Arch Linux shipped its August 2026 monthly ISO on August 1, and it brings one notable first: kernel 7.1.5 ships as the default. This makes Arch the first mainstream distribution to deploy the 7.1.x series out of the box, following the 7.1.4 release on July 18. The 1.5GB x86_64 image is available from the standard mirrors.
Archinstall 4.4
The ISO bundles Archinstall 4.4, the guided installer that has been steadily gaining features without abandoning Arch's DIY ethos. This release adds a profile for the Niri DankMaterialShell desktop — a scrollable tiling window manager built in Rust, aimed at developers who want something between a full GNOME-style desktop and a pure tiling WM like Sway or Hyprland. Niri's scrollable approach means workspaces extend horizontally rather than switching in place, making it feel distinctly different from anything in the traditional WM lineup.
Plymouth boot splash support is also now wired into the installer. Previously, setting up an animated boot screen required post-install initramfs hook configuration; Archinstall 4.4 handles it during the guided setup pass, so new installs start visually polished out of the box.
IWD networking option
Networking setup gains IWD as a selectable option alongside the traditional iwctl and NetworkManager paths. IWD (iNet Wireless Daemon), Intel's modern wireless daemon written in C, offers faster connection times and better WPA3-Enterprise support than wpa_supplicant on compatible hardware. For users installing on laptops with newer Intel Wi-Fi chips, it's worth selecting over the default.
Project governance
On the organizational side, lead developer Levente Polyák (known as "anthraxx") was re-elected for a second term in June, and the team is pushing an AUR (Arch User Repository) security initiative alongside this release — moving more packages toward reproducible builds and stronger signature verification.
For existing Arch users, rolling update via pacman -Syu remains the primary upgrade path. The ISO exists primarily for new installs and recovery environments. The addition of the Niri profile is worth watching: it represents Arch formally validating a Rust-based tiling compositor as a first-class desktop option, which will likely accelerate its adoption across other rolling-release distributions.