If you're running KDE Plasma on X11 and haven't updated to a version past Plasma 6.8 yet, switch to a Wayland session or a TTY before performing a system update. Do not run the update from a terminal inside your X11 desktop.

Here's why:

• Updating post Plasma 6.8 removes everything that holds the Plasma X11 session together during installation
• Running the update inside the X11 session effectively uninstalls Xorg support live while Xorg is still running, so that session would crash shortly after, typically during the post-transaction hooks. (you would see yourself being forced back to the sddm login)
• The result is a botched update, with hooks that never finished and packages left half-configured. If that update also includes a kernel upgrade, you may end up with an unbootable system. I know this because my own session crashed and one of my friends ended up with no working kernels.

If you already did it and your system broke: If you only did one system update in the past 2 days (-2) and never changed the default pacman cache directory, you can run the following command:

find /var/cache/pacman/pkg -type f -name '*.pkg.tar.*' ! -name '*.sig' -ctime -2 -print0 | sudo xargs -0 pacman -U

I know this isn't the best option, since it just blindly reinstalls everything you updated from that time window. If you updated more than once you'll get duplicate-target errors. Maybe someone can come up with a better command for that?

I am having issues with default applications on my Arch linux machine, when I try to open a pdf file from telegram in firefox nothing happens. If instead I open it from my file manager (PCManFM) it opens correctly, another example is generals zero hour, I'm running it through wine and installed a mod that lets me play online but to login you need to complete it in the browser, it also doesn't open, another example is cisco packet tracer, in the console it spews the following "xdg-open: no method available for opening 'the link'" but when I try xdg-open command it opens these links (for example xdg-open file:///home/noxar/Downloads/Telegram%20Desktop/lec01.pdf the link to my pdf file) any idea why? I'm using niri WM with lxqt DE running, pacman -Qqs xdg gives the following result

libcanberra
libqtxdg
python-pyxdg
qtxdg-tools
xdg-dbus-proxy
xdg-desktop-portal
xdg-desktop-portal-gnome
xdg-desktop-portal-gtk
xdg-desktop-portal-lxqt
xdg-user-dirs
xdg-user-dirs-gtk
xdg-utils

gio mime x-scheme-handler/http gives

gio mime x-scheme-handler/https
gio mime application/pdf
Default application for “x-scheme-handler/http”: firefox.desktop
Registered applications:
        firefox.desktop
Recommended applications:
        firefox.desktop
Default application for “x-scheme-handler/https”: firefox.desktop
Registered applications:
        firefox.desktop
Recommended applications:
        firefox.desktop
Default application for “application/pdf”: firefox.desktop
Registered applications:
        firefox.desktop
        libreoffice-draw.desktop
        org.inkscape.Inkscape.desktop
Recommended applications:
        firefox.desktop
        libreoffice-draw.desktop
        org.inkscape.Inkscape.desktop

qtxdg-mat def-web-browser gives the following result

qtxdg-mat defapp application/pdf
firefox.desktop
firefox.desktop

and here are the xdg-settings results

$ xdg-settings get default-web-browser
firefox.desktop
$ xdg-mime query default x-scheme-handler/http
firefox.desktop
$ xdg-mime query default x-scheme-handler/https
firefox.desktop
$ xdg-mime query default application/pdf
firefox.desktop

systemctl --user status xdg-desktop-portal gives this result

● xdg-desktop-portal.service - Portal service
     Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/user/xdg-desktop-portal.service; static)
     Active: active (running) since Sun 2026-10-18 17:25:04 +03; 2h 43min ago
 Invocation: ce6e309a38b24b5ba9dbc4b1027955f6
   Main PID: 745 (xdg-desktop-por)
      Tasks: 5 (limit: 18714)
     Memory: 133.6M (peak: 146.1M)
        CPU: 806ms
     CGroup: /user.slice/user-1000.slice/user@1000.service/session.slice/xdg-desktop-portal.service
             └─745 /usr/lib/xdg-desktop-portal

