KaOS 2026.09
KaOS 2026.09 is the independent, KDE-focused rolling distribution's second release using Dinit instead of systemd, and adds the niri scrolling compositor and the Noctalia shell as options.
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KaOS is an independent rolling-release distribution, built from scratch rather than based on Debian, Fedora, or Arch, and focused on KDE Plasma and Qt. KaOS 2026.09 is its second ISO snapshot using Dinit as the init system in place of systemd. We covered it in the news.
What is new
Dinit. KaOS moved away from systemd this year, joining Chimera Linux and Artix in using Dinit. It is a dependency-based init and service manager that deliberately does less than systemd. Our Dinit explainer covers how it works and what changes day to day, including dinitctl in place of systemctl.
niri and Noctalia. Alongside Plasma, KaOS now offers the niri scrollable-tiling Wayland compositor and the Noctalia desktop shell built for it. Our guide to niri, Hyprland, and Sway explains what scrollable tiling is.
Who it is for
KaOS makes a narrow set of choices on purpose: one desktop toolkit, a single architecture, and a curated repository rather than an enormous one. That produces a very coherent KDE system, at the cost of software breadth. Flatpak fills most of the gaps.
Because it is independent and now systemd-free, it is also a distribution where generic guides often do not apply directly. It suits people who already know Linux and want a polished, opinionated Plasma system; beginners are better served by a mainstream distro from our beginner guide.
Updating
Existing KaOS installs are rolling and do not need the ISO:
sudo pacman -SyuKaOS uses pacman, but its repositories are its own and are not compatible with Arch’s.
Verify Your Download
Checksums are published alongside each ISO on the KaOS download page.