Arch Linux has released its September 2026 installation ISO, giving users planning a fresh install an up-to-date medium with the latest packages added throughout August.
The new snapshot, version 2026.09.01, uses Linux kernel 7.2.2, a notable jump from Linux 7.1.5 included in last month’s ISO. The kernel package was built for Arch on August 28, along with matching headers and documentation.
Beyond the kernel update, August brought several noteworthy changes to Arch’s core stack. GCC moved to the 16.2.1 series, glibc updated to 2.44, Python reached version 3.14.7, and mkinitcpio advanced to version 41.1.
Other refreshed core components include OpenSSH 10.5p1, OpenSSL 3.6.4, iproute2 7.2.0, and the August 10 Linux firmware bundle covering firmware for AMD, Intel, NVIDIA, Realtek, Qualcomm, Broadcom, MediaTek, and other hardware.
Graphics support also saw a substantial refresh. Mesa was updated to version 26.2.1 along with its Vulkan drivers for AMD, Intel, Nouveau, Panfrost, Freedreno, and other supported hardware.
For NVIDIA users, Arch’s repositories moved to the NVIDIA 610.57.04 driver stack in August. The updated packages include nvidia-open 610.57.04-11, nvidia-open-dkms 610.57.04-1, nvidia-open-lts 610.57.04-9, plus nvidia-utils, nvidia-settings, and opencl-nvidia at version 610.57.04.
Networking also received an update with NetworkManager 1.58.1 entering the repositories in August.
On the desktop side, August was a busy month. KDE Plasma 6.7.4 landed in the repositories, KDE Frameworks packages moved to the 6.29 series, and GNOME Shell reached version 50.4.
Arch also picked up COSMIC Desktop 1.7, with the updated stack covering the compositor, panel, launcher, settings, file manager, terminal, software store, workspaces, and other core components.
Among major desktop applications, Arch users also received the latest and greatest LibreOffice 26.8 in August. Browser updates include Firefox 154, Chromium 152, and Vivaldi 8.1.
One component that did not receive an August rebuild is Archinstall, so there is no new Archinstall release to highlight from this snapshot’s package activity. The same applies to Archiso.
However, arch-install-scripts, the collection of scripts used by Arch’s installation tooling, was updated to version 31.2.
For virtualization, the updates include QEMU 11.1, libvirt 12.6, and VirtualBox 7.2.16. Containers are also worth a short mention: Docker 29.7.2, Docker Compose 5.5, containerd 2.3.4, and Podman 6.1 all appear in the August builds.
As usual, the monthly ISO is mainly for new installations. Existing Arch Linux users don’t need to download it because regular pacman -Syu upgrades keep their systems in the same package state.
The Arch Linux 2026.09.01 ISO is available from the distribution’s official download page and worldwide mirrors.
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