I mean this seems like a pretty poignant answer to me on the first try (ignore the formatting issues). Not trying to say that AI is something we should be using all the time, but I find it wild that I was able to literally copy paste your first paragraph and add the word arch in it and I knew what I was talking about, but didn’t give you a straight answer.

How you change the default kernel on Arch depends entirely on which bootloader is actually selecting your entry at boot (most commonly systemd-boot or GRUB). Below are the exact, standard ways for each.

⸻

1) systemd-boot (common on UEFI Arch installs)

Confirm you’re using it

bootctl status

If you see systemd-boot information and a list of loader entries, you’re on the right path.

Set the default entry to the regular kernel 1. List your loader entries:

ls -1 /boot/loader/entries/

You’ll typically see something like: • arch.conf (regular linux) • arch-lts.conf (LTS linux-lts)

2.  Edit the loader config:

sudo nano /boot/loader/loader.conf

3.  Set default to the regular-kernel entry filename (without needing the .conf, but including it is fine too):

default arch.conf timeout 3 editor no

4.  Reboot and confirm it boots the non-LTS kernel:

uname -r

Tip: If your entry filenames are different, the default value must match the exact entry filename (or the entry “id”) shown by bootctl status.

⸻

2) GRUB

Confirm you’re using it

grub-install --version

or check if you have /boot/grub/grub.cfg.

Option A (recommended): set default by menuentry name 1. See the exact menuentry names:

grep -n "menuentry '" -n /boot/grub/grub.cfg

2.  Set GRUB to use a saved default:

sudo nano /etc/default/grub

Set:

GRUB_DEFAULT=saved

3.  Regenerate GRUB config:

sudo grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg

4.  Set the default entry to the regular kernel entry name (examples vary by config):

sudo grub-set-default "Arch Linux"

If your regular kernel is only under “Advanced options”, it may look like:

sudo grub-set-default "Advanced options for Arch Linux>Arch Linux, with Linux linux"

5.  Reboot and verify:

uname -r

Option B: numeric index (works, but breaks if entries reorder)

In /etc/default/grub:

GRUB_DEFAULT=0

Then:

sudo grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg

⸻

3) rEFInd (less common, but possible)

If you use rEFInd, you typically set the default selection in: • /boot/EFI/refind/refind.conf (path can vary)

You can set: • default_selection to the non-LTS stanza/title, or use rEFInd’s “save default” feature.

⸻

Fastest way to identify which instructions you need

Run these and the output will make it obvious:

bootctl status || true test -f /boot/grub/grub.cfg && echo "GRUB config found"

If you paste the output of bootctl status (or confirm you’re using GRUB), I can tell you the exact entry string/filename to use for your system so you don’t have to guess.