• Home Page, Headlines
 • DW Weekly, Comments
 • Packages, Package Management
 • Glossary, FAQ, Mobile Site
 • Search, Sitemap
 • Major Distributions
 • Submit Distribution
 • Upcoming Releases
 • About DistroWatch
 • Beginner's Guide
 • Torrents, Page Hit Ranking
 • Advertise

Arch Linux RSS Feed DistroWatch.com: Arch Linux

Arch Linux


Last Update: 2026-03-25 02:20 UTC


Arch Linux is an independently developed, x86_64-optimised Linux distribution targeted at competent Linux users. It uses 'pacman', its home-grown package manager, to provide updates to the latest software applications with full dependency tracking. Operating on a rolling release system, Arch can be installed from a CD image or via an FTP server. The default install provides a solid base that enables users to create a custom installation. In addition, the Arch Build System (ABS) provides a way to easily build new packages, modify the configuration of stock packages, and share these packages with other users via the Arch Linux user repository.

Popularity (hits per day): 12 months: 21 (492), 6 months: 15 (700), 3 months: 15 (688), 4 weeks: 10 (975), 1 week: 9 (1,173)

Average visitor rating: 9.2/10 from 294 review(s).


Arch Linux Summary
Distribution Arch Linux
Home Page http://www.archlinux.org/
Mailing Lists https://lists.archlinux.org/listinfo/
User Forums http://bbs.archlinux.org/
Alternative User Forums
Documentation http://wiki.archlinux.org/
Screenshots DistroWatch Gallery
Screencasts
Download Mirrors http://www.archlinux.org/download/DistroWatch Torrent Archive
Bug Tracker http://bugs.archlinux.org/
Related Websites Planet ArchArch Linux ARMWikipediaArch BrazilArch ChileArch DenmarkArch FranceArch GermanyArch HungaryArch ItalyArch RussiaArch SpainArch Turkey
Reviews 2024: MichlFranken (German)
2023: DistroWatch
2019: Ordinatechnic
2016: Keith Curtis
2015: DistroWatchKeith CurtisLWN
2011: Guillermo Garron
2010: LWN
2009: It's A Binary WorldDistroWatchAdventures in Open SourcePolishlinux
2008: Guia do PC (Portuguese) • DistroWatchOStaticBlogspotWordpress
2007: Blogspot
0.8: PolishlinuxPro-Linux (German) • Skatox (Spanish) • Tuxmachines
0.7: USALUGWordpressOSNewsLinMagazine (Hebrew) • Linux Magazine (PDF) • LinuxUser (German) • ABC Linuxu (Czech) • OSNewsLWNOSNews
0.5: OSNewsOSNews
0.3: OSNews
Where To Donate, Buy or Try

Recent Related News and Releases
  Releases announcements with download links and checksums:
 • 2012-11-02: Distribution Release: Arch Linux 2012.11.01
 • 2012-10-07: Distribution Release: Arch Linux 2012.10.06
 • 2012-09-08: Distribution Release: Arch Linux 2012.09.07
 • 2012-08-05: Distribution Release: Arch Linux 2012.08.04
 • 2012-07-22: Distribution Release: Arch Linux 2012.07.15
 • 2011-08-20: Distribution Release: Arch Linux 2011.08.19
 • 2010-05-18: Distribution Release: Arch Linux 2010.05
 • 2009-08-09: Distribution Release: Arch Linux 2009.08
 • 2009-02-17: Distribution Release: Arch Linux 2009.02
 • 2008-06-24: Distribution Release: Arch Linux 2008.06
 • 2008-04-16: Development Release: Arch Linux 2008.04 RC
 • 2007-10-07: Distribution Release: Arch Linux 2007.08-2
 • More Arch releases...

  Headlines:
 • 2026-01-12 Progress on the Arch Linux Package Management project
 • 2025-08-19 Arch Linux experiences denial of service attack
 • 2025-08-01 Arch User Repository hit by more malware
 • 2025-07-19 Arch Linux discovers and removes malware from AUR
 • 2025-06-20 Arch splits Plasma session options into separate packages
 • 2025-05-28 Arch Linux installer gains support for Btrfs snapshots
 • 2025-02-17 Arch Linux is retiring old repositories
 • 2024-11-18 Arch system installer gets new text-based menu system
 • 2024-05-22 Arch community discusses mirror requirements
 • 2023-04-11 Arch powers the PINE64 PineTab-V
 • More Arch headlines...

