LightDM Makes a Comeback: First Release in Four Years!

LightDM Makes a Comeback with New Release

LightDM, the former display manager for Ubuntu, has recently seen its first update in four years, now under a new team of maintainers. The newly released version, LightDM v1.33.0, introduces support for Qt6 while still maintaining compatibility with Qt5 and addressing a backlog of fixes that had accumulated since the last release in 2022. Importantly, users can expect no breaking changes from this update.

Despite being perceived as a legacy project, LightDM remains in use across various Linux distributions and desktop environments. Initially developed by Canonical to replace GDM, LightDM was introduced in Ubuntu 11.10 as a lightweight and adaptable alternative. Ubuntu transitioned away from LightDM in 2017 in favor of GNOME Shell and GDM, but other distributions, including some Ubuntu flavors, continued to utilize it.

In 2024, development activity on LightDM came to a halt, leading to discussions about its future. Concerns raised by Fedora’s Neal Gompa highlighted its importance in powering login screens for various Fedora spins. Fortunately, interest from the community led to a new wave of maintainers stepping up, culminating in a formal handover from the original maintainer, Robert Ancell.

Now managed by Joshua Peisach and Neal Gompa, LightDM is an open community project, allowing contributors to engage without the previous Canonical Contributor License Agreement (CLA) stipulations. This revival suggests that LightDM’s ongoing relevance, 15 years post-launch, reflects a diversity of needs within the Linux community, challenging narratives around Canonical’s past decisions.

For further details, you can read more about LightDM’s updates here.