Getting Started

1. Update your system:

1. Updating System with Octopi:

Octopi is a graphical package manager for Arch-based distributions that provides a convenient way to manage packages and updates. To update your system with Octopi, follow these steps:

1. Launch Octopi from the application menu
2. In the main window, click on the “System Upgrade” button
3. Octopi will check for available updates and present them to you.
4. To proceed with the update, click the “Apply” button.
5. Octopi will download and install the updates.
6. It is advised to reboot your computer after a big update (especially if the kernel version changes).

2. Updating System with Pacman:

1. Open a terminal emulator (or press ctrl + alt + t - mod + return in Cachy’s WMs)
2. Run the following command to update the system:

sudo pacman -Syu

That’s it! Now your system is up-to-date and ready for use.

2. Enable Firewall protection:

To enable firewall protection, follow these steps:

1

# Install the ufw (Uncomplicated Firewall) package using Pacman:
sudo pacman -S ufw

2

# Enable the firewall with this command:
sudo ufw enable

3

By default, ufw allows all incoming and outgoing traffic, you can add specific rules to the firewall to block or allow specific connections.

# For example:
sudo ufw allow ssh

4

# To check the status of the firewall, use the following command:
sudo ufw status verbose

Note

Be careful when configuring firewall rules, as improperly configured rules can lock you out of your own system.

3. Install apps:

CachyOS comes pre-installed with many useful apps, but you may want to install additional ones to match your workflow. Here are some popular apps you may consider installing:

• GIMP (image processor)
• VLC (media player)
• Stacer (system monitor)
• Skype, Telegram, Discord, Signal (messenger apps)
• Steam (for gaming)
• Spotify (music)
• MailSpring (email client)
• Super Productivity (to-do list manager and Pomodoro timer)
• Visual Studio Code (code editor)
• Blender (3D software)
• Krita (digital painting)

You can easily install these apps using the command line. For example:

paru -S vlc mailspring spotify gimp

If you get an error message, try using a different command or check the name of the app in the database.

4. Enable global menu:

For some apps like Visual Studio Code, the global menu may not work or may be attached to the parent app instead of the panel.

# To enable global menu support, run the command and restart the app.
sudo pacman -S appmenu-gtk-module libdbusmenu-glib

5. Enable trim operations on SSD/NVME:

If you have an SSD or NVME, it would be highly recommended to enable fstrim to ensure your SSD or NVME stays in good working condition.

sudo systemctl enable --now fstrim.timer

Some filesystems such as F2FS (continuous TRIM) have a built-in trim operation, meaning that fstrim is not needed.

6. Set up Bluetooth headphones:

To auto-connect your headphones, follow the steps in the Arch wiki guide: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/bluetooth_headset#Headset_via_Bluez5/PulseAudio. If Pulseaudio doesn’t work, you may need to manually reconnect the headphones each time you restart your computer.