Summary
CachyOS makes Wayland the default on the live ISO and installer, moving away from X11 as the default.
Installer uses Plasma Login Manager, skips Xorg deps for Wayland installs, and includes stable+LTS kernels.
New installer performs early architecture check to save downloads and makes Limine the default bootloader.
In just a few months, we’ve seen a few Linux dev teams go for a Wayland-first approach. Most of them are scrapping X11 altogether, such as the Budgie desktop environment and GNOME 50. And while there’s nothing stopping people from installing X11 manually, it does feel like the FOSS community is moving away from it as a default.
Now, CachyOS is the latest operating system to put Wayland first. While it doesn’t seem like the team is completely canning X11 just yet, the new ISO will put Wayland at the forefront of the setup process. Plus, there’s a shiny new installer, too.
Related
A chapter of Linux’s history comes to a close as Kubuntu drops X11 support for Wayland
X11 had a good run.
CachyOS begins its move to put Wayland first and foremost
But it doesn’t feel like it’s abandoning X11 entirely
Credit:Â CachyOS
As spotted by Linuxiac, CachyOS has started shifting over to Wayland as the main face for the operating system. There are big changes to both the live ISO (what you see when you boot the ISO off the USB drive) and the login screen:
Next, the ISO has been switched to Plasma Login Manager, and the Live ISO now uses Wayland instead of X11. The ISO now contains a Stable Kernel alongside an LTS Kernel to improve compatibility for newer devices and hardware.
For desktop environments, the Plasma installation now uses Plasma Login Manager instead of SDDM.
CachyOS will also not install Xorg dependencies if you opt for a Wayland distro, which should be a nice change for people who have no plans to use X11. However, it doesn’t seem like CachyOS is giving X11 the axe just yet, as no notes are saying that they’re stripping the Xorg-based options from the installer.
There’s also a brand new installer for everyone to check out. The CachyOS team says that the architecture check happens right at the start of the installation, which they claim can save up to a gigabyte in downloads. The bootloader selection has also been moved into the installer, and Limine is the default now.
If you want to read all the details, head over to the CachyOS January 2026 release notes and check them out. Or, if you want to give the new ISO a spin, head over to the download page.