Enthusiasts,

This is our third release of the year, bringing a new default GUI package manager, DNS-over-HTTPS support, fingerprint-based sudo, and a variety of installer and hardware detection improvements!

First, the installer now ships Shelly as the GUI package manager, replacing Octopi. A clean snapshot is now created immediately after the installation has finished and is retained permanently, providing users with a reliable baseline restore point. GRUB os-prober is now enabled by default to detect other operating systems on the same machine. The UKUI desktop has been dropped from the selection, and the GNOME package selection has been cleaned up and modernised. For AMD GPUs, a different Plymouth theme is now used, as the amdgpu driver was unable to render the previous theme reliably on laptops with a secondary monitor attached. Last but not least, a new option was introduced in the installer that sets up MangoWM with DMS shell.

CachyOS-Welcome supports DNS over HTTPS for better privacy. The redesigned DNS page lets you test connection speeds, auto-select the fastest server, or add custom ones. We also added a VRAM Management toggle to optimize graphics memory on AMD and Intel GPUs, full keyboard navigation, and sharper, dark-mode-friendly icons.

chwd automatically configures fingerprint readers for sudo prompts, detects specific Intel CPUs for better power saving, and correctly handle laptop edge cases. Firmware update fixes for the Legion Go.

In cachyos-settings, the default NVMe I/O scheduler was switched from none to kyber for better overall responsiveness under mixed workloads.

On the fixes side, the installer now prints the chosen partition method to the debug log, and old microcode packages are properly removed when reusing an existing boot partition. In chwd, the kernel search in the NVIDIA profiles is now more accurate, the forced Xorg session was removed from the 470xx profiles, and handheld product name matching was improved. In cachyos-settings, S01x power management was dropped due to issues with the NVIDIA 595 driver, and AggressiveVblank was disabled due to VR-related issues with the NVIDIA driver.

Features:

  • Installer:
    • Shelly now replaced Octopi as the GUI package manager
    • A clean snapshot is now created immediately after installation and retained permanently, providing a baseline restore point
    • GRUB os-prober is now enabled by default
    • Added MangoWM as Desktop Option with dotfiles
    • Dropped the UKUI desktop
    • AMD GPUs now use a different Plymouth theme, as the amdgpu driver is unable to render the previous theme reliably on laptops with a secondary monitor attached
    • Cleaned up and modernised the GNOME package selection
    • Added option to install MangoWM with DMS shell
  • CachyOS-Welcome:
    • Added DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH) support via blocky
    • Added custom DNS server support and DHCP automatic indicator/reset
    • DNS servers now display metadata (region, homepage, filtering) and support individual latency testing
    • Added VRAM management toggle dmemcg-booster (additionally installs plasma-foreground-booster on KDE)
    • Added full keyboard navigation support for accessibility
    • Replaced PNG social icons with crisp, HiDPI-aware SVGs
    • Added wezterm to the terminal helper
  • chwd:
    • Added native USB device detection (via libusb/sysfs) and chassis type detection
    • Added support for fingerprint (fprint) sudo integration
    • Added CPU family/model detection to support intel-lpmd
    • Handhelds: Added exact patterns for Xbox ROG Ally
    • Network: Added Marvell AVASTAR 88W8897 Wi-Fi profile (Surface Pro 4)
    • Split NVIDIA profiles for laptops and desktop environments
    • Split and updated profiles for Virtual Machines
  • cachyos-settings: Switched the default NVMe I/O scheduler from none to kyber

Fixes:

  • Installer:
    • The partition method is now printed to the debug log
    • Old microcode packages are now removed when reusing an existing boot partition
  • CachyOS-Welcome:
    • Fixed connectivity checks incorrectly returning true when ping fails
    • Ensured external link icons are visible in dark themes
    • Prevented multiple instances of the welcome app from launching simultaneously
    • Added StartupWMClass for improved .desktop window matching
  • chwd:
    • Removed the kms hook from mkinitcpio.conf on non-portable desktops to fix NVIDIA driver conflicts
    • Made the installed kernel search in NVIDIA profiles more accurate
    • Removed forced Xorg session from the NVIDIA 470xx profiles (fixes compatibility with plasma-login-manager)
    • Removed outdated WaylandEnable=false for GDM in Virtual Machine profiles
    • Fixed false-positive handheld detections (e.g., specific MSI laptops being mistaken for the MSI Claw)
  • cachyos-settings:
    • Dropped S01x power management due to issues with the NVIDIA 595 driver
    • Disabled AggressiveVblank due to VR-related issues with the NVIDIA driver

Manual changes for existing users: No manual changes needed. Just the usual updating:

sudo pacman -Syu

Download:

Desktop Edition:

Grab your copy of the latest ISO from our mirrors on SourceForge:

Handheld Edition:

Support Us:

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Thank you for your continued support!

The CachyOS Team

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