How to install KDE 6?

Support KDE Plasma
1

There is this doc Install Desktop Environments - Manjaro
but it’s about previous version. Is it valid for the new 6th version too?

2

No.

For the most part, maybe.

What is it that you want to do?
Coming from where?

3

Certainly before thinking about it, ensure you have a robust snapshot and backup schedule to restore your installation to the state it was in before you started messing.

I wouldn’t personally bother mix Plasma with anything else though.

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4

I currently have manjaro gnome edition but want to move to KDE wince they finally support wayland

5

Ok, if the docs aren’t up to date, is there anywhere a guide how to add KDE to the mix?

6

The wiki seems not to be updated yet.

I would suggest (if possible) that you consider a new installation using the full Manjaro KDE ISO.

7

back up your data - the contents of your /home
and install KDE
then restore the contents of your /home to it

it’s (much) easier than trying to go from Gnome to KDE in an existing installation

Especially if you are not familiar with Linux in general.

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8

There isn’t anything specific, If I understand it correctly. Well, mostly anyway.

As I have it, if you’re using the Stable branch, and are updated, you’ll be using Plasma 6, as mine here:

https://i.imgur.com/yfYMEUx.png

9

If I had kde 5 installed then an update would have updated it to kde 6. But I don’t have kde 5 and I can’t install it now because stable now has kde 6. The instructions for installing kde 5 from the doc most probably won’t work or work partially now.

I’m leaning towards a fresh install from an ISO… however reinstalling and setting up everything again is a bummer :confused:, after all I use manjaro because I don’t want do major updates a few times a year when a new version comes out

10

Please provide the output of:

pacman-mirrors -G && pamac checkupdates

Edit:

If that’s really your reason for using Manjaro, it’s bad one. Manjaro is a curated Rolling release, which needs to be kept up to date constantly.

See here:

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11

You are confused… partly by the language used.

The ISO updates do not accurately reflect the state of the distribution… It’s not the same as going from - say - LM 21 to LM 21.01, or even going from LM 21.01 to LM 22 6 months later in what’s called ‘POINT’ releases. To achieve that, the STABLE distribution has STABLE versions of software - so you’ll be running the version of Audacious you installed from your ISO until the next version comes out… trading the idea of ‘Stability’ for the benefit of being up to date (i.e. getting software with recent upgrades and fixes).

The slowest and least frequent updates come on Stable branch .

You can think of Manjaro to some extent like a steamroller with 3 rollers… they run from Unstable, which takes in Arch and mashes in the Manjaro layers - then after a few days/weeks a slightly smoother experience is passed on to Testing, and then when it’s judged ‘pretty stable’ then it’s fed into ‘Stable’.

However, ‘Stable’ for Manjaro is nothing like ‘Stable’ for Debian.

12

Also important to note, while it may not qualify as Debian-stable, it’s by no means unstable.

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13

If you follow this general procedure, you should be able to continue using your current user folder(s). Note that this list is only an outline; you will need to ask about anything you’re not sure about, and someone will likely point to other information as needed:

  1. Switch to the Breeze Global Theme.
  2. Uninstall all non-Plasma6-compatible themes, widgets and other software (after Plasma 6 installation you can install the new versions as needed).
  3. Logout, login via TTY, and delete the ~/.cache directory.
  4. Reboot.
  5. Backup your /home directories if they are not on a separate partition. Note: if /home is on a separate partition, remember not to format it during install.
  6. Download the latest full Manjaro KDE ISO.
  7. Install ventoy and create a Ventoy USB (minimum 8GB USB drive; 32GB preferred). Copy the Manjaro ISO to the Ventoy USB.
  8. Boot the Ventoy USB and install Manjaro KDE.
  9. Use the Manual partitioning method in Calamares; set up your partitions - again, do not format your /home partition. If you do not have a separate home partition, this is the time to create one.
  10. Create a user with the same credentials as previously used. Do not use encryption for this installation. Set it up later if you think you need it.
  11. When complete, restore your backed up user folders to /home.
  12. Reboot.

Most of your settings should remain in tact, but you obviously will need to install fresh (and Plasma6-compatible) software.

I hope this helps as a starting point.

Cheers.

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14 
pacman-mirrors -G && pamac checkupdates
stable
Your system is up to date.

