Review: CachyOS 221023 and AgarimOS
Last week I took to the DistroWatch waiting list in search of new distributions to try. One which caught my eye was CachyOS. The distribution's website describes the project as follows:
"CachyOS is a Linux distribution based on Arch Linux. The default Linux kernel is linux-cacule which is the Arch Linux stock kernel plus the CacULE CPU Scheduler.
The project currently supplies three editions: KDE (2.2GB), GNOME (2.2GB), and a self-described command line edition which is 952MB. The command line (CLI) edition doesn't appear to be updated as often or as recently as the desktop editions. The CLI edition is eight months old at the time of writing while the two desktop editions are just over a month old.
The distribution's website mentions some key features, including the Cachy-Browser which is a web browser forked from LibreWolf. The website also mentions a tool called Firejail Toggle which will enable sandboxing for recognized applications. The CachyOS website also mentions one-click support for installing the operating system on ZFS, an advanced filesystem. Alternatives, XFS, ext4, Btrfs, and F2FS are reportedly supported at install time.
I decided to download the KDE edition of CachyOS. Booting from the provided media brings up a menu offering to start the live distribution normally or with NVIDIA drivers enabled. The system loads and presents us with the KDE Plasma desktop with a strong blue-on-blue theme. A panel is placed along the bottom of the screen with the desktop's application menu and system tray. A dock-like set of launchers appears in the middle of the panel.
Once the live desktop loads, a welcome screen appears. This screen is divided into three columns. In the first column we find buttons which provide us with documentation, release information, and a link to the project's wiki. The second column includes a link to the forum and a button called "Software" which connects us with the distribution's repository of custom package builds. The third column links us to source code and tips for getting involved with developing the distribution. At the bottom of the welcome window is a button which launches the Calamares system installer.
The welcome screen also features a drop-down menu where we can select our preferred language. Strangely, selecting different languages doesn't do anything. The welcome window and the Plasma desktop remain displaying English, regardless of which language I picked.