The KDE Project has announced the release of KDE Plasma 6.4.2, marking the second maintenance update for the KDE Plasma 6.4 desktop environment series. This release, which comes just a week after KDE Plasma 6.4.1, introduces several enhancements and fixes aimed at improving user experience.
One of the key improvements is in the Kickoff application launcher, where the "New!" badges for newly-installed apps have been redesigned to be more visually appealing and easier to read. Additionally, users can now use the Enter key to activate power and session actions directly in the Kicker Application Menu widget.
The Spectacle screenshot utility has also been improved. In the latest update, it no longer captures a semi-transparent ghost image of its own menus during delayed screenshots. The update further enhances text labels in Folder View pop-ups and ensures that the brightness level displayed in the Display & Monitor settings matches that shown on the Plasma desktop.
Furthermore, the release improves compatibility with Wireguard VPN by preventing unnecessary authentication prompts when credentials are already stored in KWallet. Issues in Plasma Discover regarding missing app backends have also been addressed, now accurately displaying their names.
Several bugs were fixed in this release, including a severe problem with the Flatpak App Permissions page that could crash the System Settings entirely. Another fix addresses an issue where the system could revert to sleep after waking up if the "Sleep then hibernate" setting is enabled. Other minor issues regarding the KDE desktop portal’s screenshot delay setting and unnecessary space in the Plasma panel when displaying the date on the Digital Clock widget were also resolved.
Users can check out the full changelog for more details about the changes included in KDE Plasma 6.4.2. This update will soon be available for installation from the stable software repositories of various GNU/Linux distributions. The next maintenance update, KDE Plasma 6.4.3, is anticipated to be released on July 15, 2025.