CachyOS just swapped Octopi for Shelly in its April update

The Arch-based Linux distribution CachyOS has released its April 2026 update. The new version replaces Octopi with Shelly as the default graphical package manager. This is the third release of the year for the performance-focused operating system.

At its core, CatchyOS is an Arch Linux derivative built around aggressive performance optimizations. Instead of using generic packages that work on every computer from the last twenty years, the developers compile their software repositories specifically for modern CPU architectures. They also ship a heavily tuned custom CPU scheduler and kernel. I look at it as the distribution for people who want the bleeding-edge software of Arch, but want someone else to do the heavy lifting of squeezing out every last drop of hardware performance.

That performance focus makes it highly relevant for gaming. CachyOS maintains a dedicated Handheld Edition engineered specifically for portable x86 PCs. It officially supports the Steam Deck OLED and LCD, the Asus ROG Ally, and the Lenovo Legion Go. The handheld version comes with preinstalled gaming tools and a GameMode-like experience designed to mimic the console feel of SteamOS. For anyone trying to get slightly better framerates out of a demanding PC port on a battery-powered device, the optimized packages make a measurable difference.

A permanent baseline snapshot

The most visible change in the April 2026 release is the package manager swap. The installer now ships with Shelly instead of Octopi for graphical software management. Octopi has been a staple Qt frontend for Arch's pacman package manager for years. Shelly will now handle how users browse, install, and update their software out of the box.

Alongside the new package manager, the installation process now includes a fail-safe mechanism. Once the operating system finishes installing, it immediately creates a clean system snapshot. This snapshot is retained permanently. Arch-based distributions are rolling releases. Software updates constantly flow in. If a bad driver update or a broken package ever renders the system unbootable, users now have a guaranteed, pristine baseline restore point to fall back on.

The update also enables GRUB os-prober by default. This tool automatically detects Windows or other Linux distributions installed on the same machine and adds them to the boot menu. It is a small change that saves dual-boot users from having to manually configure their bootloader after a fresh install. Security and networking received updates as well. The OS now supports DNS-over-HTTPS and fingerprint-based sudo authentication.

The AMD secondary monitor bug

Hardware detection and installer cleanup make up the rest of the update. The developers changed the Plymouth boot theme specifically for systems with AMD GPUs. The amdgpu driver struggled to render the old theme reliably on laptops when a secondary monitor was attached. This often resulted in graphical glitches during startup.

Desktop environments also saw some pruning. The UKUI desktop environment is no longer an option in the installer. The developers also did a modernization pass on the GNOME package selection to clean up the default software stack and remove outdated dependencies.

Arch Linux has a reputation for requiring constant maintenance. By forcing a permanent baseline snapshot and automating dual-boot detection, CachyOS is building guardrails into an operating system that usually refuses to hold your hand.