PackageKit, the Linux software management tool that works across distributions and bridges graphical software managers and each distribution’s package system, is about to get its biggest update in over ten years. The upcoming 2.0 release will modernize its architecture, remove outdated features, and introduce a new set of interfaces.
Matthias Klumpp, who maintains PackageKit, has announced plans for version 2.0. He’s working on this as a Sovereign Tech Fellow in the second half of 2026, a program supported by Germany’s Sovereign Tech Agency to help maintainers of important open-source projects.
The reason for PackageKit 2.0 is simple. Some people thought new types of Linux distros would make traditional package management less important, but that hasn’t happened everywhere.
Package-based Linux systems are still common, especially for development. Meanwhile, PackageKit hasn’t changed much over the years, and Klumpp says its old design is starting to show its age.
There is also a security consideration. PackageKit runs as a daemon capable of modifying software across the entire system, making it one of the more security-sensitive components on a Linux installation. At the same time, the nature of its responsibilities makes meaningful sandboxing difficult.
PackageKit 2.0 is intended to address some of those long-standing architectural issues.
The update will simplify the code, remove features that aren’t useful on today’s Linux desktops, and add new options for graphical frontends. Some old design issues that needed workarounds should also get better solutions.
However, this modernization comes at a price: PackageKit 2.0 won’t be compatible with the old interfaces. This is important because those interfaces haven’t changed in over ten years. Any software that uses PackageKit will need to update to work with the new version.
Another key focus is improving offline system updates. Right now, PackageKit’s update process can require several reboots. Klumpp wants to rethink this using new features in recent versions of systemd.
One idea is to use systemd’s soft-reboot feature, which restarts the userspace part of Linux without a full hardware reboot. This redesign is still in the early stages, and Klumpp says it might need more support from systemd, so the final details aren’t set yet.
Beyond PackageKit, Klumpp is also putting a lot of work into AppStream, which provides metadata for Linux software centers and tools like Flatpak. He’s adding JPEG XL support, sandboxed media processing, better OARS integration, support for new specs, API stabilization for libappstream-compose, and fixing bugs.
Much of this work is nearly done, and AppStream 1.2 is almost ready to launch. AppStream was prioritized because a new Freedesktop Flatpak runtime is on the way, so Flatpak and Flathub will benefit from the update sooner.
Finally, work is planned around Freedesktop.org itself and its specifications. The aim is to improve processes and organization for the specifications, address open bug reports and merge requests, and make the documentation much easier to search and use.
For additional details, see Klumpp’s post here.
