Cachy-update will not autostart

Issues & Assistance
1

For some reason, cachy-update will not check for updates at boot or every 2 hours that I have set with the timer, unless I uncheck (disable), then check it again (enable) in cachy-hello apps/tweaks. I have had this issue for awhile and was wondering if anyone else had the same problem. Here are my timer settings:

[…]
[Timer]
OnStartupSec=15s
OnUnitActiveSec=2h
[…]

2

What does

systemctl --user list-timers

show? For me, one entry is

- - Sat 2026-06-06 17:31:25 CEST 2h 35min ago arch-update.timer arch-update.service

which tells me that the arch-update timer ran 2:35h ago, and my cachy-update icon has a little red dot. Also:

╰─> cat ~/.config/systemd/user/arch-update.timer 
[Unit]
Description=Run arch-update auto check at boot (removed: and then every hour)

[Timer]
OnStartupSec=60
#OnUnitActiveSec=1h

[Install]
WantedBy=timers.target
3

systemctl --user list-timers
NEXT LEFT LAST PASSED UNIT ACTIVATES
Sat 2026-06-06 14:00:00 CDT 50min Sat 2026-06-06 13:00:00 CDT 9min ago psd-resync.timer psd-resync.service
Sat 2026-06-06 14:49:52 CDT 1h 40min Sat 2026-06-06 12:49:52 CDT 19min ago arch-update.timer arch-update.service

2 timers listed.

4

Hm… so it actually ran 19min ago. And you say your cachy-update icon shows no red dot? And right-click → Packages also shows nothing?

That is where my wits end, I’m afraid.

5

It works as expected if I disable then enable after startup. Just not on it’s own at startup.

6

are you on KDE Plasma? Then you might want to look into System Settings → Autostart, where “Arch-Update Systray Applet” should be listed.

7

I am using Cinnamon

Arch-Update Systray Applet is active on startup

8

Sorry, then I’m out of ideas :person_shrugging:

Edit: maybe change the title to something a little more descriptive like “Cachy-Update won’t autostart”, to attract the right people.

9

Before your restart shuffle (with it still not working properly), please do;

systemctl status arch-update.timer arch-update.service
10

I get this:

systemctl status arch-update.timer arch-update.service

Unit arch-update.timer could not be found.
Unit arch-update.service could not be found.

11

Sorry, those are user units.

systemctl --user status arch-update.timer arch-update.service
12

This is what i get after a reboot:

systemctl --user status arch-update.timer arch-update.service
○ arch-update.timer
Loaded: loaded (/home/lozt/.config/systemd/user/arch-update.timer; static)
Active: inactive (dead)
Trigger: n/a
Triggers: ● arch-update.service

○ arch-update.service - Run arch-update auto check
Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/user/arch-update.service; static)
Active: inactive (dead)

13

FYI, when I uncheck and check Cachy Update Enable I get this output:

❯ systemctl --user status arch-update.timer arch-update.service
● arch-update.timer
Loaded: loaded (/home/lozt/.config/systemd/user/arch-update.timer; static)
Active: active (waiting) since Sat 2026-06-06 19:38:34 CDT; 57s ago
Invocation: 480241e746fb48cca6a7859962f3b76e
Trigger: Sat 2026-06-06 21:38:34 CDT; 1h 59min left
Triggers: ● arch-update.service

Jun 06 19:38:34 cachyos systemd[711]: Started arch-update.timer.

○ arch-update.service - Run arch-update auto check
Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/user/arch-update.service; static)
Active: inactive (dead) since Sat 2026-06-06 19:38:38 CDT; 53s ago
Invocation: 0cbcaf1d4bf24aeb8d9caaa0d0e69d75
TriggeredBy: ● arch-update.timer
Process: 3423 ExecStart=arch-update --check (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)
Main PID: 3423 (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)
Mem peak: 115.8M
CPU: 835ms

Jun 06 19:38:34 cachyos systemd[711]: Starting Run arch-update auto check…
Jun 06 19:38:38 cachyos systemd[711]: Finished Run arch-update auto check.
Jun 06 19:38:38 cachyos systemd[711]: arch-update.service: Consumed 835ms CPU time over 3.844s wall clock time, 115.8M me>

It seems cachy-update is not staying enabled even though the check box is checked after a reboot.

If I remember correctly, this was a bug that was fixed a few months ago and looks like it is back again, well for me anyway.

14

What if we just enable it ourselves?

systemctl --user enable arch-update.timer

(reboot and check)

15

When I enable it, I get this output:

systemctl --user enable arch-update.timer
The unit files have no installation config (WantedBy=, RequiredBy=, UpheldBy=,
Also=, or Alias= settings in the [Install] section, and DefaultInstance= for
template units). This means they are not meant to be enabled or disabled using systemctl.

Possible reasons for having these kinds of units are:
• A unit may be statically enabled by being symlinked from another unit’s
.wants/, .requires/, or .upholds/ directory.
• A unit’s purpose may be to act as a helper for some other unit which has
a requirement dependency on it.
• A unit may be started when needed via activation (socket, path, timer,
D-Bus, udev, scripted systemctl call, …).
• In case of template units, the unit is meant to be enabled with some
instance name specified.

16

I was able to fix by running these commands and a reboot!

sudo systemctl --global enable arch-update-tray.service
sudo systemctl --global enable arch-update.timer

17

That is really uncommon because regularly that should run as a user-service. But well, if it works, it works, right? :wink: