Hello! I am a Debian user (I use Debian 12 Bookworm) and my favorite Linux distribution that I use daily is KDE Plasma (Plasma 5.27). I am interested in the latest KDE Plasma 6 release and I don’t know how to upgrade to the latest Plasma 6 release in Debian. Maybe someone can help me with some information in this regard! Thank you!
You don’t and can’t (and you shouldn’t try in Debian 12 stable - even when it would become available in Debian unstable/sid…).
Debian 12 stable will never get Plasma 6 !
Either wait for the release of Debian 13 next year or switch to another reliable distribution like openSUSE Tumbleweed (edit: or see the additional suggestions @bedna made below) that already ships Plasma 6 - or wait some more weeks until TUXEDO OS also ships with Plasma 6, if you want to have something reliable based on Debain/Ubuntu…
PS:
If you want to know when TUXEDO OS is shipped with Plasma 6, keep an eye on
Overview: Kubuntu, its parent and some of its siblings
where you will also find Debian 12 and TUXEDO OS (btw: I don’t recommend KDE neon for a “normal” user, only if one knows exactly what one get’s into…).
5 Likes
wow, that note (6) tho…
with the exception of KDE software user software is only supported as Flatpaks or Snaps in KDE neon (according to KDE developers)
how limiting is that?
why do ppl talk about neon like it’s just another alternative distro that uses KDE?
sounds like a strait jacket disto to me.
2 Likes
To be honest, not very, except for times you immediately want the abolute latest software. most things are in there.
There is also the consideration of “bloat”, as some call it. Flatpaks take up more space on your storage, but usually not a problem since storage cost very little nowdays. But that also means they almost always work ootb (thanks to the “bloat” xD).
I’m not going to kick the hornets nest here.
But in my opinion KDE Neon is just Ubunty LTS with separate KDE and qt repositories.
I eeeeh… would maybe not use that drastic description about it, but it is a very limited distro. And so should be. It focuses on KDE only.
I would like to add that there are other distros too.
Tumbleweed is a good recommendation.
Examples of others that give you access to plasma 6 is:
- Fedora
- Manjaro
- EndeavourOS
But be aware that some of the distros require you to manually switch to plasma 6 since it is still being tested.
So if you want to be part of the testing crew for the rest of the users, join and start reporting bugs. 
Another option is to wait a few more weeks and I think it will be the default in quite a few distros.
1 Like
Well, at least that is what is supported AFAIK - you are free to install third-party user software with pkcon or apt, but you are on your own then (I suppose most people do this anyway in neon…) - I think Nate called it something like “there might be dragons”.
oh, ok… that’s a bit different than being forced to only use flatpaks and snaps.
i would totally void that warrantee.
You reckon they will be happy with it by the time the freeze comes?
1 Like
I sincerely hope so - until then I guess it will be at least Plasma 6.3.x …
1 Like
THANK YOU for your fair and wise answer to my question about Debian 12 (and KDE Plasma 6). I followed your advice and chose openSUSE Tumbleweed. I salute you with esteem and respect!
I would not be surprised if Debian were to wait until the first LTS release of Plasma 6 before packaging it for inclusion to the next stable release (be it Debian 13 or maybe 14).
KDE neon has had its fair share of issues with the transition from Plasma 5 to 6, but it is very much usable now if you want a stable base with the latest from KDE. I am hoping experience from bumpy upgrades in KDE neon will facilitate those for Kubuntu and Debian KDE in the future.
The bottom line is, all recommendations above are solid, and I believe KDE neon should be included in that list today.
1 Like
Sorry, KDE neon might be OK to use for you and me (or specialists like @claydoh ), but although most of the “bumpy transition” to Plasma 6 has been ironed out (other distributions had their own share of problems, too) I will still not recommend KDE neon to a “normal” user (and be made “responsible” for my suggestion afterwards), because of this:
https://discuss.kde.org/t/one-more-idea-to-make-neon-better-for-end-users/11835/15
1 Like
Not in Manjaro Stable yet… maybe another few weeks.
