KDE Plasma

In short: KDE Plasma is a Linux desktop known for customisability and many features. It uses the Qt toolkit and is developed by the project KDE (community and project).

In more detail: By default Plasma looks like a classic interface with start menu, task bar and system tray, yet it can be rebuilt almost completely: move panels, add widgets, set window effects. KWin, the compositor, manages windows.

In detail

• Versions: Plasma 5 (2014–2023), Plasma 6 since February 2024 on Qt 6 with Wayland as the default. New feature releases appear roughly every four months, with bug-fix releases in between.
• Wayland/X11: both sessions are offered. It has been announced that the X11 session will be dropped in later versions.
• Applications: Dolphin (files), Konsole (terminal), Kate (editor), Okular (PDF), Gwenview (images), Spectacle (screenshots), Discover (software), KDE Connect (phone pairing).
• Customising: system settings, themes, activities, virtual desktops, window rules, shortcuts, KRunner (search).
• Resources: surprisingly frugal today, starting with roughly 500 to 700 MB of RAM.
• Distributions: Kubuntu, KDE neon, Fedora KDE, openSUSE, Manjaro KDE, SteamOS (desktop mode of the Steam Deck).
• More: Plasma widgets, activities and window rules.

See also: Linux desktop environments at a glance, GNOME