Fix DaVinci Resolve crashing on Arch Linux after system update (October 2025)

If DaVinci Resolve suddenly stopped launching after you ran a system update on Arch Linux, you’re not alone.

Right after updating Arch Linux (October 2025) with  "pacman-Syu", many users (myself included) started seeing Resolve crash instantly on launch, even when it was working perfectly before the update.

Quick Note ⚠️

This isn’t an official fix from Blackmagic or the AUR maintainer, it’s what I did on my own system to get DaVinci Resolve working again after a system update broke it. Use these steps at your own risk, and always make a backup or snapshot before downgrading core libraries.

🎥 Watch the video walkthrough:

I recorded a quick video showing exactly what happened, the error message, and how I fixed it step-by-step.

The Symptom

After updating your system and trying to run Resolve, you might see this error in your terminal:

$ /opt/resolve/bin/resolve
/opt/resolve/bin/resolve: Symbol `_ZNSt3__14cerrE' has different size in shared object, consider re-linking
/opt/resolve/bin/resolve: Symbol `_ZNSt3__14coutE' has different size in shared object, consider re-linking
Segmentation fault (core dumped)

At first glance, that looks like nonsense, but the key part is those std::__1::cerr and std::__1::cout symbols. They come from the libc++ (LLVM’s C++ standard library). Arch’s recent update to libc++ and libc++abi broke compatibility with the version DaVinci Resolve 20.2.1 and 20.2.2 was built against.

The Cause

When Arch upgraded to libc++ / libc++abi 21.1.3, it changed the C++ ABI (the internal binary interface).

DaVinci Resolve 20.2.1 (and 20.2.2) was compiled with libc++ 20.1.x, so when the new version loads, the symbols don’t match, causing the “different size in shared object” error and a segmentation fault.

The Fix

The solution is simple: roll back the C++ runtime libraries to the previous versions that Resolve expects.

If you still have them in your local pacman cache, just run:

sudo pacman -U \
  /var/cache/pacman/pkg/libc++-20.1.6-2-x86_64.pkg.tar.zst \
  /var/cache/pacman/pkg/libc++abi-20.1.6-2-x86_64.pkg.tar.zst

Choose version 20.1.6-2 for both.

Confirm the Fix

After downgrading, start Resolve again:

$ /opt/resolve/bin/resolve

It should now launch normally, without the symbol or segmentation fault error.

Why This Happens

DaVinci Resolve bundles a lot of its own libraries, but it still depends on system ones like libc++ for C++ runtime symbols. When Arch updates those libraries faster than Blackmagic updates Resolve, the binary interface changes, causing exactly this kind of breakage.

This isn’t an uncommon issue on rolling distros like Arch or Manjaro, so pinning key runtime libraries or using the AUR's updated PKGBUILD is a smart precaution.

Why I Had to Fix It

This wasn't just an experiment, DaVinci Resolve is part of my daily workflow for producing videos, and after the system update it completely stopped working. I couldn’t edit or export anything, which meant I literally couldn’t make any more videos until it was fixed.

Since I couldn’t find any clear answers online, I decided to dig into the problem myself, figure out what broke, and share the solution so nobody else has to waste the same time.

A Note About Downgrading or Pinning libc++ ⚠️

Downgrading libc++ and libc++abi is a quick and safe short-term workaround for DaVinci Resolve, but it isn’t ideal as a long-term fix. Arch Linux is a rolling-release distribution, meaning system libraries are updated frequently and other software expects the newest versions.

By keeping an older libc++, you’re freezing part of the C++ runtime while the rest of your system keeps moving forward.

That can occasionally cause:

1. Build or runtime errors in packages compiled against the new ABI
2. Dependency conflicts during future pacman -Syu runs
3. The need to manually unhold and re-upgrade once Blackmagic updates Resolve

If you use Arch mainly for Resolve, it’s fine to hold back libc++ temporarily.

Note on Reporting the Issue

I also reported this to the davinci-resolve-studio AUR page so the maintainer and other Arch users are aware.

Ultimately, this is an upstream issue with Blackmagic Design building Resolve 20.2.1 against an older C++ runtime. Until they release an updated binary, the AUR package can only apply temporary work-arounds like pinning or unbundling libraries.