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Schedules
Plasma 6
is the most recent major version of the Linux desktop environment developed by the KDE community. It is developed, built and shipped atop the foundation of the
Qt 6
cross-platform GUI framework.
Further details about the release can be found on the
Plasma 6
page, while the list of
open Plasma 6 bugs
can be found at
Bugzilla
Status
As of March 2024, Plasma 6 is in active development for new and improved features as well as for bug fixes and will remain so until the (as yet unscheduled) initial public release of Plasma 7.
Releases
See also:
Plasma 6 release notes
The initial release produced by each development cycle (
v6.Χ.0
) will be tagged on Thursday a fortnight after the second beta release (four weeks after the first beta). Tarballs will be created from a git snapshot at that time that are made accessible to packagers ahead of the official public release, which will take place on the following Tuesday.
Schedule
The schedule of Plasma 6 releases is subject to change at any time as circumstances dictate. Some prior justifications for release cadence modifications have been:
the quality of a major component determined to be substandard
a delay in the release of a mandatory dependency, such as:
KDE Frameworks
Qt 6
to allow time for important bug fixes or security remediations to land
All deadlines are considered deliverable at
midday UTC
unless otherwise specified, however if you are a developer and need a few more hours (e.g. for an important bugfix), please notify someone from the release team as soon as the need becomes apparent.
For questions about the release process or related issues, visit the
#release-team
channel on the
KDE Matrix server
Cadence
New releases are initially planned to occur regularly at four (4) month intervals—roughly three (3) times per year. Once a general consensus is formed by the major Linux distributions that package Plasma that a desirable baseline stability has been achieved, a shift to six-month intervals and semi-annual releases will be considered.
Bug fixes
Releases will each receive six (6) patch releases containing bug fixes, beginning with Plasma 6.3, while versions 6.0–6.2 only received five such updates.
Long-term support releases
There will be no long-term support (LTS) versions of Plasma 6. This decision was recorded in the
2025 Plasma Sprint notes
Repository and soft feature freezes
Repository and soft feature freezes will occur on the second preceding Thursday before each beta release date. This means:
The list of Git repositories that will be included in the release becomes fixed
New features can only be merged if they were already open before the soft freeze, and aren't too large and risky-looking. This is necessary subjective, and people are expected to use their judgment.
Exceptions
can be granted if needed.
Release manager tasks
Begin writing the Beta release announcement using the list of noteworthy changes
See the tables in the
§ Future releases
and
§ Release history
sections for examples.
Betas
Since Plasma 6.3, two public beta versions are published. The first beta version will be published usually on the Thursday following the corresponding
KDE Frameworks release
. The second beta will be published two weeks later.
A hard feature freeze as well as soft UI and soft string freezes are enabled at the time of the release of the first beta, lasting through the end of the release cycle for that version:
No exceptions will be granted to merge new features during this period
No UI or string changes are allowed without first
securing an exception
. This includes the default wallpaper chosen for a release.
Release manager tasks
Bump the milestone to the current version (i.e. the version that the beta leads up to) for bug fixes that failed to merge in time for the previous version and likewise bump the milestone for features that failed to merge during the current cycle to the next future release.
See the tables in the
§ Future releases
and
§ Release history
sections for examples.
Also be sure to review all other milestoned merge requests for the current cycle and add the "Cherry-Pick" label to those that qualify as bug fixes.
Bugfix releases
Bugfix tags/releases for each release are published on subsequent Tuesdays at weekly intervals according to the Fibonacci sequence (1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8).
Dependencies
Beginning with Plasma 6.3, each release cycle has been color-coded to better distinguish them in public-facing documentation.
Releases should depend on the latest
KDE Frameworks
available at beta time and an agreed upon version of Qt. Ensure that the KDE Invent Continuous Integration (CI/CD) system is updated to build using said version of Qt soon after the decision is made, involving the
KDE Sysadmin team
as needed.
Versioned dependencies for Plasma 6 feature releases
Plasma Release
Qt Version
dep 1
KDE Frameworks Version
6.9
6.12
6.34
6.8
6.11
6.30
6.7
6.10
6.26
6.6
6.10
6.22
6.5
6.9
6.18
6.4
6.8
6.14
6.3
6.7 /
6.8 *
6.10
6.2
6.7
6.5
6.1
6.6 /
6.7 *
6.2
6.0
6.6
6.0
dep 2
Notes:
Bold type and an asterisk denotes a strong recommendation when multiple versions may be used for compilation.
Includes an additional dependency on
KDE Gear
v24.02 for libkexiv2
Future releases
Beginning with Plasma 6.3, each release cycle has been color-coded to better distinguish them in public-facing documentation.
