KaOS 2026.02 is now available, marking a major change in the distribution’s history. And if you’re wondering why, here’s the big surprise. While KaOS has traditionally focused on KDE and Plasma, this ISO does not include Plasma or KWin. Instead, it features a desktop based on the Niri Wayland compositor and the Noctalia shell.
According to the project, this change is part of the distro’s ongoing efforts to move away from systemd and evaluate alternatives, such as the Dinit service manager. As Plasma’s reliance on systemd grows and full integration becomes mandatory upstream, KaOS developers are exploring other desktop options to maintain a Qt-focused distribution.
“For those wondering why this change, it has come into play because of a desire to move away from Systemd. Work is ongoing to see if a move to Dinit is viable for this distribution, that also meant, looking for an alternative to Plasma, since Plasma pretty much demands Systemd, and will be fully mandatory soon.”
It’s worth noting, however, that the current ISO still uses systemd and serves as a test platform to assess user response to a possible future transition. At the same time, Plasma 6 remains fully available in the repositories.
The desktop stack features Niri 25.11, Noctalia 4.4, and Quickshell 0.2.1, all built on Qt 6.10.2, delivering a scrollable tiling Wayland experience while maintaining KaOS’ commitment to a Qt-only, GTK-free system.
However, the first step away from systemd has been taken as the ISO introduces Limine as the default bootloader, replacing systemd-boot. Other UEFI boot options are still available through Calamares.
While systemd 254 was the last to fully support KaOS’s split /usr setup, the ISO now ships with systemd 255.22. Installed systems are expected to transition to systemd 257.10, though generating a live ISO with that version is not yet fully resolved.
Core system updates include Linux kernel 6.18, GCC 15.2.1, Glibc 2.42, Binutils 2.45, Mesa 25.3.5, PipeWire 1.4.9, GStreamer 1.28, ZFS 2.4, CMake 4.2, OpenSSH 10.2, Bash 5.3, Protobuf 33.5, OpenCV 4.12.0, and Poppler 26.02.0. The Linux kernel now includes built-in microcode for automated early updates.
Installer improvements include Calamares no longer opening a web browser as root on the Welcome page. Additional information is now provided through a QML Drawer integrated into the interface. Automated partitioning supports XFS, EXT4, Btrfs, and ZFS without manual setup.
The default filesystem is still XFS with CRC and finobt enabled. However, BIOS installations cannot use XFS due to GRUB compatibility issues with the latest XFS implementation. RAID installations are currently unsupported.
Multimedia updates include a new Phonon backend. Since there is no Qt6 port of VLC, KaOS now defaults to phonon-mpv, ensuring a fully Qt6-ready media stack. SDDM 0.20 runs in Wayland mode, further reducing reliance on X11. System logging is simplified with Kjournald, a graphical log viewer included by default.
Croeso, KaOS’s post-install configuration tool, remains included. Written in QML, it offers options to adjust commonly used settings, select wallpapers, install packages from predefined groups, and access distribution information. The Live environment also includes an installation guide. Artwork updates feature the Midna icon theme.
Known issues include the inability to install on RAID, GRUB failures with XFS on BIOS systems, and the need for 3D acceleration with the VMSVGA adapter to support Wayland in VirtualBox. The project also reiterates that its ISO images do not support tools such as Unetbootin or Rufus.
The release announcement contains detailed information about all changes. The ISO image is available on the project’s Download page.
Image credits: KaOS Project
Smart move. systemd is paying the price for spreading their tentacles to the point of trying to lock the entire Linux ecosystem around them.
This is not what Linux users want, and it starts to show.