EndeavourOS has released Titan Nova, a refreshed installation image that serves as an interim update while the Arch Linux-based distro continues work on its next major release, Triton.
According to devs, the project originally expected Triton to be available by now, but the release is delayed because the distro is moving its live environment to Wayland. The team says this change is necessary due to upcoming developments in the KDE Plasma desktop and involves significant work.
So, rather than leave the existing installation media unchanged until Triton is ready, the devs decided to refresh its current Titan series. The updated live environment ships with Linux kernel 7.1, KDE Plasma 6.7, Mesa 26.1, Calamares 26.03, Firefox 154, and Xorg Server 21.1.
For NVIDIA users, the ISO includes Nvidia-utils 610.57 and Nvidia-open 610.54. The team has also improved the experience when running the live environment with the open-source Nouveau driver.
On top of that, Titan Nova fixes an issue from recent keyboard configuration changes that could cause errors during setup. Moreover, EndeavourOS introduced a temporary patch, with a permanent solution planned for Triton.
One notable change is the temporary removal of Budgie Desktop from the installer. EndeavourOS says the current upstream Budgie software is transitioning to Wayland and does not yet offer a default experience the project is comfortable providing to users.
The removal is not expected to be permanent, with the distro planning to bring Budgie back in a future release once the transition reaches a more suitable state.
Finally, it is worth stressing that Titan Nova is an ISO refresh. The changes mainly affect new installations, the Calamares and offline installers, and the live environment on the ISO. Since EndeavourOS follows Arch Linux’s rolling-release model, users with updated installations are already current and do not need to take action for Titan Nova.
This release follows Titan Neo, released earlier this year, and effectively buys the EndeavourOS developers additional time to finish the more substantial Triton release.
The key change coming with Triton will be the switch to Wayland for the live environment, making Titan Nova something of a final maintenance stop before EndeavourOS makes that transition.
For additional details, see the official announcement. For fresh installs, Titan Nova is available now from the project’s official website.
