CachyOS / CachyOS/distribution

[Bug]: Qtile 0.37.0-1 High CPU Oscillation / Spikes on X11 (Surface Laptop 2)

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Description

### Kernel

7.1.6-1-cachyos

### Desktop Environment / Window Manager

Other (specify in additional context)

### CPU

Intel Core i5-8350U

### GPU / Driver

Intel UHD Graphics 620 / i915 kernel driver

### Description

I am experiencing abnormal CPU frequency and usage oscillation after upgrading Qtile to version 0.37.0-1 on X11. Sitting idle on the desktop makes the CPU continuously spike back and forth.

### Steps to Reproduce

1. Boot into a fresh CachyOS installation running Qtile on X11 (version 0.36.0-1).
2. Perform a full system upgrade (`sudo pacman -Syu`), upgrading Qtile to version 0.37.0-1.
3. Reboot the system cleanly.
4. Notice the heavy CPU fluctuation on idle desktop.

### Expected Behavior

The CPU usage should remain low and stable at idle, just like it did on Qtile version 0.36.0-1.

### Actual Behavior

The CPU continuously spikes and cycles between 10%, 40%, 60%, and various GHz frequencies. Checking `btop` shows the `qtile` process itself causing this high resource loop.

### Logs / Error Messages

https://cachyos.org

### Additional Context

* Relevant Upgrade Log: `[2026-08-14T01:35:40+0100] [ALPM] upgraded qtile (0.36.0-1 -> 0.37.0-1)`
* Window Manager was set to "Other" because Qtile is not in the dropdown selection.
* Device is a Microsoft Surface Laptop 2 using standard Intel graphics.
* Rolling back via system snapshot (`snap`) fully resolves the issue.

Image

Contributor guide

No contributing guide indexed for this repository

Research direction

No source files or tests are named. First reproduce the idle behavior on Qtile 0.37.0-1 under X11 and compare it with 0.36.0-1, using btop to confirm qtile is responsible; done means identifying the regression or narrowing it to the Qtile upgrade and documenting reproducible evidence.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
linux
Domain
operating-systems
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Active
Clarity
Needs clarification
Newbie friendliness
38/100

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