KaOS 2025.01 released with Linux kernel 6.12, KDE Plasma 6.2.5, and many software updates

KaOS has released its latest version, 2025.01, featuring several software updates and enhancements. This release is powered by the Linux kernel 6.12.11 and includes numerous updates to the system's base, such as SQLite 3.48.0, Rsync 3.4.1, OpenSSL 3.4, systemd 253.30, Mesa 24.3.4 and FFMPEG 7.1, among others. New packages include Zen Browser, a customizable Firefox-based web browser, and Harper, an open-source grammar and spellchecker.

The Plasma desktop in KaOS 2025.01 comes with KDE Plasma 6.2.5, KDE Gear 24.12.1, and KDE Frameworks 6.10.0, all built on Qt 6.8.1. The release introduces support for the experimental bcachefs filesystem and a new Phonon sound backend. GTK2 has been removed from the repositories, marking its end of life.

The Calamares installer now offers automated partitioning with support for popular filesystems like XFS, EXT4, BTRFS, and ZFS. KaOS continues its transition to full Wayland adoption by enabling SDDM to run in Wayland mode with kwin_wayland as the default shell. Additionally, the KaOS website has also been revamped, and the source code of the project has moved from GitHub to Codeberg.