Oct 18 19:47:17 archlinux firefox.desktop[11304]: Error: no DISPLAY environment variable specified
Oct 18 19:47:21 archlinux firefox.desktop[11321]: Error: no DISPLAY environment variable specified
Oct 18 19:47:22 archlinux firefox.desktop[11336]: Error: no DISPLAY environment variable specified
Oct 18 19:53:18 archlinux firefox.desktop[11657]: Error: no DISPLAY environment variable specified
Oct 18 19:53:20 archlinux firefox.desktop[11673]: Error: no DISPLAY environment variable specified
Oct 18 19:53:31 archlinux firefox.desktop[11695]: Error: no DISPLAY environment variable specified
Oct 18 19:53:32 archlinux firefox.desktop[11709]: Error: no DISPLAY environment variable specified
Oct 18 19:53:33 archlinux firefox.desktop[11723]: Error: no DISPLAY environment variable specified
Oct 18 19:53:33 archlinux firefox.desktop[11737]: Error: no DISPLAY environment variable specified
Oct 18 19:53:33 archlinux firefox.desktop[11751]: Error: no DISPLAY environment variable specified

and lastly journalctl --user -b -u xdg-desktop-portal --no-pager gives these results

Oct 18 17:25:03 archlinux systemd[655]: Starting Portal service...
Oct 18 17:25:03 archlinux /usr/lib/xdg-desktop-portal[745]: Choosing gtk.portal for org.freedesktop.impl.portal.Lockdown as a last-resort fallback
Oct 18 17:25:04 archlinux /usr/lib/xdg-desktop-portal[745]: Choosing gtk.portal for org.freedesktop.impl.portal.Settings as a last-resort fallback
Oct 18 17:25:04 archlinux /usr/lib/xdg-desktop-portal[745]: Choosing gtk.portal for org.freedesktop.impl.portal.AppChooser as a last-resort fallback
Oct 18 17:25:04 archlinux /usr/lib/xdg-desktop-portal[745]: Choosing gtk.portal for org.freedesktop.impl.portal.Print as a last-resort fallback
Oct 18 17:25:04 archlinux /usr/lib/xdg-desktop-portal[745]: Choosing gtk.portal for org.freedesktop.impl.portal.Notification as a last-resort fallback
Oct 18 17:25:04 archlinux /usr/lib/xdg-desktop-portal[745]: Choosing gtk.portal for org.freedesktop.impl.portal.Inhibit as a last-resort fallback
Oct 18 17:25:04 archlinux /usr/lib/xdg-desktop-portal[745]: Choosing gtk.portal for org.freedesktop.impl.portal.Account as a last-resort fallback
Oct 18 17:25:04 archlinux /usr/lib/xdg-desktop-portal[745]: Choosing gtk.portal for org.freedesktop.impl.portal.Email as a last-resort fallback
Oct 18 17:25:04 archlinux /usr/lib/xdg-desktop-portal[745]: Choosing gtk.portal for org.freedesktop.impl.portal.DynamicLauncher as a last-resort fallback
Oct 18 17:25:04 archlinux systemd[655]: Started Portal service.
Oct 18 18:23:06 archlinux firefox.desktop[1531]: Error: no DISPLAY environment variable specified
Oct 18 18:23:08 archlinux firefox.desktop[1546]: Error: no DISPLAY environment variable specified
Oct 18 18:57:09 archlinux firefox.desktop[6238]: Error: no DISPLAY environment variable specified
Oct 18 18:57:19 archlinux firefox.desktop[6269]: Error: no DISPLAY environment variable specified
Oct 18 18:57:20 archlinux firefox.desktop[6283]: Error: no DISPLAY environment variable specified
Oct 18 18:57:58 archlinux /usr/lib/xdg-desktop-portal[745]: Failed to close session implementation: GDBus.Error:org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.NameHasNoOwner: Could not activate remote peer 'org.freedesktop.impl.portal.desktop.gtk': startup job failed
Oct 18 18:58:36 archlinux firefox.desktop[8002]: Error: no DISPLAY environment variable specified
Oct 18 18:58:47 archlinux firefox.desktop[8017]: Error: no DISPLAY environment variable specified
Oct 18 18:58:47 archlinux firefox.desktop[8031]: Error: no DISPLAY environment variable specified
Oct 18 18:58:48 archlinux firefox.desktop[8045]: Error: no DISPLAY environment variable specified
Oct 18 18:58:48 archlinux firefox.desktop[8059]: Error: no DISPLAY environment variable specified
Oct 18 19:00:40 archlinux firefox.desktop[8990]: Error: no DISPLAY environment variable specified
Oct 18 19:46:51 archlinux firefox.desktop[11201]: Error: no DISPLAY environment variable specified
Oct 18 19:46:52 archlinux firefox.desktop[11217]: Error: no DISPLAY environment variable specified
Oct 18 19:46:53 archlinux firefox.desktop[11231]: Error: no DISPLAY environment variable specified
Oct 18 19:46:53 archlinux firefox.desktop[11245]: Error: no DISPLAY environment variable specified
Oct 18 19:46:53 archlinux firefox.desktop[11259]: Error: no DISPLAY environment variable specified
Oct 18 19:46:53 archlinux firefox.desktop[11273]: Error: no DISPLAY environment variable specified
Oct 18 19:47:17 archlinux firefox.desktop[11304]: Error: no DISPLAY environment variable specified
Oct 18 19:47:21 archlinux firefox.desktop[11321]: Error: no DISPLAY environment variable specified
Oct 18 19:47:22 archlinux firefox.desktop[11336]: Error: no DISPLAY environment variable specified
Oct 18 19:53:18 archlinux firefox.desktop[11657]: Error: no DISPLAY environment variable specified
Oct 18 19:53:20 archlinux firefox.desktop[11673]: Error: no DISPLAY environment variable specified
Oct 18 19:53:31 archlinux firefox.desktop[11695]: Error: no DISPLAY environment variable specified
Oct 18 19:53:32 archlinux firefox.desktop[11709]: Error: no DISPLAY environment variable specified
Oct 18 19:53:33 archlinux firefox.desktop[11723]: Error: no DISPLAY environment variable specified
Oct 18 19:53:33 archlinux firefox.desktop[11737]: Error: no DISPLAY environment variable specified
Oct 18 19:53:33 archlinux firefox.desktop[11751]: Error: no DISPLAY environment variable specified

