Slack Native App on Linux — The "Beta" Label Is a Lie, Here Is What Arch Users Actually Run

I needed Slack on CachyOS with KDE Plasma 6 on Wayland. The download page screams beta and points to .deb/.rpm. Arch users do not use those. We use the AUR — and the “beta” label is purely vestigial marketing.

The Options

Option	Command	Wayland Status
slack-desktop-wayland (AUR)	paru -S slack-desktop-wayland	Patched for Wayland. Screen sharing works via PipeWire
Flatpak com.slack.Slack	flatpak install flathub com.slack.Slack	Portal-based Wayland. Sandboxed, auto-updates
slack-desktop (AUR)	paru -S slack-desktop	Works. May need --gtk-version=3 on KDE
slack-term (AUR)	paru -S slack-term	Terminal TUI. Lightweight. 6.6k ⭐ on GitHub
Ripcord (AUR)	paru -S ripcord	Native Qt. Paid ~$30 for Slack (Discord is free)

What I Installed

paru -S slack-desktop-wayland

CachyOS ships paru (Rust AUR helper, faster than yay). The wayland variant is the official Slack .deb repackaged with two flags: --ozone-platform=wayland and --enable-features=WebRTCPipeWireCapturer. No config files, no env vars — launches and screen sharing just works on KDE/Wayland.

The “Beta” Label Is Meaningless

• Version 4.50.x — current, updated monthly alongside Windows/Mac
• Same Electron codebase — zero feature gaps (huddles, screen share, threads, all work)
• Used in production at companies of every size since 2016

Slack never removed the badge because Linux packaging is not their priority. The AUR tracks upstream releases within hours. This is not a beta — it is the same software they ship to everyone else.

What Arch Users Actually Run

Most run slack-desktop or slack-desktop-wayland from AUR. Some prefer Flatpak for sandboxing. Terminal users reach for slack-term. Ripcord fans exist but the paid Slack license turns most people off.

The Takeaway

The “beta” banner is a lie. Run paru -S slack-desktop-wayland on CachyOS/KDE/Wayland and get a working native app with screen share in 30 seconds.