Arch Linux has rolled out its updated installation ISO for February, containing package updates pushed to the repos throughout January 2026. As usual, this monthly snapshot does not introduce distribution-specific changes but provides refreshed media for those who want to perform a fresh Arch installation.
Here are the most important package updates included in the ISO, along with key updates from the official Arch repositories, summarized. The Linux kernel has been updated to 6.18.7 in the mainline ISO, alongside Linux kernel LTS 6.12.68 for users who prefer long-term stability.
At the system level, the ISO ships with Glibc 2.42 and systemd 259. Pacman, Arch’s package manager, has also been updated to version 7.1.
Security-related updates include OpenSSL 3.6.1, Curl 8.18, and updated CA certificates, all of which are included. Cryptsetup 2.8.4 is also present, affecting users who rely on disk encryption. Remote access tooling is up to date with OpenSSH 9.9p1 included.
Hardware support has been refreshed through the January 2026 linux-firmware update (20260110-1), covering AMD, Intel, NVIDIA, Realtek, Broadcom, and other vendors. Updated AMD CPU microcode is also included.
While proprietary GPU drivers are not included on the installation media, Arch Linux’s repositories provide the open-source NVIDIA driver stack, nvidia-open, and related packages based on driver version 590.48.01, which can be installed after setup.
The ISO also includes the Mesa open-source graphics stack at version 25.3.3, with corresponding Vulkan and OpenCL components from the January repository snapshot.
On the desktop side, the January update to the Arch repos includes KDE Plasma 6.5.5, KDE Frameworks 6.22, and KDE Gear 25.12, delivering the latest Plasma 6 features and fixes.
GNOME 49.1 is also present, shipping with the updated GNOME Shell, Files, and core utilities. Other desktop environments and shells have been refreshed as well, including Cinnamon 6.6, Hyprland 0.53.1, COSMIC 1.0.4, and others, all available directly from the repositories.
Several widely used applications are also updated. The updated as of February 1 repos include Firefox 147, providing the latest stable web browsing experience. Office productivity is covered by LibreOffice 25.8.4, while container tooling is updated to Docker 29.2. For image editing, GIMP 3.0.8 is in place.
Finally, the updated ISO includes Archinstall 3.0.15, a guided text-based setup utility that streamlines Arch installations.
You can download the updated Arch Linux 2026.02.01 ISO from any official Arch mirror right now. As always, the ISO is meant for new installations only. If you’re already running Arch, a simple sudo pacman -Syu will fully update your system to the latest packages.
