Two months after its previous 2024.11 release, KaOS, a rolling KDE-centric Linux distro betting on the XFS file system, released its latest stable, 2025.01 ISO, delivering many updates to its core system, including upgraded versions of tools like SQLite 3.48, Rsync 3.4.1, and Systemd 253.30.
Under the hood, you’ll find Linux kernel 6.12.11 and Mesa 24.3.4. Additionally, updates to OpenSSL 3.4 and FFmpeg 7.1 bolster the system’s security and multimedia capabilities.
Another noteworthy change is the experimental introduction of bcachefs, a next-generation filesystem designed for speed and reliability. While still in its early stages, KaOS users can explore bcachefs via manual installation, with the required tools readily available in the repositories.
As always, KaOS prioritizes the KDE ecosystem. In light of this, the new release comes with Plasma 6.2.5, KDE Gear 24.12.1, and Frameworks 6.10, all built on Qt 6.8.1, which brings significant usability enhancements, including better support for screen readers in Dolphin and improved keyboard navigation.
Moreover, the Bluetooth connectivity through KDE Connect is now fully functional, and Okular now supports more advanced PDF form functionality.
On top of that, more applications—such as Krusader, KStars, and Skrooge—are now ported to Qt6, ensuring a smoother and more cohesive user experience. A new Phonon sound backend using phonon-mpv replaces VLC, which has yet to be ported to Qt6.
Another important change is that KaOS officially removed GTK2 from its repositories with this release, marking the end of an era. The final holdout, Ardour, now uses its own toolkit, enabling KaOS to embrace modern alternatives fully.
The Calamares installer has also seen updates to its partitioning options, now supporting XFS, EXT4, BTRFS, and ZFS for automated setups. Additionally, KaOS takes another step toward full Wayland adoption by enabling the SDDM display manager to run in Wayland mode with kwin_wayland as its default shell.
On the apps side, KaOS 2025.01 introduces two new applications to its arsenal: Zen Browser, a Firefox-based web browser packed with innovative features, and Harper, an open-source grammar and spell-checking tool.
Despite its many advancements, however, the KaOS team notes a couple of limitations: RAID installations are not supported, and users are advised to follow specific instructions for creating installation media. Tools like Unetbootin and Rufus are incompatible, and DVDs must be burned at speeds no higher than 4x.
Last but not least, KaOS has also rolled out a brand-new website built on the Astro.js framework. It replaces the nearly decade-old Jekyll-based design and now offers a modern look with light and dark modes, improved responsiveness, and better accessibility scores.
Refer to the release announcement for detailed information about all changes.
