KDE developers are restoring the classic Oxygen and Air themes for the Plasma 6.7 release scheduled for June 16, 2026. The effort, led by Filip Fila and original Oxygen designer Nuno Pinheiro, aims to revive the themes' glassy aesthetics from the KDE 4 era in time for KDE's 30th anniversary. Both themes have seen significant updates to panels, widgets, and visual effects.
Oxygen, which served as the default theme from KDE 4.0 until KDE 4.3, features dark tones and a glassy look. Air succeeded it with a lighter design emphasizing transparency and white colors. While Oxygen lingered into Plasma 5 and 6 in a degraded state, Air was eventually removed entirely from Plasma distributions. KDE contributors are now fully restoring both to integrate seamlessly with modern Plasma environments. Filip Fila heads the project, supported by Nuno Pinheiro and other developers. Oxygen's panel has been reworked to support vertical orientations correctly, with added minimized window indicators and switch designs. Developers also implemented adaptive opacity by default and fixed color scheme issues affecting widgets like System Monitor. For Air, the team restored its signature transparency, adding blur behind widgets for better readability. The panel received an overhaul, along with new header and footer designs and dedicated switch graphics. These changes bring visible depth to the desktop, contrasting with the flat, minimal Breeze theme—Oxygen with darker gradients and Air with light, airy panels. The restoration coincides with KDE's 30th anniversary and Plasma 6.7's launch. As of the latest updates, 26 of 40 checklist items are complete, with remaining tasks including gradient fixes for Oxygen and various SVGs for menus, buttons, and timers across both themes.
