linux-firmware 20220119.0c6a7b3-2 requires kernel >=5.3 and package splitting

The linux-firmware package 20220119.0c6a7b3-2 implements kernel firmware compression. Linux kernel from 5.3 on support loading from xz compressed firmware. CONFIG_FW_LOADER_COMPRESS kernel option must be enabled. All official Arch Linux kernel support this for a long time. [1] The linux-firmware package has been split into smaller packages to further...

6d

libxml2>=2.9.12-6 update may require manual intervention

The libxml2 package prior to version 2.9.12-6 was missing the compiled python modules. This has been fixed in 2.9.12-6, so the upgrade may need to overwrite any untracked pyc files created. If you get errors like these libxml2: /usr/lib/python3.10/site-packages/__pycache__/drv_libxml2.cpython-310.opt-1.pyc exists in filesystem libxml2: /usr/lib/python3.10/site-packages/__pycache__/drv_libxml2.cpython-310.pyc...

Dec 2021

Sorting out old password hashes

Starting with libxcrypt 4.4.21, weak password hashes (such as MD5 and SHA1) are no longer accepted for new passwords. Users that still have their passwords stored with a weak hash will be asked to update their password on their next login. If the login just fails (for example from display manager) switch to a virtual terminal (Ctrl-Alt-F2) and...

Jun 2021

Move of official IRC channels to libera.chat

As some of you may have read over the past days, there has been an ownership dispute over the freenode.net network. The IRC network has been used by Arch Linux and many other projects over the past decades as a platform for discussion and support. The dispute led to the exodus of most former freenode staff from the network and the founding of a new...

May 2021

Installation medium with installer

The installation medium now provides a guided installer. This addition to the default method of installation (based on the installation guide) is similar to the other methods. If you use this installer, do not forget to mention it when asking for support and also to provide the archinstall log, when asked.

Apr 2021

Moving to Zstandard images by default on mkinitcpio

As linux-lts moved to the 5.10 version, all official kernels of Arch Linux now support zstd compressed initramfs images, so mkinitcpio is switching to zstd compressed images by default with version 30, which is currently on [testing]. If, for any reason, you are using a kernel version prior to 5.9, make sure to change mkinitcpio.conf COMPRESSION...

Feb 2021

Chromium losing Sync support in early March

Google has announced that they are going to block everything but Chrome from accessing certain Google features (like Chrome sync) starting on March 15. This decision by Google is going to affect Arch's chromium package a bit earlier, on March 2, when Chromium 89 gets released. We know for sure that data syncing will stop working (passwords, bookmarks,...

Feb 2021

PHP 8.0 and PHP 7 legacy packages are available

The php package has been updated to version 8.0. Please refer to the upstream migration guide. As some applications are not compatible with PHP 8 yet we provide a php7 package which can be installed alongside version 8. Packages that depend on PHP reflect this update and will require php7 if needed. You might need to update your configuration accordingly....

Jan 2021

Manual pages indexing service

We are happy to announce our newest public service: A manual pages indexing site at man.archlinux.org that publishes the man pages of all our packages and allows you to search and browse them. Check out, for example, the man page of tar. You can also find this service linked to in the sidebar as well as on every package detail page. Thanks to Wiki...

Jan 2021

Arch Linux mailing list id changes

Due to issues with our anti spam measures, we had to migrate those mailing lists, that were sent from @archlinux.org before to the @lists.archlinux.org domain. Submission to the mailing list is not affected and still works with @archlinux.org. Mails get redirected automagically. The only change that may need to be considered on your side are filters...

Dec 2020