The independent Linux distribution NixOS has released version 24.11, known as "Vicuña." This major update brings several notable features, including support for GNOME 47 and KDE Plasma 6.2 desktop environments, along with improvements for Darwin compatibility in Nixpkgs.
NixOS 24.11 continues to utilize the long-term supported Linux 6.6 LTS kernel series and arrives six months after NixOS 24.05. The update introduces the Nix 2.24 package manager, which boasts numerous enhancements such as better support for AMD’s open-source Vulkan driver (AMDVLK) and HDR support for the Moonlight game streaming client. A significant feature added is the systemd.enableStrictShellChecks option, which ensures that all systemd scripts generated by NixOS are checked for errors, potentially preventing build failures.
Additional improvements in this release include the inclusion of the Xen 4.19.0 hypervisor with UEFI boot support, and enhanced functionality for managing block device file systems protected with dm-verity. Users can expect a default installation of the PipeWire media server, a new services.displayManager.ly module for configuring the TUI-based display manager, and notable changes in macOS support.
NixOS 24.11 also implements a compressDrv feature allowing for file compression in derivations and adds functionalities designed to address monitor issues through custom EDID files and kernel/framebuffer mode settings.
The full details of the changes can be found in the release announcement. Users can download the graphical ISO images pre-installed with GNOME or KDE Plasma from the official website.