Out of Date:
gradience     0.4.1_patch1-1  AUR
python-yapsy  1.12.2-9        AUR
studio-3t     2023.5.0-1      AUR
zoom          6.0.2-1         AUR

I need to clarify my use of manjaro because I think I confused everybody with my first statement.
I meant that with a rolling distributive I install apps and forget about them. Now and then I get notifications that an update is available, I run pamac upgrade and get the latest version. With minimal efforts I have an up to date system. Manjaro team does a great job ensuring that the updates don’t break the system (usually). There are no dangerous big-bang releases.
When you have a yearly release of a distro and you need to install it, things can get wrong since in general the versions are different and don’t have to be compatible. I had experience in the past (fedora or something) where a major update broke stuff.
This issue with kde 6 is the first time I’m considering a fresh install and it feels unnatural for manjaro and to the usual way of working with it. Having said this, it could be that somebody is updating the kde6-upgrade docs right now and there will be an easy set of steps like for kde 5.
Alternatively, it’s always possible to start installing kde stuff, look up problems and solve them as you go. But I don’t want to do it anymore, gone are the days when I compiled drivers from sources myself to replace an old one from the distro. I want a stable and fresh system that just works and focus on things that I like. Manjaro fits this requirement (usually)

@soundofthunder, thanks for the guide :+1:

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15

:rofl: adding to the confusion.

Actually it IS unstable by definition. The ‘stable’ branch is just slightly less unstable than the others…

Breaking changes can be shipped - in which case, reliability depends on the Dev’s ability to prepare - review packages, update and rebuild as required - and then prepare the set of updates to push through.

But this only applies to the Official Repos - a major criticism is that AUR is less reliable with Manjaro… so quite often, Manjaro updates will break compatibility with applications not managed by Manjaro. Sometimes I’ve had issues where things just need a quick rebuild, sometimes I had to remove something and wait for Manjaro to catch up… though I never had the system ‘break’ due to this.

This contrasts with Fedora, or Mint, when breaking changes should only occur between major releases… so it happens much less often.

This brings about a level of paranoia - and gives power to the myth that it is unusable due to the frequent issues people face (not accepting that these are due in part to the users, their data, but also that it’s to be expected that something like Paru could just stop working at any time).

Compare the lifecycle of an LTS Stable release of Ubuntu, then the lifecycle of the minor Stable releases.

For it to be truly ‘Stable’ then there would be no need for an update thread, users would be fully able to Click to install all updates when they arrive without really paying much attention.

This was the case with Ubuntu and Mint for me - between major updates at least.

16

I strongly suggest renaming it (mv rather than rm) … guess how I found out …! (I had to put it back to get my Firefox session back and restore the then-blank application menu, panel etc.).

17

The point here is to clean the affects of junk still remaining in cache from previous (Plasma6-incompatible) widgets and other applications. A Firefox session is of no real consequence when installing a new OS; however, the respective folder ~/.cache/mozilla could arguably be moved elsewhere for those overly paranoid.

A reminder for passers-by is that Firefox profiles in Manjaro are typically stored under ~/.mozilla.

Bookmarks can be saved either manually through the mechanism Firefox provides or via Firefox Sync, which also saves/syncs History, Addons and Settings securely. Of course one needs to opt-in for that (recommended); other browsers such as Vivaldi also provide this convenience.

The ~/.config directory, on the other hand, is best not deleted; especially if one wishes to migrate settings for various applications. Some of it’s sub-directories will no doubt contain application-specific settings that might best be removed.

The ~/.cache directory will be automatically recreated when booting into the restored user account; cached data for most individual applications will be recreated at first-run of each application.

Delete it, or rename it - as long as the previous cache is no longer available to the new environment, the goal is reached. Interestingly, there was a user in the last few days who seemed very concerned about their ~/.cache directory, as it was apparently 18GB in size; possibly perceived as too big to backup; however, it doesn’t need to be.

Appendum:-

It is also recommended to delete the ~/.cache directory while not logged in to Plasma, as cached items will not really be deleted if an application is currently resident. Usually, it’s best to:

1. Reboot - Do not just logout; we need to make sure nothing remains in memory.
2. From the login screen (SDDM in the case of a Manjaro KDE install), switch to a TTY and remove (or rename) ~/.cache (and manually remove any unwanted cruft under ~/.config and/or ~/.local while you’re in the mood).
3. Then reboot, perform a backup of /home, install the fresh OS or perform an update (whichever may be your intention).
4. Restore your /home content, and depending on how well you cleaned house your user environment will be as free as possible from the affects of the previous.

Again, this is only a quick guideline.

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18

I’ve just been reading that thread; wonder how it’s grown that much!
In my case, it was probably because I (maybe) hadn’t properly and fully logged out. (I have auto-login enabled). I guess this made the difference.

By the way, I really appreciate the discourse on here … it’s a non-stop learning experience!

19

I’m forced to claim practical ignorance, as I’ve never been tempted to use autologin on any system I’ve ever used.

However, at least by design, the mechanism should log you in; and out; automatically. It isn’t a method to avoid having to login; it just handles the procedure transparently without requiring interaction.

Is autologin totally fool-proof? :man_shrugging: - Nonetheless, it should probably be disabled (and the system rebooted) before switching to a TTY for the purposes previously noted.

Thanks. This was a valid point to highlight, I think.

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