CachyOS Update Broke Plasma Roll Back With Snapper Snapshots
If your CachyOS was installed on Btrfs with snapshots enabled, every big update left a safety net behind: a picture of the system from before the change. Rolling back to it undoes a bad update in minutes - files in your home folder included in most setups stay exactly as they are.
By Technical AnshuCachyOS / Btrfs / SnapperAbout 15 minutes
Watch the full fix in the video above - every step shown live on a real CachyOS system
An honest condition first: this only works if snapshots actually exist on your system. CachyOS offers Btrfs with automatic snapshots during installation, and many users enabled it - but not everyone did, and no tool can roll back a snapshot that was never taken. The first card tells you how to check in ten seconds. If the list is empty, skip to the last card for the package-downgrade route instead - it is slower, but it needs nothing you do not already have.
snapper list - snapshots around the bad update
# | Type | Pre # | Date | Description
----+--------+-------+-------------------+--------------
41 | single | | Mon 06 Oct 2026 | before-update
42 | pre | | Tue 07 Oct 2026 | pacman -Syu
43 | post | 42 | Tue 07 Oct 2026 | pacman -Syu
Example list - a pre and post pair wraps the update that broke things (numbers and dates are examples; your list will differ)
1
Check whether you have snapshots at all
From the TTY (Ctrl+Alt+F3), one command settles it. A list with dates means the rollback route is open; an error or an empty list means it is not, and honesty saves you from chasing a feature your install never had.
Run sudo snapper list
Rows with dates from before the bad update: you are in luck - continue
Command not found, or no snapshots: your install does not use snapper snapshots - go straight to the last card on this page
Note the number of the snapshot from just before the update that broke the login
2
Option one - boot the snapshot from the boot menu
Many Btrfs setups add snapshot entries to the boot menu. Booting one starts the system exactly as it was - the fastest way to confirm the update really is the problem, before changing anything permanent.
Reboot and open the boot menu's snapshot or advanced section if it offers one
Pick the snapshot dated just before the bad update and boot it
If the login screen works there, the diagnosis is proven: the update broke it, your hardware and data are fine
A booted snapshot is a look, not yet a repair - make it permanent with the next card
3
Option two - roll back from the TTY
Snapper's rollback makes the chosen snapshot the system's new state. It replaces system files only as far as the snapshot covers them - and in the typical CachyOS layout, your home folder is a separate area that rollback does not rewind.
From the TTY on your normal (broken) boot, run sudo snapper list and confirm the snapshot number
Run sudo snapper rollback 42 - use your snapshot's number, not this example
Reboot with reboot - the system comes up as it was before the update
Log in and confirm everything works before updating again
4
After rolling back - update again, the safe way
Rolling back buys you a working system, not a finished job: the update still needs to happen, because it also carries security fixes. The second attempt usually succeeds, because the repositories have finished syncing and the broken combination has been corrected.
Wait a day or two if you can - broken update waves are normally fixed upstream within days
Rate mirrors first: sudo cachyos-rate-mirrors
Run the full update: sudo pacman -Syu - complete means complete; partial updates are how this started
Check the CachyOS forum announcements before big updates - one glance tells you if a wave is still settling
5
No snapshots? The downgrade route is your rollback
Without snapshots you roll back package by package instead. It is more manual, but for a login bug the list of suspects is short - the login manager's library stack and Qt.
From the TTY, the October bug's known fix: sudo downgrade qt6-base and choose the previous release (6.11 in that wave)
The downgrade tool also offers packages from your local cache in /var/cache/pacman/pkg - those are versions your own system ran before
Reboot and test the login after each single change
Once a full clean update works again, let the held-back packages update with everything else
🔴 Rollback is a bandage with a deadline. A rolled-back system is an older, less secure system. Use the breathing room to re-apply the update properly within days - not to freeze the machine in the past forever.
Complete Video Guide
The whole bypass and repair, shown live step by step - watch it once and fix your system in minutes.
Will a snapper rollback delete the files I created this week?
In the usual CachyOS layout, snapshots cover the system root, and your home folder sits outside them - documents and downloads stay as they are. Still, before any rollback, copy anything irreplaceable to a USB drive from the TTY; two minutes of caution beats any assumption.
snapper list is empty but I chose Btrfs - why?
Btrfs alone is not enough; automatic snapshots need the snapper setup on top, which is an install-time choice. If it was never enabled, snapshots were never taken - use the downgrade route, and consider enabling snapshots now so the next bad update has a net.
Can I roll back only Plasma and keep other updates?
Snapper rolls back the whole covered system state, not single apps. For a surgical fix, the downgrade route is the right tool - rollback is the big hammer for when the system will not start at all.
This guide is based on the Cant Login to CachyOS Plasma Bug video by Technical Anshu - Stuck on a step? Ask in the video comments, help is always there.