Upcoming Plasma 6 releases
Plasma version
Type
Tarball Date
Release Date
Notes
6.6.80
(repo and soft feature freeze)
Soft freeze
Thu
2026-04-30
Dependencies: Qt 6.10 / FW 6.26
6.6.5
Bugfix Release
Tue
2026-05-12
6.6.90
(6.7 Beta 1)
Beta
Thu
2026-05-14
Noteworthy changes/additions in 6.7
Features that failed to merge in time for 6.7
6.6.91
(6.7 Beta 2)
Beta
Thu
2026-05-28
6.7.0
Public Release
Thu
2026-06-11
Tue
2026-06-16
6.7.1
Bugfix Release
Tue
2026-06-23
6.7.2
Bugfix Release
Tue
2026-06-30
6.6.6
Bugfix Release
Tue
2026-07-07
Bugfixes that failed to merge in time for 6.6
6.7.3
Bugfix Release
Tue
2026-07-14
6.7.4
Bugfix Release
Tue
2026-08-04
6.7.80
(repo and soft feature freeze)
Soft freeze
Thu
2026-08-27
Dependencies: Qt 6.11 / FW 6.30
6.7.5
Bugfix Release
Tue
2026-09-08
6.7.90
(6.8 Beta 1)
Beta
Thu
2026-09-10
Noteworthy changes/additions in 6.8
Features that failed to merge in time for 6.8
6.7.91
(6.8 Beta 2)
Beta
Thu
2026-09-24
6.8.0
Public Release
Thu
2026-10-08
Wed
2026-10-14
Released on the
30th anniversary of KDE
6.8.1
Bugfix Release
Tue
2026-10-20
6.8.2
Bugfix Release
Tue
2026-10-27
6.7.6
Bugfix Release
Tue
2026-11-03
6.8.3
Bugfix Release
Tue
2026-11-10
6.8.4
Bugfix Release
Tue
2026-12-01
6.8.5
Bugfix Release
Tue
2027-01-05
6.8.80
(repo and soft feature freeze)
Soft freeze
Thu
2027-01-07
Dependencies: Qt 6.12 / FW 6.34
6.7.7
Bugfix Release
Tue
2027-01-19
Extra Release. Last scheduled release with X11 support. Advanced by 2 weeks (wrt Fibonaccia schedule) to release just before branching of 6.9
6.8.90
(6.9 Beta 1)
Beta
Thu
2027-01-21
Noteworthy changes/additions in 6.9
Features that failed to merge in time for 6.9
6.8.91
(6.9 Beta 2)
Beta
Thu
2027-02-04
6.9.0
Public Release
Thu
2027-02-18
Tue
2027-02-23
6.9.1
Bugfix Release
Tue
2027-03-02
6.9.2
Bugfix Release
Tue
2027-03-09
6.8.6
Bugfix Release
Tue
2027-03-16
Delayed by two weeks (wrt Fibonaccia schedule) to avoid conflict with 6.9.1 and 6.9.2)
Bugfixes that failed to merge in time for 6.8
6.9.3
Bugfix Release
Tue
2027-03-23
6.9.4
Bugfix Release
Tue
2027-04-13
6.9.5
Bugfix Release
Tue
2027-05-18
6.9.6
Bugfix Release
Tue
2027-07-13
Bugfixes that failed to merge in time for 6.9
Release history
Beginning with Plasma 6.3, each release cycle has been color-coded to better distinguish them in public-facing documentation.
6.6 series
Plasma 6.6 release series
Plasma version
Type
Release date
Notes
6.5.80
(repo and soft feature freeze)
Soft freeze
Fri
2026-01-02
Dependencies: Qt 6.10 / FW 6.22
Delayed by one day because of New Year
Features that failed to merge in time for 6.6
6.5.90
(6.6 Beta 1)
Beta
Tue
2026-01-13
Two days earlier than usually
Noteworthy changes/additions in 6.6
6.5.91
(6.6 Beta 2)
Beta
Tue
2026-01-27
Two days earlier than usual
6.6.0
Public Release
Tue
2026-02-17
Tarballs created on Thu
2026-02-12
6.6.1
Bugfix Release
Tue
2026-02-24
6.6.2
Bugfix Release
Tue
2026-03-03
6.6.3
Bugfix Release
Tue
2026-03-17
6.6.4
Bugfix Release
Tue
2026-04-07
6.5 series
Plasma 6.5 release series
Plasma version
Type
Release date
Notes
6.4.80
(repo/feature freeze)
Soft freeze
Thu
2025-09-04
Unmerged features for v6.5
6.4.90
(6.5 Beta 1)
Beta
Thu
2025-09-18
Noteworthy changes/additions in 6.5
6.4.91
(6.5 Beta 2)
Beta
Thu
2025-10-02
6.5.0
Feature
Tue
2025-10-21
Tarballs created on Thu
2025-10-16
6.5.1
Bugfix
Tue
2025-10-28
6.5.2
Bugfix
Tue
2025-11-04
6.5.3
Bugfix
Tue
2025-11-18
6.5.4
Bugfix
Tue
2025-12-09
6.5.5
Bugfix
Tue
2026-01-13
6.5.6
Bugfix
Tue
2026-03-10
6.4 series
Plasma 6.4 release series
Plasma version
Type
Release date
Notes
6.3.80
(repo/feature freeze)
Soft freeze
Thu
2025-05-01
Unmerged features for v6.4
6.3.90
(6.4 Beta 1)
Beta
Thu
2025-05-15
Noteworthy changes/additions in v6.4
6.3.91
(6.4 Beta 2)
Beta
Thu
2025-05-29
6.4.0
Feature
Tue
2025-06-17
Tarballs created on Thu
2025-06-12
6.4.1
Bugfix
Tue
2025-06-24
6.4.2
Bugfix
Tue
2025-07-01
6.4.3
Bugfix
Tue
2025-07-15
6.4.4
Bugfix
Tue
2025-08-05
6.4.5
Bugfix
Tue
2025-09-09
6.4.6
Bugfix
Tue
2025-11-11
Delayed by one week (w/r/t
Fibonacci schedule
) to avoid sharing the same release date as v6.5.2.