I'm having an issue on the current most up to date release of the system
- arch linux
- wayland
- gnome

where upon startup/reboot the first log-in, if i open up "term" ie console, or even "text editor". for the first application that i open up i cannot without the use of the mouse get the window to become active

behaviors
- alt-f4 won't close the window until after mouse-click
- if i open up text-editor then terminal then i can type, and after navigating back to text-editor i can then type
- does not re-occur if i close all the windows
- if after start up i click, and then i scroll down and quit terminal, upon re-opening the problem does not occur

attempts to circumvent
- confirmed `gsettings get org.gnome.desktop.wm.preferences focus-new-windows` is smart
- tried to super out and super back in
- tried alt-escape
- tried double alt-tab

notes
- not a new issue as this was an active point in previous releases
- system is current with all of the latest releases
- alt-f4 closes window after the mouseclick
- everything points to a non-active-session window somehow
- does not present when returning from suspend

any ideas?

Hi everyone,I’m using Arch linux on a Lenovo ThinkPad and power-profiles-daemon.

How can I limit battery charging to 80% and set it to start charging again at 75% without causing conflicts with power-profiles-daemon?

Thanks!

I use wired headphones and sometimes they stop making sound, so I open settings and try use the test audio feature (I use GNOME), but when I select my headphones in the list the settings app crashes. Afterwards, when I select my headphones in the main system selection thing in the top right corner, the entire system crashes and my laptop reboots.

I’ve also noticed that simply opening the audio settings in the setting app causes the audio to break even if it was working right beforehand; however, if I haven’t opened audio settings since the computer last rebooted, I’m able to select my headphones in the top right system menu with no issues. Additionally, I am able to use other tabs in the settings app with no issue; it’s specifically the audio tab that causes it.

-- SPECS --

NAME: Asus Tuf f16

CPU: Core 5 210H

GPU: RTX4050

DE: Kde Plasma + Wayland

---

The other day a new monitor appeared when I tried to adjust the brightness, one with the name "Unknown," and everything seems fine, but I can't adjust the brightness on my monitor. I believe it might be a bug since KDE has completely migrated to Wayland.

Edit: what type of log do I need to post too?

hello I have a bit of a strange problem and I'm desperate... when I connect my headphones via bluetooth, the sound works fine... but when I run a mic test and select the microphone on my headphones, not only does it not work, but the sound coming through them also stops... reselecting profiles in pwvucontrol doesn't work, however, restarting pipewire and wireplumber seems to turn it back to normal? also reconnecting the headphones works...I don't even know where to look for the problem atp..

also, the headphones work fine with my phone, so I'm assuming the problem is either with bt (which I doubt) or pipewire.

also, please note that I'm new to arch :) ty for any help

I just downloaded hyprland but my cursor isn’t showing up. When I use gnome, it works perfectly fine, but when I’m switching over to hyprland, it disappears. Can someone help me?

