KaOS, a rolling KDE-centric Linux distribution that uses the Pacman package manager and bets on the XFS file system, has released its November 2025 installation image, marking the first step toward adopting the Limine bootloader, now offered as an optional choice for UEFI installations via Calamares.
The release ships Plasma 6.5.3, KDE Gear 25.08.3, and Frameworks 6.20, all built on Qt 6.10.1. Plasma 6.5 adds automatic light–dark theme switching, pinned clipboard items for frequently reused text, an updated Wi-Fi and networking module showing nearby wireless networks, and improved KRunner fuzzy search.
The system base includes a wide set of version bumps: Boost 1.89.0, ICU 77.1, OpenCV 4.12, Poppler 25.11, GStreamer 1.26.8, PipeWire 1.4.9, CMake 4.2, OpenSSH 10.2, Bash 5.3, Protobuf 33.1, and Mesa 25.2.7.
The kernel is updated to Linux 6.17.9, and systemd 257.10 is used on installed systems. Systemd 255.22 remains in the ISO due to remaining build constraints for the split-/usr arrangement KaOS still supports.
Wayland components receive expansion, as the distro now includes Niri, a scrollable-tiling compositor; Quickshell, a QtQuick-based toolkit for custom shell development; and Noctalia Shell, a minimal Wayland shell designed to stay out of the user’s way. Plus, SDDM 0.20 is available with the option to run in Wayland mode, using KWin_Wayland as the default session shell.
The Calamares installer also sees several changes. A QML Drawer replaces the previous browser-based welcome page to avoid launching browsers as root. Partitioning remains flexible, with automated options for XFS, EXT4, Btrfs, and ZFS. Logging is improved through Kjournald, a graphical journal viewer included by default, allowing users to access filtered system logs without manual journalctl usage.
KaOS continues to use XFS with CRC and finobt features enabled as the default filesystem, offering improved metadata checking and more consistent inode allocation. The distribution’s post-install assistant, Croeso, remains part of the setup experience, providing configuration options, package group selection, and system information after the first boot.
Other additions include a switch to the Qt6-ready phonon-mpv backend due to the absence of a Qt6 port for VLC, updated Midna artwork, and a revised Welcome application inside the live environment.
The release announcement provides detailed information about all changes. The ISO image can be downloaded from the project’s Download page. Since KaOS is a rolling-release Linux distro, current users need only execute sudo pacman -Syu to upgrade to the latest version.
