> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://itsfoss.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # CachyOS Debuts COSMIC and NVIDIA Open GPU Kernel Modules in August Release - URL: https://itsfoss.com/news/cachyos-cosmic-debut/ - Published: 2024-08-19T12:52:38.000Z - Updated: 2024-08-19T12:52:38.000Z - Description: CachyOS catches up with the cosmic trend. - Author: Sourav Rudra - Tags: Distribution Releases, News, #Import 2025-11-08 21:15 CachyOS is a popular [rolling release](https://itsfoss.com/rolling-release/?ref=news.itsfoss.com) Arch Linux-based distro which is a good fit for both newbies and experienced Arch users alike. Months after the [June 2024](https://itsfoss.com/cachyos-june-2024-release/) release, the project's developers have introduced a new **CachyOS August 2024** release, with many useful tweaks, and some good news for users of [NVIDIA](https://www.nvidia.com/?ref=itsfoss.com) GPUs. Let's check it out. 😃 ## 🆕 CachyOS August 2024: What's New? ![a screenshot of cachyos august 2024 release with the welcome app open](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/2024/08/CachyOS_August_2024_a.jpg) This release comes with **Linux kernel 6.10.5-cachyos** powering it, alongside [KDE Plasma 6.14](https://kde.org/announcements/plasma/6/6.1.4/?ref=itsfoss.com) as the desktop environment for the flagship desktop edition, and [Mesa 24.2.0](https://docs.mesa3d.org/relnotes/24.2.0.html?ref=itsfoss.com) handling the graphics side of things. Some **key highlights** of this release include: - **NVIDIA Open GPU Kernel Modules** - **Inclusion of COSMIC Alpha** - **Infrastructure Upgrades** ### NVIDIA Open GPU Kernel Modules Beginning with this release, CachyOS's hardware detection will automatically use the [recently introduced](https://developer.nvidia.com/blog/nvidia-transitions-fully-towards-open-source-gpu-kernel-modules/?ref=itsfoss.com) open-source GPU kernel modules by NVIDIA. Do note that this support is only for GPUs of 20xx series and newer. To make things even better, the developers **have made the beta version of the NVIDIA 560 driver the default on CachyOS** after a lot of testing. The kernel manager has also been updated to support building of the NVIDIA-open modules. ### Inclusion of COSMIC Alpha ![a screenshot of the cachyos installer having cosmic as a desktop environment option](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/2024/08/CachyOS_August_2024_b.jpg) The next upgrade is the **adoption of the alpha release of the COSMIC desktop environment** in CachyOS, with the developers following the upstream release for packaging. I checked out COSMIC in the installer when running a [virtual machine](https://itsfoss.com/virtual-machine/), and it seemed to install. But, it didn't play nice post installation, and showed me a black screen on reboot. Bare metal should be a better fit for this. **Existing users can get COSMIC** by running the following command: ``` sudo pacman -S cosmic-session ``` This will install the base packages required to run COSMIC, with additional packages to get the Rust-based COSMIC apps such as *cosmic-store*, *cosmic-text*, and *cosmic-terminal*. I highly suggest you go through my [earlier coverage](https://itsfoss.com/pop-os-24-04-cosmic-alpha/) of the COSMIC release on Pop!\_OS 24.04 Alpha to learn more about this under-development desktop environment: [The Future Is Here! Pop!\_OS’s Much Awaited COSMIC Desktop is Now Available for Alpha TestingCOSMIC Desktop debuts with insane customization options with Pop!\_OS 24.04 LTS!![](https://news.itsfoss.com/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/08/android-chrome-192x192.png)It's FOSS NewsSourav Rudra![](https://news.itsfoss.com/content/images/2024/08/Cosmic-de-alpha.png)](https://itsfoss.com/pop-os-24-04-cosmic-alpha/) ### Infrastructure Upgrades The CachyOS team has shared that they now have a new infrastructure sponsor, [CDN77](https://www.cdn77.com/?ref=itsfoss.com), who has equipped them with a global cache [CDN](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Content%5Fdelivery%5Fnetwork?ref=itsfoss.com), which is set to improve connection speeds for users located around the world. Now, they are providing **a Cache CDN mirror alongside an Arch Linux mirror** during installation. Mirror ranking has also been tweaked to select up-to-date mirrors, making way for quicker package installations. There are fallback mirrors hosted by CachyOS and a [Tier 1](https://archlinux.org/mirrors/status/tier/1/?ref=itsfoss.com) mirror from Arch Linux in case the primary ones fail for some reason. ### 🛠️ Other Changes and Improvements To wrap this up, there are some other notable changes you should know about: - [libextest](https://github.com/Supreeeme/extest?ref=itsfoss.com) was replaced in favor of [libei](https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/libinput/libei?ref=itsfoss.com). - cachy-chroot now has support for LUKS encryption. - The Handheld edition now supports the [ROG Ally X](https://rog.asus.com/gaming-handhelds/rog-ally/rog-ally-x-2024/?ref=itsfoss.com). - Secure Boot support was improved with the inclusion of a new script and a detailed Wiki [page](https://wiki.cachyos.org/configuration/secure%5Fboot%5Fsetup/?ref=itsfoss.com). - Hardware detection has been improved thanks to the fixes in PRIME/Hybrid Profile detection. To dive deeper into this release, you will want to go through the [release blog](https://cachyos.org/blog/2408-august-release/?ref=itsfoss.com). ## 📥 Download CachyOS You can download CachyOS from the [official website](https://cachyos.org/download/?ref=news.itsfoss.com), [mirror](https://mirror.cachyos.org/ISO/?ref=news.itsfoss.com), or the project's [SourceForge](https://sourceforge.net/projects/cachyos-arch/files/gui-installer/?ref=news.itsfoss.com) page. There are **two editions on offer,** the Desktop Edition, and the Handheld Edition. [CachyOS](https://cachyos.org/download/?ref=news.itsfoss.com) If you are an **existing user**, then running the following command will get you the CachyOS August 2024 release: ``` sudo pacman -Syu ``` For more info, the official [upgrade guide](https://wiki.cachyos.org/installation/updating%5Fcachyos/?ref=news.itsfoss.com) is a handy source of information. If interested in the source code, then you can visit the project's [GitHub](https://github.com/cachyos?ref=itsfoss.com) repo. *💬 Are you going to try out this release? If you do, please let me know in the comments below!*