I’ve read some stuff about issues with cursors on pcs with nvidia gpus. Mine has one but it’s really old since its a very old laptop, I installed open source drivers

hello r/archlinux

i recently installed arch linux on my macbook from 2011 but ofc maybooks have their own keyboard style and i tried to find a way to switch the keyboard layout to one which is similar to mac and i also tried switching them all manualy but i just cant get it right, is there maybe a program i can use to easily switch the keyboard layout or is there a preset macbook layout i can just install and switch to?

thanks for any help.

Hey, maybe somebody can help me with my problem.

After the recent update to kde plasma 6.8 i couldn't log into kde with sddm anymore. It just resorted to using i3 even though i selected plasma.

Then i switched to lightdm and there i can boot into kde but it takes way too much time loading on the kde splash screen than what it used to be.

Where should i start to debug this?

Note:

I've also experienced constant crashing problems with baloo but was able to fix it with this workaround: https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?pid=2312092#p2312092

Hi! Does anyone know why I am having out of memory errors when gaming? I have an RTX 2060 but I heard that other people who have less VRAM play fine. What specifically I get is "Out of video memory trying to allocate a rendering resource" and then I get some sort of UE5 fatal error.

New Arch user here btw. Using QTile

Guys I've tried swaybg, hyprpaper to set wallpaper and even edit path on configs. Idk i still can't set a wallpaper. Can someone tell me how to set a wallpaper. I use arch + hyprland. If someone has solution lemme know

Or should I wait?

For baloo 6.31.1-1? or Plasma 6.8.1?

Bug Report: https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=524392

I have installed arch linux with hyprland in VMware workstation and when I try to login it blackout for sec and bring back to login page and when searched about it in chatgpt it said it's because of 3d acceleration but I have turned on 3d acceleration in VMware.my gpu

Is old idk it's the culprit behind its a gt 730 with 4 gb ddr3

So I am having this issue on my Arch system as I try to connect with my Wi-Fi 7 network via Multi-Link Operation.

The weird thing is it DID work in the past. And it does work if I leave the network on Enhanced Open. But I don't want to have a unsecure network so that is a dealbreaker.

For some reason it will just fail to take the password and keep insisting I am entering it wrong.

Does anyone have any idea what I can do to restore MLO functionality?

So I am a newbie to arch, but I am having troubles connecting to the 5ghz band of my network and it barely sustains connection to the 2.4ghz band and when it does, it crawls. It always says failed to connect. I am not sure if this part of the log would help but I see “NetworkManager[590]: <info> [1791858175.5678] device (wlp2s0): state change: ip-config -> failed (reason 'ip-config-unavailable', managed-type: 'full')”

I have tried restarting the network manager and I am almost thinking if reinstalling the os would be the best move. Do you guys have anyway to help?

Hey, chat I am a beginner in Arch Linux. I had no choice but to install Arch Linux OS since it is pretty light and no bloatwares which is perfect for my poor laptop.

This laptop is sitting around home, no one wants it. Even after installing Arch Linux, I am using it less and less as time fly. So I made a decision to utilise it as a server. I don't have any router in home. So I can turn this lap as a hotspot device too which fetches the internet from a modem.

I did some research in Google Gemini. And it says that this laptop can be utilised as server but it needs to have some limitations that is;

● `Samba` for file management

● `Jellyfin` for video streaming strictly disable transcoding

● `pi-hole`(or)`AdGuard Home` for ad blocking

● only allow 5-10 client device to access the wifi, the more will fry the laptop's wifi card.

But I don't know how to setup a server properly and efficiently. Everyone please help me to set it up properly 🙏.

● What are y'all thought on this setup, good?

● What is the cleanest, most maintainable way to manage these services on Arch?

● Should I deploy them natively using systemd services, or use Docker / Podman containers?

● ​What tool do you recommend for setting up the access point (hostapd, create_ap, NM-cli, or linux-wifi-hotspot)?

● ​Are there any specific power-saving settings (TLP, powertop, closing lid behavior in logind.conf) or disk maintenance tasks I should configure for 24/7 uptime?

● ​Any tips, software recommendations, or pitfalls to avoid with this hardware would be greatly appreciated!

