Artix Linux has released its first official ISO for 2026, powered by Linux kernel 6.19. For readers unfamiliar with the project, it is an Arch-based rolling-release distribution that avoids systemd and offers alternative init and service management systems, including OpenRC, runit, s6, and dinit.
A key change in this release is the adoption of XLibre as the default X server. Xorg remains available for installation. Plasma users can choose between Wayland and XLibre sessions.
Additionally, Artix ISO images now include PipeWire instead of PulseAudio, updating the default audio stack in both live and installation environments. Plus, importantly, this release introduces user service support for OpenRC and dinit.
The distribution offers a wide range of desktops, including KDE Plasma, Cinnamon, Xfce, MATE, LXDE, and LXQt, as well as a minimal base without a desktop. Existing users do not need to upgrade to a specific release version. Regular system updates (sudo pacman -Syu) will keep installations current.
For more details, see the announcement. Please note that Artix’s devs noted that the new online install option is still a work in progress. For now, users are advised to choose “Offline” when prompted.
I’m on Artix, using wayland without any issue in case people wonder. Going forward with XLibre for X sessions is obviously the sane choice these days, but Artix is not limited to it and everything that doesn’t rely on systemd will just work, wayland included.
Kotton, recently i tried to use the Artix with OpenRC as an alternative for Arch because of systemd but i cannot make to work pipewire in my wayland system. Everthing that i read explained to use the Xorg config file to initilize the pipewire. What init system you are using and how you managed to get pipewire working (if you are using it)?
I think that is difficult to communicate by this commentary so thanks if you read this.
Sorry, I didn’t see this.
I’m using dinit for init + system service manager, and turnstile for user services.
As said by Daniel, pipewire must be loaded (enabled and started) as a user service. This is almost always the reason it doesn’t work out of the box on Artix.
It should be in the Artix wiki though as a configuration after install.
You must install and enable turnstile (as a system service) so you can activate user services.
You can also use dinit-user-spawn which doesn’t require to be loaded, just a one-off install.
But that’s all dinit-specific.
I’m not sure what the equivalent for OpenRC is, but your end goal is to have pipewire (and wireplumber) started as user services. From there, it is relatively easy to make it work.
Not Kotton, but
> to use the Xorg config file to initilize the pipewire
You mean .xinitrc? This is just to start it on session start. You should rather use some kind of user services implementation (Artix ships some for dinit/Turnstile and i think s6 too?). But if you do it manually, first start pipewire, then pipewire-pulse, then wireplumber, best with a short sleep before each.