KDE Plasma 6

KDE Plasma 6
DeveloperKDE
Initial release28 February 2024 (2024-02-28)[1]
Stable release
6.6.3[2]  / 17 March 2026 (17 March 2026)
Preview release
N/A
Written inC++, QML
Operating systemUnix-like
PlatformFreeBSD, OpenBSD[3] and Linux
PredecessorKDE Plasma 5
TypeDesktop environment
LicenseGPL 2.0 or later[4]
Websitekde.org/plasma-desktop
Repository

KDE Plasma 6 is the sixth and most recent generation of the KDE Plasma desktop environment. It is the successor of KDE Plasma 5 and was first released on 28 February 2024.[1]

Overview

KDE Plasma 6 was designed not to be a major departure from KDE Plasma 5, but rather a series of improvements.[5] KDE Plasma 6 is built using Qt 6, KDE Frameworks 6, and KDE Gear 24.02.[1][6] In addition, support for the Wayland protocol was mainstreamed as the default graphical session, with X11 support made secondary.[7] It introduces a new sound theme, Ocean, replacing Oxygen's as the default.[1][6][8] Plasma 6 on Wayland has partial support for High Dynamic Range (HDR) and color blindness correction filters.[1][6][9] The Discover app and settings were also improved, and the 3D cube desktop effect was brought back.[10]

New features

Compared to the latest Plasma 5 release, the sixth generation brings the following new features:

  • The panel floats by default. Panels can be configured in auto-hide mode and resized, including being turned into a dock.[10][6]
  • Plasma Search allows you to customize the ordering of search results, supports time zone conversion, and matches text in both the current system language and English.[5][6]
  • Support for the Astronomical and Umm al-Qura Calendars in the calendar applet.[6]
  • Native support for the use of both password and fingerprint authentication at the same time.[1][11]
  • Support for sound themes.[6]

History

The first stable version of Plasma 6 was released on 28 February 2024.[1]

Releases

See also: KDE Software Compilation § Release cycle

As of 2025, major versions with new features are released every four months, with three updates per year. However, since 2023, the KDE community has expressed a preference to transition to a semi-annual schedule, with updates occurring every six months, if it can be timed to align with the release cycles of the major Linux distributions that package Plasma (Ubuntu, OpenSUSE Leap, and Fedora).[12][13]

Each release receives up to six patch releases containing bug fixes. Releases will stop receiving bug fixes as soon as the next major release is available. There are no plans to offer a long-term support version of Plasma 6. [13]

Plasma 6 releases[13]
Version Date Key features
Unsupported: 6.0 28 Feb 2024 First release of KDE Plasma 6.0 (as part of the greater KDE MegaRelease 6)[1][14]
Unsupported: 6.1 18 Jun 2024 Remote desktop, better widget editing, persistent apps, and synchronizing keyboard LEDs with accent color.[15][16]
Unsupported: 6.2 8 Oct 2024 Drawing tablet calibration wizard and test mode, improved HDR support, support for PostmarketOS packages in Discover, and overhauled Accessibility page in System Settings.[17][18]
Unsupported: 6.3 11 Feb 2025 Improved drawing tablet settings page, overhauled fractional scaling, support for ICC color profiles in Night Light, improved hardware monitoring with added GPU statistics support on FreeBSD, and improved customization settings.[19][20]
Latest version: 6.4 17 Jun 2025 Modernized KMenuEdit, improved Discover feedback, enhanced accessibility in Calculator and System Monitor, default dimming on admin prompts, terminology cleanup, better clipboard and bell handling, and various widget fixes.[21]
Latest version: 6.5 21 Oct 2025 Automatic light-to-dark theme switching, pinnable clipboard items, application permissions page, grayscale color filter, improvements to screen reader, various performance and widget enhancements.[22]
Latest version: 6.6 17 Feb 2026 An on-screen keyboard, Plasma Login Manager, and text extraction from screenshots with Optical Character Recognition (OCR) enhance usability and accessibility, e.g., with a grayscale filter for color blindness and customizable global themes.[23]
Legend:
Unsupported
Latest version
Future version

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "KDE MegaRelease 6". KDE. 28 February 2024. Archived from the original on 28 February 2024. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  2. ^ "KDE Plasma 6.6.3, Bugfix Release for March". 17 March 2026. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  3. ^ Sadowski, Rafael (20 May 2024). "KDE6 on OpenBSD". rsadowski.de. Archived from the original on 9 October 2024. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
  4. ^ "Copying of Plasma Workspace". KDE Invent. Archived from the original on 4 May 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
  5. ^ a b Wallen, Jack (11 September 2023). "I tested KDE Plasma 6 and found it very familiar. Here's why that's a good thing". ZDNET. Archived from the original on 26 March 2024. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Nestor, Marius (28 February 2024). "KDE Plasma 6 Desktop Environment Officially Released, This Is What's New". 9to5Linux. Archived from the original on 20 May 2024. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  7. ^ Wallen, Jack (14 February 2024). "The first Linux distribution to deliver a pure KDE Plasma 6 environment is here". ZDNET. Archived from the original on 24 March 2024. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  8. ^ Sneddon, Joey (28 February 2024). "KDE Plasma 6.0 Has Arrived, This is What's New". OMG! Ubuntu. Archived from the original on 3 March 2024. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  9. ^ Davenport, Corbin (28 February 2024). "KDE 6 Update Arrives With Big Plasma Desktop Updates for Linux". How-To Geek. Archived from the original on 5 March 2024. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  10. ^ a b Rudra, Sourav (28 February 2024). "KDE Plasma 6: The Big Release is Here!". It's FOSS News. Archived from the original on 22 September 2024. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  11. ^ "Plasma/Plasma 6". KDE Community Wiki. Archived from the original on 30 September 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  12. ^ "KDE Plasma 6.0.1, Bugfix Release for March". announcements.kde.org. 5 March 2024. Archived from the original on 6 March 2024. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  13. ^ a b c "Plasma 6 Schedules". KDE Community Wiki. Archived from the original on 28 February 2024. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  14. ^ Proven, Liam (29 February 2024). "KDE Plasma 6.0 brings the same old charm and confusion". The Register. Archived from the original on 15 January 2025. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
  15. ^ "Plasma 6.1". KDE Community. 18 June 2024. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  16. ^ Sneddon, Joey (18 June 2024). "KDE Plasma 6.1 Released With… Well, A Fair Bit!". OMG! Ubuntu. Archived from the original on 22 January 2025. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
  17. ^ "Plasma 6.2". KDE Community. 8 October 2024. Archived from the original on 9 October 2024. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
  18. ^ Sneddon, Joey (8 October 2024). "KDE Plasma 6.2 Released, This is What's New". OMG! Ubuntu. Archived from the original on 26 January 2025. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
  19. ^ "Plasma 6.3". KDE Community. 11 February 2025. Archived from the original on 13 February 2025. Retrieved 13 February 2025.
  20. ^ Sneddon, Joey (11 February 2025). "KDE Plasma 6.3 Released, This is What's New". OMG! Ubuntu. Archived from the original on 13 February 2025. Retrieved 13 February 2025.
  21. ^ "KDE Plasma 6.4". KDE Community. 17 June 2025. Archived from the original on 17 June 2025. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  22. ^ "Plasma 6.5". KDE Community. 21 October 2025. Retrieved 23 October 2025.
  23. ^ "Plasma 6.6". KDE.org. 17 February 2026. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
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