Unmerged bug fixes for v6.4
6.3 series
Plasma 6.3 release series
Plasma version
Type
Release date
Notes
6.3
(repo/feature freeze)
Soft freeze
Thu
2024-12-26
Unmerged features for v6.3
6.2.90
(6.3 Beta 1)
Beta
Thu
2025-01-09
Unmerged bug fixes for v6.2
6.2.91
Beta
Thu
2025-01-23
An update (
v6.2.91.1
) was made available on Fri
2025-01-24
6.3.0
Feature
Tue
2025-02-11
Tarballs created on Thu
2025-02-06
6.3.1
Bugfix
Tue
2025-02-18
6.3.2
Bugfix
Tue
2025-02-25
6.3.3
Bugfix
Tue
2025-03-11
An update for Kwin (
v6.3.3.1
) was published on Wed
2025-03-12
6.3.4
Bugfix
Tue
2025-04-01
6.3.5
Bugfix
Tue
2025-05-06
6.3.6
Bugfix
Tue
2025-07-08
Delayed by one week (w/r/t
Fibonacci schedule
) to avoid sharing the same release date as v6.4.2.
Unmerged bug fixes for v6.3
6.2 series
Plasma 6.2 release series
Plasma version
Type
Release date
Notes
6.2
(repo/feature freeze)
Soft freeze
Thu
2024-08-29
6.1.90
(6.2 Beta)
Beta
Thu
2024-09-12
Plasma 6.2 branched.
Unmerged features for v6.2
Unmerged bug fixes for v6.1
6.2.0
Feature
Tue
2024-10-08
Tarballs created on Thu
2024-10-03
6.2.1
Bugfix
Tue
2024-10-15
6.2.2
Bugfix
Tue
2024-10-22
6.2.3
Bugfix
Tue
2024-11-05
6.2.4
Bugfix
Tue
2024-11-26
6.2.5
Bugfix
Tue
2024-12-31
6.1 series
Plasma 6.1 release series
Plasma version
Type
Release date
Notes
6.0.80
(6.1 Alpha)
Alpha
Thu
2024-05-09
6.0.90
(6.1 Beta)
Beta
Fri
2024-05-24
Plasma 6.1 branched.
Unmerged features for v6.1
Open merge requests for v6.1
6.1.0
Feature
Tue
2024-06-18
Public release of Plasma 6.1.
6.1.1
Bugfix
Tue
2024-06-25
6.1.2
Bugfix
Tue
2024-07-02
6.1.3
Bugfix
Tue
2024-07-16
6.1.4
Bugfix
Tue
2024-08-06
6.1.5
Bugfix
Tue
2024-09-10
6.0 series
Plasma 6.0 release series
Plasma version
Type
Release date
Notes
5.80.0
(6.0 Alpha)
Alpha
Wed
2023-11-08
Release notes
Megarelease announcement
5.90.0
(6.0 Beta 1)
Beta
Wed
2023-11-29
Megarelease announcement
5.91.0
(6.0 Beta 2)
Beta
Wed
2023-12-20
Megarelease announcement
5.92.0
(6.0 Release Candidate 1)
Release Candidate
Wed
2024-01-10
Megarelease announcement
5.93.0
(6.0 Release Candidate 2)
Release Candidate
Wed
2024-01-31
6.0
Feature
Wed
2024-02-28
Public release of Plasma 6.0.
6.0.1
Bugfix
Tue
2024-03-05
6.0.2
Bugfix
Tue
2024-03-12
6.0.3
Bugfix
Tue
2024-03-26
6.0.4
Bugfix
Tue
2024-04-16
6.0.5
Bugfix
Tue
2024-05-21
References
Graham, Nathan. May 9, 2023. "
Plasma 6 proposal: Change the release schedule
" on the
plasma-desktop
issue tracker
KDE Invent
External links
The schedule of upcoming Plasma 6 releases is also published at:
KDE Phabricator
ICS Link to import into your calendar
Retrieved from "