{"id":14838,"date":"2026-06-05T06:46:06","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T05:46:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/innovatenews.site\/index.php\/2026\/06\/05\/kde-plasma-6-8-will-scrap-x11-sessions-as-95-of-its-users-just-dont-use-them\/"},"modified":"2026-06-05T06:46:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T05:46:08","slug":"kde-plasma-6-8-will-scrap-x11-sessions-as-95-of-its-users-just-dont-use-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/innovatenews.site\/index.php\/2026\/06\/05\/kde-plasma-6-8-will-scrap-x11-sessions-as-95-of-its-users-just-dont-use-them\/","title":{"rendered":"KDE Plasma 6.8 will scrap X11 sessions as 95% of its users just don't use them\u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The topic KDE Plasma 6.8 will scrap X11 sessions as 95% of its users just don’t use them\u2026<\/strong> is currently the subject of lively discussion \u2014 readers and analysts are keeping a close eye on developments.<\/p>\n

This is taking place in a dynamic environment: companies\u2019 decisions and competitors\u2019 reactions can quickly change the picture.<\/p>\n

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Over the past year, we’ve seen more and more Linux projects ditch X11. Whether it’s a distro dropping support or a desktop environment moving to a full-Wayland implementation, development teams are banking on X11 compatibility tools to keep people’s legacy apps alive as they move to a new frontier. While KDE Plasma hasn’t completely axed X11 support yet, there are plans for 6.7 to be the last release with it, as the stats show that people just aren’t using X11 as much anymore.<\/p>\n

KDE contributor David Edmundson broke down what’s happening with X11 support over on his blog. He starts with a small history lesson, telling us that the move of KDE Plasma from X11 to Wayland was announced 15 years ago. Now, the KDE team is finally getting ready to remove X11 support and go all-in on Wayland, with 6.7 being the final release to support the older tech.<\/p>\n

So, why the shift to an all-in approach with Wayland? Well, as it turns out, people just aren’t using X11 like they used to. As Edmunson puts it:<\/p>\n

Our internal metrics within KDE show that over 95% of users of Plasma 6.6 are on Wayland, with a gradual increase every release. The metrics also show that basically no one is testing or developing Plasma on X11 anymore. The platform was already, for all intents and purposes, abandoned by KDE contributors.<\/p>\n

If the community at large seemingly doesn’t want to put in the effort to test and maintain X11 support, there’s a good argument for canning it altogether. Edmunson is quick to remind everyone that XWayland is still around, allowing users to continue using their legacy apps and claiming that Plasma’s support “is second-to-none.” The Plasma Login Manager will also let you log into X11 versions of other desktop environments. However, when Plasma 6.8 comes around, KDE is hedging all its chips on Wayland.<\/p>\n