Noé Lopez announced the release of GNU Guix 1.5, the newest stable version of the advanced GNU distribution that champions user freedom. This latest update arrives after more than three years of development, bringing significant enhancements for software freedom enthusiasts, including the GNU Linux-libre 6.17 kernel and support for the latest KDE Plasma 6.5 desktop environment with a newly introduced plasma-desktop-service-type service, which defaults to using Wayland.
Moreover, GNU Guix 1.5 extends its support to the GNOME 46 desktop environment. The gnome-desktop-service-type service has been updated for better modularity, giving users more customization options for the default GNOME applications.
This version introduces approximately 40 new system services, among which are Forgejo Runner, RabbitMQ, iwd, and dhcpcd. It also features an updated GNU Shepherd 1.0, which provides support for timed services and kexec reboot, replacing the previous log management systems Rottlog and syslogd with new services tailored for managing system logs and log rotation.
Further notable changes include replacing the setuid-programs tool with the privileged-programs tool in the operating system definitions to provide specific Linux capabilities. The nss-certs package is now included in the base packages, and over 12,500 new packages have been added.
In terms of development tools, GNU Guix 1.5 comes bundled with GCC 15.2 and LLVM 21.1.8 compilers, along with the GNU Emacs 30.2 text editor, Icecat 140 email client, and Librewolf 140 web browser, featuring other popular GNU/Linux technologies and Open Source software.
Users can download GNU Guix 1.5 from the official website as ISO installation images and virtual machine images, or opt for tarballs to install the Guix package manager on any GNU/Linux distribution. Current GNU Guix users can update their systems using the guix pull command.