Part of CachyOS Wiki Notes. From the official CachyOS wiki (last updated 2026-08-24).

KDE Plasma on CachyOS

Short page — an X11 session note, an xorg-server note, and two FAQ items.

Missing X11 session

KDE split its development into multiple packages and the X11 session was removed from the default installation. Install it with:

sudo pacman -S plasma-x11-session kwin-x11

After installation, X11 appears as an option on the login screen.

Missing xorg-server (black screen at login)

Since the CachyOS 26.01 installer, xorg-server is no longer installed — and neither plasma-x11-session nor kwin-x11 pulls it in as a dependency. Not installing the Xorg server and its components manually results in a black screen during login.

sudo pacman -S xorg-server

FAQ

The “Emerald” look from the KDE screenshots — it is the Emerald Theme plus the Qogir Icon Theme, neither installed by default:

sudo pacman -S cachyos-emerald-kde-theme-git qogir-icon-theme

Apply both in Appearance & Style - Colors & Themes.

The login screen does not mirror the desktop — the page only points at a screenshot (kde-login-screen-settings.png); no textual steps are given.

Related: Switching Desktop Environments, CachyOS Desktop Environments.