After being in development for more than three years, GNU Guix 1.5 is finally here for software freedom lovers with the GNU Linux-libre 6.17 kernel and support for the latest KDE Plasma 6.5 desktop environment with a new plasma-desktop-service-type service and Wayland by default.
GNU Guix 1.5 has been officially released, bringing support for the GNOME 46 desktop environment along with significant improvements to system services, package management, and core tooling.
One of the key highlights is the enhancement of the gnome-desktop-service-type, which is responsible for installing the GNOME desktop on Guix System. This service has been reworked into a more modular and customizable design, allowing users to fine-tune the default GNOME application set according to their needs.
New System Services and GNU Shepherd 1.0
GNU Guix 1.5 introduces around 40 new system services, including Forgejo Runner, RabbitMQ, iwd, and dhcpcd. The release also marks the introduction of GNU Shepherd 1.0, which adds support for timed services, kexec-based reboots, and new mechanisms for system logging and log rotation. These new logging services replace the legacy Rottlog and syslogd, modernizing service management in Guix System.
Security, Packaging, and System Improvements
Among other notable changes, GNU Guix 1.5 replaces the traditional setuid-programs approach with privileged-programs in operating system definitions. This update enables more granular permission management using specific Linux capabilities. Additionally, the nss-certs package is now included in %base-packages, improving out-of-the-box SSL/TLS support. The release also expands the ecosystem with more than 12,500 new packages.
Updated Compilers and Core Software
Under the hood, GNU Guix 1.5 ships with modern toolchains and applications, including GCC 15.2, LLVM 21.1.8, GNU Emacs 30.2, IceCat 140, and the LibreWolf 140 web browser, alongside many other widely used GNU/Linux and open-source technologies.
Download and Upgrade Options
GNU Guix 1.5 is available from the official website as ISO installation images (non-live), virtual machine images, and tarballs for installing the Guix package manager on existing GNU/Linux distributions, either from source or precompiled binaries. Existing users can easily upgrade their systems using the guix pull command.
- Design