But Plasma6 seems quite stable in Manjaro Unstable, although I think there are a couple of issues related to Manjaro Apps working with Plasma 6. I haven’t looked at those, as I’m using unstable to test my apps on Plasma 6
I dont’t think any of them had plasma 6 on stable at the time I wrote that, it felt like unnecessary info.
On Manjaro it has moved on to testing, (I use both unstable and testing) and has been working close to perfect since day 0, at least no black screen or anything.
No idea how long until they release it on stable.
But with these distros you gain access to plasma 6 in a good way (I mean instead of using debian or Ubuntu etc and try to get it to work there)
1 Like
I just updated Fedora to Fedora 40 with KDE6… I am missing a lot of stuff, like Network Manager. I guess it’s rather distro related (they also have issues with a few mirrors), but yet.
I have spend a lot of time to get a nice and functional Plasma UI. On my Fedora 40 it’s so ruined that I am tempted on installing Gnome Shell. I 'm not a hater, but my I configured my desktop to fit my worflow. And I do use Activities quite a lot.
Here on my Debian Bookwork I am happily enjoying my KDE 5.27 and next year, when Debian 13 is out., everything will have been neatly tested and checked.
This said: You can always compile KDE from the sources. It’ s a ton of work, but you can then have it working without interfering or breaking the deps on Bookworm. It also needs space for the sources, etc, but you can get rid of them as soon as you are done.
It sounds like there was an issue with your upgrade. Nothing in there suggests an issue with KDE code.
1 Like
I finally gave up on getting KDE 6 on Debian anytime soon, and investigated a number of distros.
Fedora 40 has the best KDE 6 implementation I’ve seen.
2 Likes
Hello @NicolaeFericitu Here are 3 options to choose from to get KDE Plasma 6 on either Debian 12 Bookworm or another Linux distribution to your liking:
Option 1. Wait.
schwarzerkater is correct, as of May 17th, 2024 KDE Plasma 6 is not yet easily available for Debian 12.
In the future, when KDE Plasma 6 is available for Debian 12, it will be first published in this Debian Sid unstable repository at “packages DOT debian DOT org SLASH search KEYWORD kde-plasma-desktop” Which is meant for testers only. Not production.
After KDE Plasma 6 is stable for Debian 12, it will be published in this Debian Stable repository at “packages DOT debian DOT org”
Option 2. KDE neon.
Use the Linux distribution “KDE neon” at “neon DOT kde DOT org SLASH download KDE neon” is based on Ubuntu LTS. As you know, Ubuntu is based on Debian. So “KDE neon” not far from Debian. KDE neon regularly appears in the Top 20 on “DistroWatch DOT com’s” popularity tables. Another important benefit of KDE neon is that it has the large KDE community both supporting it and developing it.
Option 3. Compile.
If you have very advanced skills with installing KDE desktop, you really know what you’re doing, and you are ok with the risks of an unstable desktop, you could compile KDE Plasma 6 from source on Debian 12 Bookworm.
But if you need a stable Debian, I suggest to either waiting for KDE Plasma 6 in the Debian Stable repository or use “KDE neon”.
Details about Linux which distributions presently support Plasma 5 or 6 at “community DOT kde DOT org SLASH Distributions”
I tried to add the full links above but it failed. I’m assuming that my “discuss DOT kde DOT org” is too new.
4 Likes
It makes perfect sense… except for your use of “reliable distribution”. Seems to mean that Debian isn’t reliable, and that’s not the case.
maybe you could try manually compiling it but it takes a long time with more advanced things like a desktop
there are distributions that ship this version of the plasma desktop that are based on debian, but in most cases they might have proprietary software shipped by default or be rolling releases which might not be desired
I think that if you want to stay on a stable debian 12 system and you don’t want to switch then compiling it could be viable.
however I have tested KDE plasma 6.1 on arch once and sddm login screen customisation didn’t work, but most other things I tested worked there very well.