The EndeavourOS team has announced the release of Ganymede, the latest stable snapshot of this Arch Linux-based distribution. It features the Linux 6.17 kernel and KDE Plasma 6.5.3 desktop environment. This update follows a hiatus in ISO refreshes and introduces several enhancements for users.
EndeavourOS Ganymede became available for download on November 29, 2025, marking an update to the popular Arch Linux-based distribution after a period without ISO refreshes. Powered by the Linux 6.17 kernel series, the release includes the KDE Plasma 6.5.3 desktop environment in both the live environment and offline installation options.
Key changes in Ganymede focus on improving user experience across desktop environments. For KDE Plasma installations, the Maliit virtual keyboard has been replaced with the Qt 6 virtual keyboard for SDDM. Additionally, python-jinja has been added to enhance the out-of-the-box experience for the Glances system monitoring tool.
LXDE users see updates including the removal of GTK3 postfixes from package names, replacement of Obconf with lxappearance-obconf-gtk3, removal of gnome-screenshot from default packages, and renaming of Pacmanfm-gtk3 to pacmanfm.
Under the hood, the release incorporates the Mesa 25.2.7 graphics stack and NVIDIA 580.105.08 graphics driver. A newer version of the Calamares graphical installer provides a smoother setup process. Notably, EndeavourOS now automatically detects the GPU during ISO boot and installs the appropriate NVIDIA driver, whether proprietary or open-source.
The distribution also bundles recent open-source applications, such as Mozilla Firefox 145. For i3 window manager installations, Xbacklight has been replaced with brightnessctl for backlight control.
As a rolling-release model, EndeavourOS requires only a single installation, with updates handled via the command 'sudo pacman -Syu' in the terminal. Existing users can apply these changes through routine updates, while new downloads are available from the official website.