KDE Plasma 6.4 has been released with a number of new features and improvements. This step-by-step tutorial will show you how to install the latest KDE Plasma 6.4 on Fedora 42.
This guide also explains how to try KDE Plasma beta version via a third-party COPR repository.
Table of Contents
Key Features and Improvements in KDE Plasma 6.4
The Plasma 6.4 introduces a significant number of new features and enhancements. Some of the notable additions are given below:
1. New Modules
Plasma 6.4 includes new modules such as KWin-X11 and Aurorae.
KWin-X11 is the window manager for the X11 session, split from the main KWin codebase as Wayland becomes the primary focus.
Aurorae is a new theme engine for KWin window decorations, supporting SVG or QML rendering.
2. Spectacle UI Revamp
The screenshot utility, Spectacle, has received a major user interface overhaul. It now defaults to a Rectangular Region overlay for easier area capture or full screen shots, with annotation capabilities.
3. Per-Virtual-Desktop Custom Tile Layouts
Users can now define different tile arrangements for each virtual desktop.
4. Wayland Improvements
There is continued focus on enhancing the Wayland experience, including initial support for the Wayland session restore protocol utilizing xdg-session-v1. Sticky keys on Wayland now un-latch on click, and screen mirroring on Wayland is now aware of aspect ratio differences.
5. System Monitor:
The System Monitor's Overview page now includes more relevant monitors like GPU usage and individual disk capacities. The Applications page also groups background services into a new item.
Other notable improvements include;
- better KRunner search result ordering and awareness of color codes and archaic units,
- the "Disks & Devices" widget checking for filesystem errors on newly connected disks,
- improved keyboard navigation,
- more accurate memory information on the "About This System" page,
- disabled UI elements no longer highlighting on hover,
- improvements to the built-in RDP server,
- a free space notifier that warns about low space on any partition and is configurable,
- the ability to start updates in Discover from the notification,
- persistent notifications,
- customizable fade duration for virtual desktop switching,
- highlighting newly installed apps in the Kickoff launcher,
- and the option to automatically move files on the same disk with drag-and-drop.
Install KDE Plasma 6.4 in Fedora 42
Note that Fedora offers an official KDE edition. If you prefer not to install Plasma manually, you can simply download and install Fedora KDE instead.
KDE Plasma 6.4 is now included in the default Fedora repositories. To install latest KDE Plasma 6.4 on your Fedora system, run:
sudo dnf5 update
sudo dnf5 install @kde-desktop-environment
Alternatively, you can install the KDE Plasma package group with:
sudo dnf5 group install kde-desktop
To install additional KDE applications, use:
sudo dnf5 group install kde-apps
Once the installation is complete, reboot your system to start using KDE Plasma 6.4.
At the login screen, enter your username if it's not already selected. Before entering your password, look for a gear icon, hamburger menu, or session menu, usually at the bottom-right corner of the login box.
Click that icon or menu, and you should see a list of available desktop environments, including:
- GNOME
- Plasma
- Possibly others
Select "Plasma" (or "Plasma (Wayland)" or "Plasma (X11)", depending on what you prefer or what's installed).
Then, enter your password and log in.
Please note that Fedora's default display manager is GDM (GNOME Display Manager). It will show the session selector icon after you select the user.
If you installed SDDM (Simple Desktop Display Manager), which is Plasma's default, it shows the session choice directly on the login screen.
At the first log in, you will be greeted with KDE welcome tour. You can either take the tour or simply skip it.
Congratulations! Start using the Fedora 42 with latest Plasma desktop environment.
As you noticed in the above screenshot, I am running the KDE Plasma 6.4 version in my Fedora 42 system.
Install KDE Plasma Beta
Please be mindful that this is a pre-release version and should not be used for production work. The purpose of the beta is for public testing and to identify bugs and provide feedback.
If you want to try the Plasma 6.4 beta on other Fedora variants, it is available through a KDE-beta COPR repository.
Enable the KDE beta COPR repository using command:
sudo dnf5 copr enable @kdesig/kde-beta
After adding the repository, update the sources and install KDE Plasma 6.4 beta using the following command:
sudo dnf5 update
sudo dnf5 install @kde-desktop-environment
Once installed, reboot your Fedora system.
Revert Back to Stable Version
To revert to stable version, run:
sudo dnf5 copr disable @kdesig/kde-beta
sudo dnf5 distro-sync
You now have the stable KDE Plasma version provided by Fedora’s default repositories.
You will also have to switch to the GDM.
Verify KDE Plasma Version
To check which version of KDE Plasma is installed on your Fedora system, you can use either the GUI or the command line.
Method 1: Using GUI
If you're already logged into a Plasma session:
- Click on the K menu (bottom-left, like a Start menu).
- Go to System Settings.
- Scroll down to About this System (under "System Information").
- There you’ll see:
- KDE Plasma Version
- KDE Frameworks Version
- Qt Version
- Kernel Version
- OS
Method 2: Using Terminal
Run the following command from your Terminal:
plasmashell --version
You will see something like below:
plasmashell 6.4.0
Or, if you want more detail:
kinfocenter
This opens the GUI system information window (which you see in the previous screenshot) from the terminal.
You can also run:
kded5 --version # for Plasma 5 kded6 --version # for Plasma 6
Sample Output:
kded6 6.15.0
Note: If you have both Plasma 5 and 6 installed, check which session you're currently running by looking at echo $XDG_SESSION_DESKTOP.
Switch to SDDM Display Manager (Optional)
You can switch to a different display manager on Fedora, such as SDDM, which is the default for KDE Plasma.
Fedora typically uses GDM (GNOME Display Manager) by default, especially if you installed the GNOME version first.
For those wondering, a display manager handles the graphical login screen. You can only have one active at a time, managed by a systemd service.
To switch to SDDM in Fedora, follow the steps below:
1. Install SDDM
Install sddm in Fedora, If not already installed:
sudo dnf install sddm
2. Enable SDDM as the default display manager
sudo systemctl enable sddm --force
The --force part replaces the current display manager (e.g. gdm) with sddm in the systemd default target.
3. Disable GDM explicitly (Optional)
This isn’t required but for clarity:
sudo systemctl disable gdm
4. Reboot
After rebooting, SDDM should appear as your login screen. It will also make it easier to choose Plasma, as SDDM integrates better with KDE environments.
Verify the Active Display Manager
To check if the currently active display manager is sddm, run:
cat /etc/systemd/system/display-manager.service
You should see something like:
[Unit] Description=Simple Desktop Display Manager Documentation=man:sddm(1) man:sddm.conf(1) After=systemd-user-sessions.service [...] [Service] ExecStart=/usr/sbin/sddm Restart=always BusName=org.freedesktop.DisplayManager [Install] Alias=display-manager.service
That confirms SDDM is now active.
Conclusion
In this guide, we explained how to install the latest KDE Plasma 6.4 desktop environment on Fedora Linux 42. We also showed how to try the beta version using a third-party repository, and how to revert to the stable release if needed.
Next, we demonstrated how to check the currently installed Plasma version using both the graphical interface and the command line. Finally, we walked through the steps to switch to a different display manager, such as SDDM.