Table Notes and Explanations

(Please refer to the table below.)
  • To compare the software in this project to the software available in other distributions, please see our Compare Packages page.
  • Notes: In case where multiple versions of a package are shipped with a distribution, only the default version appears in the table. For indication about the GNOME version, please check the "nautilus" and "gnome-shell" packages. The Apache web server is listed as "httpd" and the Linux kernel is listed as "linux". The KDE desktop is represented by the "plasma-desktop" package and the Xfce desktop by the "xfdesktop" package.
  • Colour scheme: green text = latest stable version, red text = development or beta version. The function determining beta versions is not 100% reliable due to a wide variety of versioning schemes.
TUXEDO
TUXEDO Computers

TUXEDO Computers - Linux Hardware in a tailor made suite
Choose from a wide range of laptops and PCs in various sizes and shapes at TUXEDOComputers.com. Every machine comes pre-installed and ready-to-run with Linux. Full 24 months of warranty and lifetime support included!

Learn more about our full service package and all benefits from buying at TUXEDO.

Star Labs

Star Labs Systems | Laptops designed for Linux

Star Labs - Laptops built for Linux.
View our range including the highly anticipated StarFighter. Available with coreboot open-source firmware and a choice of Ubuntu, elementary, Manjaro and more. Visit Star Labs for information, to buy and get support.