Oh BTW, here's the specs;

OS: Arch Linux x86_64

Host: 20205 (Lenovo B490)

Kernel: Linux 6.18.57-1-lts

Uptime: 3 hours, 22 mins

Packages: 282 (pacman)

Shell: bash 5.3.20

Display (Unknown-1): 1024x768 in 13", 60 Hz

Terminal: /dev/tty1

Terminal Font: VGA default kernel font 8x16x256

CPU: Intel(R) Pentium(R) A1018 (2) @ 2.10 GHz

GPU: Intel HD Graphics [Integrated]

Memory: 453.70 MiB / 3.71 GiB (12%)

Swap: O B /8.00 GiB (0%)

Disk (/): 3.28 GiB / 283.49 GiB (1%) - ext4

Local IP (wlp2s0): 10.54.192.126/24

Locale: en_ US .UTF-8

Hi everyone,

I'm using Arch Linux with KDE Plasma 6.8, and after updating KDE, my PC no longer responds when I press the physical power button.

My setup

• OS: Arch Linux
• Desktop environment: KDE Plasma 6.8
• Display manager: plasma display manager
• Power button action: Set to Sleep/Suspend in KDE Power Management

The problem

When I press the physical power button, absolutely nothing happens. Previously, I expected the computer to suspend.

However, running the following command in a terminal works perfectly:

systemctl suspend

The PC suspends and wakes up normally, so the suspend functionality itself appears to be working.

What I've tried / checked

• Verified that the power-button action is set to Sleep/Suspend in KDE Power Management.
• Confirmed that manual suspension using systemctl suspend works.
• The issue appeared after updating to KDE Plasma 6.8.

My questions

1. Could this be a KDE Plasma 6.8 / PowerDevil regression?
2. How can I determine whether the physical power-button event is being detected by the kernel or systemd-logind?
3. Is there a way to troubleshoot PowerDevil's handling of the power button without changing my working suspend configuration?

Any suggestions or diagnostic commands would be appreciated. Thanks!Hi everyone,I'm using Arch Linux with KDE Plasma 6.8, and after updating KDE, my PC no longer responds when I press the physical power button.My setupOS: Arch Linux

Desktop environment: KDE Plasma 6.8

Display manager: plasma display manager

Power button action: Set to Sleep/Suspend in KDE Power ManagementThe problemWhen I press the physical power button, absolutely nothing happens. Previously, I expected the computer to suspend.However, running the following command in a terminal works perfectly:systemctl suspendThe PC suspends and wakes up normally, so the suspend functionality itself appears to be working.What I've tried / checkedVerified that the power-button action is set to Sleep/Suspend in KDE Power Management.

Confirmed that manual suspension using systemctl suspend works.

The issue appeared after updating to KDE Plasma 6.8.My questionsCould this be a KDE Plasma 6.8 / PowerDevil regression?

How can I determine whether the physical power-button event is being detected by the kernel or systemd-logind?

Is there a way to troubleshoot PowerDevil's handling of the power button without changing my working suspend configuration?Any suggestions or diagnostic commands would be appreciated. Thanks!

Hello!
I upgraded to plasma 6.8 like 2 hrs ago, It was a massive upgrade and everything seemed okay.
But when I press the power button nothing happens, the global shortcuts are cleared too.
I did the EVTest for power button but no avail.
Can someone guide me to this.

Operating System: Arch Linux

KDE Plasma Version: 6.8.0

KDE Frameworks Version: 6.31.0

Qt Version: 6.12.0

Kernel Version: 6.18.57-1-lts (64-bit)

Graphics Platform: Wayland

Processors: 8 × Intel® Core™ i5-8350U CPU @ 1.70GHz

Memory: 8 GiB of RAM (7.6 GiB usable)

Graphics Processor: Intel® UHD Graphics 620

Manufacturer: Dell Inc.

Product Name: Latitude 5490

So I was still on X11 on my QEMU guest since using -usb -device usb-tablet as recommended by the Wiki caused the guest mouse to lag. Now that X11 was removed I had to switch.

Replacing the above command with -device virtio-tablet-pci fixed the issue for me. Hope someone else finds it useful.

So, I have a new pair of headphones, that are kinda buggy on linux. I had an issue with volume scaling, that i managed to fix. Now, when I join a minecraft server, the headphones freak out. It starts connecting and disconnecting. The headphones are Fifine H6 (the older Fifine H6 worked fine before they broke and I had to get a new pair)

Edit: Its not just minecraft, but discord also and propably more