OpenMandriva has just released its fixed-point release, Lx 6.0 (the ROME series is the distro’s rolling release version), offering a refreshed and more polished experience for both desktop and server users.
This release’s main highlight is upgrading its default desktop, KDE Plasma, to version 6. While seasoned users will appreciate that both X11 and Wayland sessions remain available, those running inside VirtualBox should stick with X11. In fact, VirtualBox guests may need to switch to the VMSVGA graphics controller to avoid boot hiccups.
Moreover, community spins have also been given the green light. Out of the box, users can opt for LXQt 2.2, GNOME 48, Xfce, or System76’s brand-new desktop, COSMIC, which is still in development.
Under the hood, the distribution has been updated to the latest upstream software: Plasma 6.3.4, alongside the legacy 5.27.12 branch, KDE Gear 25.04 apps suite (plus 23.08.5 for those who need it), and Frameworks 6.13. Both Qt 6.9 and Qt 5.15.15 are also included, offering broad compatibility for Qt-based applications.
On the kernel side, users can choose between Linux 6.14 and the cutting-edge 6.15-rc2, compiled with Clang for better tooling integration.
Office and browser stacks haven’t been forgotten, either. LibreOffice 25.2.3 arrives with deep Qt 6 and Plasma 6 integration, while Chromium 135.0.7049.84 and Firefox 137.0.2 have been patched to disable Google’s spyware modules and re-enable JPEG-XL support.
In addition, Falkon 25.04, GIMP 3, and VirtualBox 7.1.8 round out the default applications, ensuring a full slate of productivity and creative tools straight away.
For developers, the new release doesn’t hold back. LLVM/Clang 19.1.7, GCC 14.2, Glibc 2.41, Systemd 257.5, Mesa 25.0.4, and Java 24 provide a contemporary toolchain. Moreover, Proton and proton-experimental repositories make it possible to run Windows games through Proton outside of Steam—no proprietary code necessary.
And now, to another big novelty – while desktop users will find plenty to love, OpenMandriva Lx 6.0 also marks the first official stable release of the Server edition.
For it, the distro offers a headless, minimal deployment—no GUI fat to slow things down. Server images are delivered as raw disk images rather than ISOs, allowing for quick deployment in virtualization platforms like QEMU, OpenStack, or major cloud providers.
For those who prefer physical hardware, flashing the image to USB and running the included install-openmandriva shell script sets up the system in minutes. Administrators can customize the script to suit unusual environments, and cloud-init support means that injecting SSH keys or networking parameters at boot is straightforward.
Out of the box, the server image creates a user “omv” with the default password “omv” and offers a minimal package set. From there, running dnf install fetches everything. Whether deploying on generic x86_64 hardware or targeting aarch64 platforms like Ampere eMAG and Altra, or AMD Zen-based systems, the images are optimized for performance without compromising flexibility.
Finally, users still on OpenMandriva Lx 5.0 are strongly encouraged to perform a fresh installation of v6.0 rather than an in-place upgrade. The release announcement provides detailed information about all changes.
For a deeper dive, check out the release notes. If you want to give OpenMandriva Lx 6.0 a try, the installation ISO images are available on SourceForge.