Advertisement


Feature current 2011.08.19 2010.05 2009.08 2009.02 2008.06
overlord
2007.08
dontpanic
0.8
voodoo
0.7
wombat
0.6
widget
0.5
nova
0.4
dragon
0.3
firefly
0.2
vega
0.1
homer
Feature
Release Date 2026-03-25 2011-08-19 2010-05-17 2009-08-09 2009-02-17 2008-06-24 2007-08-05 2007-04-01 2005-01-24 2004-03-01 2003-07-21 2002-12-18 2002-08-07 2002-04-17 2002-03-11 Release Date
End Of Life                               End Of Life
Price (US$) Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Free Price (US$)
Image Size (MB) 1400-1500 600-700                           Image Size (MB)
Free Download PKG ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO ISO Free Download
Installation Text mode Text mode Text mode Text mode Text mode Text mode Text mode Text mode Text mode Text mode Text mode Text mode Text mode Text mode Text mode Installation
Default Desktop                               Default Desktop
Default Browser                               Default Browser
Package Format pkg pkg pkg pkg pkg pkg pkg pkg pkg pkg pkg pkg pkg pkg pkg Package Format
Package Management                               Package Management
Release Model Rolling Rolling Rolling Rolling Rolling Rolling Rolling Rolling Rolling Rolling Rolling Rolling Rolling Rolling Rolling Release Model
Office Suite GOffice, Calligra, LibreOffice -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- KOffice KOffice KOffice     Office Suite
Processor Architecture x86_64 i686, x86_64 i686, x86_64 i686, x86_64 i686, x86_64 i686, x86_64 i686, x86_64 i686, x86_64 i686 i686 i686 i686 i686 i686 i686 Processor Architecture
Init Software systemd SysV SysV SysV SysV SysV SysV SysV SysV SysV SysV SysV SysV SysV SysV Init Software
Journaled File Systems Btrfs, ext3, ext4, JFS, ReiserFS, XFS ext3, ext4, JFS, ReiserFS, XFS ext3, ext4, JFS, ReiserFS, XFS ext3, ext4, JFS, ReiserFS, XFS ext3, ext4, JFS, ReiserFS, XFS ext3, JFS, ReiserFS, XFS ext3, JFS, ReiserFS, XFS ext3, JFS, ReiserFS, XFS ext3, JFS, ReiserFS, XFS ext3, JFS, ReiserFS, XFS ext3, ReiserFS ext3, ReiserFS ext3, ReiserFS ext3, ReiserFS ext3, ReiserFS Journaled File Systems
Multilingual                               Multilingual
Full Package List current 2011.08.19 2010.05 2009.08 2009.02 2008.06 2007.08 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 Full Package List
Package current 2011.08.19 2010.05 2009.08 2009.02 2008.06
overlord
2007.08
dontpanic
0.8
voodoo
0.7
wombat
0.6
widget
0.5
nova
0.4
dragon
0.3
firefly
0.2
vega
0.1
homer
Package
alsa-lib (1.2.15.3) 1.2.15.3 -- -- -- -- -- 1.0.14 1.0.13 1.0.8 1.0.2 0.9.4 0.9.0rc6 0.9.0rc2 -- -- alsa-lib (1.2.15.3)
amdgpu (25.0.0) 25.0.0 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- amdgpu (25.0.0)
apparmor (4.1.7) 4.1.7                             apparmor (4.1.7)
apt (3.1.16) 3.1.16 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- apt (3.1.16)
bash (5.3) 5.3 4.2 4.1 4.0 3.2.48 3.2 3.2 3.2 3.0 2.05b 2.05b 2.05b 2.05b 2.05a 2.05a bash (5.3)
bind (9.20.20) 9.20.20 -- -- -- -- -- 9.4.1-P1 9.4.0 9.3.0 9.2.3 9.2.2 9.2.1 9.2.1 -- -- bind (9.20.20)
chromium (146.0.7680.164) 146.0.7680.164 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- chromium (146.0.7680.164)
cinnamon (6.6.7) 6.6.7 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- cinnamon (6.6.7)
cups (2.4.16) 2.4.16 -- -- -- -- -- 1.2.12 1.2.10 1.1.23 1.1.20 1.1.19 1.1.17 1.1.15 -- -- cups (2.4.16)
e2fsprogs (1.47.4) 1.47.4 1.41.14 1.41.11 1.41.8 1.41.4 1.40.8 1.40.2 1.39 1.35 1.35 1.33 1.32 1.27 1.27 1.25 e2fsprogs (1.47.4)
ffmpeg (8.1) 8.1 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- ffmpeg (8.1)
firefox (149.0) 148.0.2 -- -- -- -- -- 2.0.0.6 2.0.0.3 1.0 0.8 -- -- -- -- -- firefox (149.0)
flatpak (1.16.3) 1.16.3 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- flatpak (1.16.3)
freetype (2.14.3) 2.14.3 -- -- -- -- -- 2.3.5 2.3.1 2.1.9 2.1.7 2.1.4 2.0.9 2.0.9 -- -- freetype (2.14.3)
gcc (15.2.0) 15.2.1 -- 4.5.0 4.4.1 -- 4.3.1 4.2.1 4.1.2 3.4.3 3.3.3 3.3 3.2.1 2.95.3 2.95.3 2.95.3 gcc (15.2.0)
