JB (@javibc77.bsky.social)

Plasma 6.6 Plasma 6.6 makes your life as easy as possible, without sacrificing the flexibility or features that have made Plasma the most versatile desktop in the known universe. With that in mind, we’ve improved Plasma’s usability and accessibility, and added practical new features into the mix. Check out what’s new and how to use it in our (mostly) visual guide below: ## Highlights ### On-Screen Keyboard Enjoy this new and improved on-screen keyboard ### Spectacle Text Recognition Extract text from screenshots in Spectacle ### Plasma Setup Set up a user account after the operating system has been installed ## New Features Those who like tailoring the look and feel of their environment can now turn their current setup into a new global theme! This custom global theme can be used for the day and night theme switching feature. A more subtle way of modifying the look of your apps is by changing the color intensity of every frame: Choose emoji (`Meta`+`.`) skin tones more easily with a new skin tone selector: A major focus of Plasma 6.6 has been speeding up common workflows. So if the system has a camera, you can quickly connect to a new Wi-Fi network simply by scanning its QR code: Hover the pointer over any app’s icon playing sound in the task manager, and scroll to adjust its volume: And save yourself a click by enabling _Open on hover_ in your **Windows List** widget. You can also filter out windows not on the current desktop or activity: Hold down the `Alt` key and double-click on a file or folder on the desktop to bring up its properties: ## Accessibility To help everyone use and enjoy Plasma, we’ve improved accessibility across the board. If you have colorblindness, check out the filters on _System Settings_ ’ _Accessibility_ page, under _Color Blindness Correction_. Plasma 6.6. adds a new grayscale filter, bringing the total to four filters that account for different kinds of colorblindness: Still in the area of enhancements for the visually impaired, our _Zoom and Magnifier_ feature has gained a new tracking mode that always keeps the pointer centered on the screen, bringing the total to four modes: In addition, we added support for “Slow Keys” on Wayland, and the standardized “Reduced Motion” accessibility setting. ## Screenshots and Screen Recording Speaking of accessibility, Spectacle can now recognize and extract text from images it scans. Among other use cases, this makes it easy to write _alt_ texts for visually-impaired users: You can also filter windows out of a screencast by choosing a special option from the pop-up menu that appears when right-clicking a window’s title bar: ## Virtual Keyboard Plasma 6.6 also features a new on-screen keyboard! Say hello to the brand-new Plasma Keyboard: ## Plasma Setup _Plasma Setup_ is the new first-run wizard for Plasma, and creates and configures user accounts separately from the installation process. With Plasma Setup, the technical steps of operating system installation and disk partitioning can be handled separately from user-facing steps like setting up an account, connecting to a network, and so on. This facilitates important use cases such as: * Companies shipping Plasma pre-installed on devices * Businesses or charity organizations refurbishing computers with Plasma to give them new life * Giving away or selling a computer with Plasma on it, without giving the new owner access to the previous owner’s data ## But That’s Not All… Plasma 6.6 is overflowing with goodies, including: * The ability to have virtual desktops _only_ on the primary screen * An optional new login manager for Plasma * Optional automatic screen brightness on devices with ambient light sensors * Optional support for using game controllers as regular input devices * Font installation in the _Discover_ software center, on supported operating systems * Choose process priority in _System Monitor_ * Standalone _Web Browser_ and _Audio Volume_ widgets can be pinned open * Support for USB access prompts and a visual refresh of other permission prompts * Smoother animations on high-refresh-rate screens To see the full list of changes, check out the complete changelog for Plasma 6.6. ## In Memory of Björn Balazs In September, we lost our good friend Björn Balazs to cancer. An active and passionate contributor, Björn was still holding meetings for his Privact project from bed even while seriously ill during Akademy 2025. Björn’s drive to help people achieve the privacy and control over technology that he believed they deserved is the stuff FLOSS legends are made of. Björn, you are sorely missed and this release is dedicated to you. https://kde.org/announcements/plasma/6/6.6.0/