Part of CachyOS Wiki Notes. From the official CachyOS wiki (last updated 2026-01-27).

Why CachyOS

A performance-centric Arch Linux distribution: rolling release with a custom toolchain.

Optimized packages and repositories

A large selection of packages recompiled for modern CPU architectures: x86-64-v3, x86-64-v4, and Zen4+ — see Optimized Repositories and x86-64 Levels.
Package browser: https://packages.cachyos.org/.

The CachyOS base kernel patch set tunes kernel parameters to improve desktop responsiveness.
Cherry-picks patch sets that are not mainlined or not in the kernel stable revision; these get internal testing before release so stability is not impacted. See CachyOS Kernels.

EEVDF (the default Linux scheduler): the CachyOS kernel carries custom EEVDF tunables to improve desktop responsiveness (throughput-oriented by default).
BORE (Burst-Oriented Response Enhancer, github.com/firelzrd/bore-scheduler): enhances EEVDF for a more fluid experience under heavy workloads — for maximum interactivity. Ships in the linux-cachyos-bore variant. See sched-ext Schedulers.

Custom hardware detection automatically identifies and installs the necessary drivers and packages, removing manual driver hunting after install.
The installer lets you choose desktop environment, packages, filesystem, boot manager, kernel and more. Custom-package list source: github.com/CachyOS/cachyos-calamares/blob/cachyos-limine-qt6/src/modules/netinstall/netinstall.yaml.

CachyOS Hello (github.com/CachyOS/CachyOS-Welcome) — welcome app for tweaks, fixes, and package installs.
CachyOS Package Installer (github.com/CachyOS/packageinstaller) — GUI for installing applications.
CachyOS Kernel Manager (github.com/CachyOS/kernel-manager) — install repo kernels, configure your own, manage the sched-ext framework.
cachyos-rate-mirrors (github.com/CachyOS/rate-mirrors) — ranks Arch and CachyOS mirrors for optimal pacman download speed.
systemd-boot-manager (github.com/CachyOS/systemd-boot-manager) — auto-generates new systemd-boot entries; configured via /etc/sdboot-manage.conf.

Discord discord.gg/cachyos-862292009423470592 and forum discuss.cachyos.org.