gimp (3.2.0) 3.2.0 -- -- -- -- -- 2.2.17 2.2.13 2.2.2 2.0pre3 1.2.5 1.2.3 1.2.3 -- -- gimp (3.2.0)
git (2.53.0) 2.53.0 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- git (2.53.0)
glibc (2.43) 2.43 2.14 2.11.1 2.10.1 2.9 2.8 2.6 2.5 2.3.4 2.3.2 2.3.2 2.3.1 2.2.5 2.2.5 2.2.5 glibc (2.43)
gnome-shell (50.0) 49.5 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- gnome-shell (50.0)
grub (2.14) 2.14 0.97 0.97 0.97 0.97 0.97 0.97 0.97 0.95 0.94 0.93 -- -- -- -- grub (2.14)
gtk (4.22.1) 4.20.3 -- -- -- -- -- 2.10.13 2.10.11 2.6.1 2.2.4 2.2.2 2.0.9 -- -- -- gtk (4.22.1)
httpd (2.4.66) 2.4.66 -- -- -- -- -- 2.2.4 2.2.4 2.0.52 2.0.48 -- -- -- -- -- httpd (2.4.66)
inkscape (1.4.3) 1.4.3 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- inkscape (1.4.3)
kmod (34.2) 34.2 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- kmod (34.2)
krita (6.0.0) 5.2.16 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- krita (6.0.0)
LibreOffice (26.2.1) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- LibreOffice (26.2.1)
Package current 2011.08.19 2010.05 2009.08 2009.02 2008.06
overlord
2007.08
dontpanic
0.8
voodoo
0.7
wombat
0.6
widget
0.5
nova
0.4
dragon
0.3
firefly
0.2
vega
0.1
homer
Package
libselinux (3.10) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- libselinux (3.10)
linux (6.19.9) 6.19.9 3.0.3 2.6.33.4 2.6.30.4 2.6.28.4 2.6.25.6 2.6.22.1 2.6.20.4 2.6.10 2.6.3 2.4.21 2.4.20 2.4.19 2.4.18i 2.4.18 linux (6.19.9)
mariadb (12.2.2) 12.2.2 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- mariadb (12.2.2)
mate-desktop (1.28.2) 1.28.2 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- mate-desktop (1.28.2)
mesa (26.0.3) 26.0.3 -- -- -- -- -- 6.5.2 6.5.2 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- mesa (26.0.3)
mysql (9.6.0) -- -- -- -- -- -- 5.0.45 5.0.37 4.1.9 4.0.18 4.0.13 3.23.54 3.23.51 -- -- mysql (9.6.0)
nautilus (50.0) 49.5 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 2.2.4 2.0.7 -- -- -- nautilus (50.0)
NVIDIA (595.58.03) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- NVIDIA (595.58.03)
openjdk (26) -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- openjdk (26)
openssh (10.2p1) 10.2p1 5.8p2 5.4p1 5.2p1 5.1p1 5.0p1 4.6p1 4.6p1 3.9p1 3.8p1 3.6.1p2 3.5p1 3.4p1 -- 3.1p1 openssh (10.2p1)
openssl (3.6.1) 3.6.1 1.0.0d 1.0.0 0.9.8k 0.9.8l 0.9.8h 0.9.8e 0.9.8e 0.9.7e 0.9.6l 0.9.6i 0.9.6h 0.9.6e -- 0.9.6c openssl (3.6.1)
perl (5.42.1) 5.42.1 5.14.1 5.10.1 5.10.0 5.10.0 5.10.0 5.8.8 5.8.8 5.8.6 5.8.3 5.8.0 5.8.0 5.8.0 5.6.1 5.6.1 perl (5.42.1)
php (8.5.4) 8.5.4 -- -- -- -- -- 5.2.3 5.2.1 5.0.3 4.3.4 4.3.2 4.2.3 4.2.2 -- -- php (8.5.4)
plasma-desktop (6.6.3) 6.6.3 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- plasma-desktop (6.6.3)
postfix (3.11.1) 3.11.1 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- postfix (3.11.1)
postgresql (18.3) 18.3 -- -- -- -- -- 8.2.4 8.2.3 7.4.6 7.4.1 7.3.3 -- -- -- -- postgresql (18.3)
Python (3.14.3) 3.14.3 -- -- -- -- -- 2.5.1 2.5 2.4 2.3.3 2.2.3 2.2.2 2.2.1 -- -- Python (3.14.3)
qt (6.11.0) 6.10.2 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 3.3.3 3.3.0 3.1.2 3.1.1 3.0.5 -- -- qt (6.11.0)
samba (4.24.0) 4.24.0 -- -- -- -- -- 3.0.25b 3.0.24 3.0.10 3.0.2 2.2.8 2.2.7 2.2.5 -- -- samba (4.24.0)
systemd (260.1) 260.1 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- systemd (260.1)
thunderbird (149.0) 148.0.1 -- -- -- -- -- 2.0.0.6 1.5.0.10 1.0 -- -- -- -- -- -- thunderbird (149.0)
vim (9.2) 9.2 -- -- -- -- -- 7.1 7.0 6.3 6.2 6.2 6.1 6.1 6.1 6.0 vim (9.2)
vlc (3.0.23) 3.0.22 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- vlc (3.0.23)
wayland (1.25.0) 1.24.0 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- wayland (1.25.0)
xfdesktop (4.20.1) 4.20.1 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 3.8.18 4.0.3 3.8.18 3.8.18 -- -- -- xfdesktop (4.20.1)
xorg-server (21.1.21) 21.1.21 -- -- -- -- -- 1.2.0 1.2.0 (6.8.1) -- -- -- -- -- -- xorg-server (21.1.21)

