Over two months after its previous 2024.07 release, KaOS, a rolling KDE-centric Linux distro betting on the XFS file system, released its latest stable, 2024.09 ISO, powered by Linux kernel 6.10 and packed with updates and enhancements.
KaOS 2024.09: Key Highlights
This release features the most recent versions of KDE software, including KDE Gear 24.08.1 apps collection, Plasma 6.1.5 desktop environment, and Frameworks 6.6.0, all built on Qt 6.7.2.
Notable improvements include:
- Enhanced administrative file access in Dolphin.
- New position markers in Konsole for easier navigation through lengthy outputs.
- Kdenlive’s new keyframe curve editor has advanced easing methods for fades.
Another striking novelty in the new release is the return of the Calligra office suite as the default one for KaOS. Actively maintained and developed, it offers a robust alternative for productivity tasks. Additionally, VirtualBox is now Qt6-based, aligning with the system’s modernization efforts.
Moreover, the installer has received several user interface updates for a more intuitive setup experience. During installation, users can now choose between Calligra and LibreOffice.
Thanks to Kirigami, a set of QtQuick components for building adaptable UIs, the bootloader selection and sound backend pages are more seamlessly integrated with Plasma 6. Furthermore, there’s now an option to install using the new Bcachefs filesystem.
While still experimental, it’s included in the kernel build, and the necessary tools are available in the repositories. Calamares supports Bcachefs in manual mode, though specific settings are yet to be implemented.
In addition, Calamares now supports all popular filesystems with its automated partitioning option, which allows users to choose from XFS, EXT4, BTRFS, or ZFS without manual partitioning.
KaOS 24.09 introduces Zed, a Rust-based code editor that is a fast and capable alternative to VSCode. The distribution is also actively following the development of the independent Ladybird browser. Currently, in pre-alpha, it is suitable for simple browsing and will receive monthly updates in the repositories.
Significant updates to essential components have strengthened the system’s foundation. Notable ones include Boost 1.85.0/ICU 75.1 Stack, Ruby 3.3.5, Perl 5.38, Systemd 253, ZFS 2.2.6, KMod 33, OpenSSL 3.3, FFmpeg 6.1, OpenJDK 17, and Mesa 24.2.3.
It’s important to mention that with VLC lacking a Qt6 port, the default sound backend has shifted to phonon-mpv, providing a fully Qt6-ready experience. Additionally, four years after reaching end-of-life, GTK2 has been completely removed from the KaOS repositories. Ardour, the last major application requiring GTK2, now uses an internal YTK as of version 8.4.0.
SDDM 0.20 now offers the option to run the display manager in Wayland mode. KaOS moves closer to transitioning away from X11, using kwin_wayland as the shell in Wayland mode instead of Weston’s upstream default.
However, keep in mind that despite these advancements, there are known issues, such as the inability to install KaOS on RAID. Refer to the release announcement for detailed information about all changes.
Being a rolling-release Linux distro, those who have already installed KaOS do not need to reinstall; a regular “sudo pacman -Syu” will always give you the latest. For the rest, opting for a fresh install, you can download the ISO image from here.
