CachyOS remains as one of the most popular Linux distributions for gaming, and a fresh download has arrived with the CachyOS April 2026 release. If you already have CachyOS installed, just run updates as you normally would. It's a rolling release, so now and then they put up a fresh download with lots of improvements like this.
There's a little something for everyone in this release including a fancy new GUI package manager, DNS-over-HTTPS support for the CachyOS-Welcome app, fixes for AMD GPUs, security improvements for fingerprint readers, installer improvements, a better default NVMe I/O scheduler for a more responsive system and lots more smaller changes. An exciting one to mention alone is also the addition of a special VRAM Management toggle to optimize graphics memory on AMD and Intel GPUs using dmemcg-booster and plasma-foreground-booster (more info on that in a previous GamingOnLinux article).
You also get Linux kernel 7.0 for plenty of new hardware support, performance upgrades and bug fixes. Along with the latest open source graphics drivers Mesa 26.0.5.
Main changelog, click me
- 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-proberis 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
MangoWMwithDMSshell
- 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 installsplasma-foreground-boosteron KDE) - Added full keyboard navigation support for accessibility
- Replaced PNG social icons with crisp, HiDPI-aware SVGs
- Added
weztermto the terminal helper
- Added DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH) support via
- 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
nonetokyber
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
StartupWMClassfor improved.desktopwindow matching
- chwd:
- Removed the
kmshook frommkinitcpio.confon 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=falsefor GDM in Virtual Machine profiles - Fixed false-positive handheld detections (e.g., specific MSI laptops being mistaken for the MSI Claw)
- Removed the
- cachyos-settings:
- Dropped
S01xpower management due to issues with the NVIDIA 595 driver - Disabled
AggressiveVblankdue to VR-related issues with the NVIDIA driver
- Dropped
Source: CachyOS
I think whenever I next decide to do a distro-hop, I'm going to actually jump over to CachyOS and give it a proper thorough spin to see what I really think of it.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
About the author - Liam Dawe
I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly checked on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly. You can follow me personally on Mastodon [External Link].
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4 comments
CachyOS is my favorite distro right now. They do more than the average fork, providing v3, v4, and zen4 optimized packages while also providing a better default user experience. I still wouldn't recommend it as much for someone who just wants a machine to work, as you will need to understand some Linux things for maintenance and configuration.
1 Likes
I'm really enjoying my time on CachyOS. It's like Arch without the stress - the grub-based integrated snapshots which run every time you run a pacman command takes a lot of the stress out of running with Arch.
They do a couple of things I don't like, like using Fish shell by default, but that's easily undone.
I'd also prefer that they install ChaoticAUR by default, like Garuda do, but again, that's easily installed from git.
It's probably the least I've ever had to tinker with a distro post-install.
I'd still love it if they had some kind of Discover integration (which appears unlikely), or incorporated paman, for a GUI-based package control. Octopi is somehow more obtuse than Synaptic, which is impressive. [Edit, and I somehow totally skipped over the headline about Shelly!! DOH!]
But hey ho. That's just quibbling at this point. Everything else is just so slick.
Last edited by scaine on 27 Apr 2026 at 4:14 pm UTC
They do a couple of things I don't like, like using Fish shell by default, but that's easily undone.
I'd also prefer that they install ChaoticAUR by default, like Garuda do, but again, that's easily installed from git.
It's probably the least I've ever had to tinker with a distro post-install.
I'd still love it if they had some kind of Discover integration (which appears unlikely), or incorporated paman, for a GUI-based package control. Octopi is somehow more obtuse than Synaptic, which is impressive. [Edit, and I somehow totally skipped over the headline about Shelly!! DOH!]
But hey ho. That's just quibbling at this point. Everything else is just so slick.
Last edited by scaine on 27 Apr 2026 at 4:14 pm UTC
0 Likes
This is so awesome! I use and love cachy, and pretty much my ONLY complaint was that octopi was like learning dark sorcery to use, but now look at this update! It's like they listen to their users! wohoo!
here I go off to update!
here I go off to update!
0 Likes
Caldathras about a minute ago
I think whenever I next decide to do a distro-hop, I'm going to actually jump over to CachyOS and give it a proper thorough spin to see what I really think of it.I've been giving that some serious consideration myself. The last time I ventured into Arch territory was Manjaro.
The only thing that puts me off is the rolling release nature of the distro, since I operate on legacy hardware. I guess I've also become used to the stability of the point release approach offered by Linux Mint.
Last edited by Caldathras on 27 Apr 2026 at 5:02 pm UTC
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