Reader Ratings
Reader supplied reviews for Arch Linux

Average rating
9.2
from 294 review(s)



Version: current
Rating: 10
Date: 2026-03-19
Country: Algeria
Votes: 10


I have been using Arch for a year, and it has been quite an experience. I have learned a great deal and explored many distributions before ultimately settling on Arch. After all of that, I can confidently say that Arch is the best: it is faster, reliable, and provides the latest updates, allowing me to enjoy my favorite software with their newest features and bug fixes, unlike Ubuntu or Debian-based distributions, which are outdated for a very specific type of stability which is: "however it was it should remain". Imagine moving from Windows and leaving behind all the new features your software once offered, only to settle for versions that are a decade old. Fedora is better in these terms but not so much.

I appreciate Arch’s minimal approach, as it allows you to decide exactly what to install. This way if something fails, you can often identify the issue with just a little knowledge, since there are relatively few potential points of failure. because it is minimal, whatever you install tends to work seamlessly, whether it is: a desktop environment, window manager, or other software. Of course, occasional bugs or issues may occur, but with the Arch Wiki and researching, you can not only resolve the problem but also understand how it occurred and how to prevent or fix it in the future.


Version: current
Rating: 6
Date: 2026-03-18
Country: United States
Votes: 0


Becoming increasingly unstable when used with this distributions versions of Plasma. Every release, something new breaks. Bluetooth flaps, plasmashell crashes, the use of the new bloated and slow plasma-systemonitor pet project of KDE. Now pulseaudio randomly crashes and full screen games quit working. During the last system upgrade, somthing even deleted the extra .wine prefixes. Always dealing with certificate errors with pacman. Newer isn't better - We need stable environments and Arch used to offer that - and this distro proves that following the mainstream releases too tightly brings too much amature code into the system to make this a professional environment to use daily.


Version: current
Rating: 9
Date: 2026-02-21
Country: Greece
Votes: 13


I ve been using linux since 2010 and i mostly have tried fedora and endeavourOS. Arch best suites me because of its minimal approach, You need to learn and read but once you know the essentials, then nothing else compares. No extra packages installed by default, no needless software. You really have the choice to have only what you need.

As far the desktop environments, there was a long period i had been switching from KDE to XFCE and backwards. In my opinion, KDE is a bit more modern in look n feel and offers a really great group of packages for daily usage. XFCE is more lightweight with a more traditional look n feel. Recently i decided to give Hyprland a try and i think i will stuck with that. Once again you need time to learn and read in order to find out how to configure it but i think it worth it.

Lstly, the wiki.. This should be a general reference tool for every person uses linux no matter the distro. It is a great source which teaches so much! Every time you need information for a general linux related thing search it, there will be something valuable.

9/10 only because it can get better and it will!



See all 294 reader reviews of Arch Linux...



Copyright © 2001 - 2026 Atea Ataroa Limited. All rights reserved. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Privacy policy. Change privacy settings.
DistroWatch.com is hosted at Copenhagen.

Contact, corrections and suggestions: Jesse Smith

Tips: bc1qxes3k2wq3uqzr074tkwwjmwfe63z70gwzfu4lx
lnurl1dp68gurn8ghj7ampd3kx2ar0veekzar0wd5xjtnrdakj7tnhv4kxctttdehhwm30d3h82unvwqhhxarpw3jkc7tzw4ex6cfexyfua2nr
86fA3qPTeQtNb2k1vLwEQaAp3XxkvvvXt69gSG5LGunXXikK9koPWZaRQgfFPBPWhMgXjPjccy9LA9xRFchPWQAnPvxh5Le
PayPal.me/distrowPatreon.com/distrowatch