The Arch Linux project has released its November 2025 ISO snapshot, version 2025.11.01, featuring the Linux 6.17 kernel for improved hardware detection. This update arrives alongside Archinstall 3.0.12, a menu-based installer with new features, and Pacman 7.1 package manager enhancements. The release targets new installations, while existing users can update via standard commands.
On November 1, 2025, the Arch Linux project announced the availability of Arch Linux 2025.11.01, the first ISO snapshot powered by the Linux 6.17 kernel series. This kernel update enhances hardware detection, particularly on newer devices and older systems where prior ISOs struggled with component recognition.
The ISO includes the Archinstall 3.0.11 installer by default, but version 3.0.12 was released simultaneously with several improvements. These include a new -S flag for arch-chroot, the option to skip bootloader configuration checks when selecting 'No Bootloader,' and the ability to save and load UKI settings. Additional changes prevent reordering of AMDGPU and Radeon modules in mkinitcpio, rely on btrfs-hook for manual Btrfs module and binary installation, replace 'leafpad' with 'l3afpad' in the LXQt profile, add Uzbek (uz) language support, and ensure apps are installed only when enabled. These updates, along with bug fixes, aim to improve the installation process for both novice and experienced users.
Arch Linux 2025.11.01 also incorporates all packages updated in October 2025 from official repositories. Users can download the ISO from the project's website for new setups; existing installations should use 'sudo pacman -Syu' to stay current. To access Archinstall 3.0.12 on the ISO, run 'sudo pacman -Sy archinstall' and verify with 'archinstall -v.'
In tandem, Pacman 7.1 was released with enhancements to the downloader sandbox, better (re)importing of keys, new --wait-for-lock and --remove options for repo-add, and various makepkg improvements.