🖥️ How to Install CachyOS the Proper Way (with Rollback & Gaming Setup)

In this guide, we’ll walk through the proper installation of CachyOS so you have rollback protection in place. That way, if a kernel update or package breaks your system, you’ll be able to roll it back quickly and easily. 🚀

📀 Step 1: Starting the Installation

Boot from the CachyOS ISO (either on bare metal or inside a virtual machine). For most users, you can just select the default boot option at startup.

⚙️ Step 2: Launch the Installer

On the installation screen, start the CachyOS installer. Depending on your hardware, you may see more install options on a physical PC compared to a virtual machine.

👉 Choose the 1. Lamine Bootloader.
👉 Choose the 2. BTRFS (ButterFS) file system.

✅ These two together enable the rollback feature.

⌨️ Step 3: Language, Timezone & Keyboard

Select your language, timezone, and keyboard layout. If you’re not dual-booting, choose Erase Disk for a clean install.

🖥️ Step 4: Desktop Environment

CachyOS supports multiple desktop environments:

• 💻 GNOME
• 🪟 KDE Plasma
• 🍃 Cinnamon
• …and many more

I prefer GNOME, but choose the one that fits your workflow best.

🐟 Step 5: Default Shell

CachyOS defaults to the Fish shell, which provides autocomplete and command suggestions. Bash and ZSH are also options, but I recommend keeping Fish for its user-friendly features.

🖨️ Step 6: Optional Features

During installation you can also check:

• 🖨️ Printing Support (if this is a desktop PC with a printer)
• 📦 Additional software (optional, depending on your needs)

🔑 Step 7: User Setup

Create your username and password. For this demo, I used test / test123, but choose a strong password if this is your daily driver.

🎮 Step 8: Gaming Meta Package

Once installed, run the CachyOS Gaming Meta Package. This will automatically install:

• 🎮 Steam
• 🕹️ Lutris
• 📦 Heroic Launcher
• ⚙️ Wine Tricks

👉 This saves time so you don’t have to install everything individually.

🖥️ Step 9: Driver Options

During the gaming package install, you’ll be asked to select drivers:

• Option 7: Best for most AMD users (Vulkan Radeon drivers).
• Option 1: Default option.

Check the CachyOS Wiki for details based on your hardware.

♻️ Step 10: Rollback in Action

After each update, Lamine bootloader creates automatic snapshots. If something goes wrong, reboot and simply select a previous snapshot to restore your system. 🔄

💾 Step 11: Backup with Pika Backup

For extra safety, install Pika Backup. This allows you to back up your home folder, configs, and personal files to:

• 📀 External USB drive
• 💽 External hard drive
• 🗄️ NAS or home server

Set it to run weekly (e.g., Sundays) for incremental backups. That way, you’ll always have a fallback in case of hardware failure.

✅ Final Notes

With CachyOS + Lamine + BTRFS, you now have:

• 🔄 Rollback protection for bad updates
• 🎮 A ready-to-go gaming environment
• 💾 A backup strategy with Pika Backup

Now you can enjoy a bleeding-edge, high-performance Arch-based distro with peace of mind. 🐧🔥