Raspberry Pi OS (2026-09-15)

The September 15, 2026 release of Raspberry Pi OS is the biggest desktop update in months. We covered it in the news.

What changed

• A new dock on the desktop
• Revamped desktop controls
• A new screenshot tool
• The kernel moves to Linux 6.18.50, from the 6.18 longterm series. That release already carries fixes for the networking bugs that received public root exploits in September

The desktop runs on Labwc, the Openbox-style Wayland compositor Raspberry Pi adopted in 2024.

Which image?

Image	For
Raspberry Pi OS with desktop (64-bit)	Pi 4, Pi 5, and Pi 400/500 as a desktop
Raspberry Pi OS Lite (64-bit)	Headless servers: Pi-hole, Home Assistant, file servers
32-bit images	Older boards such as the Pi Zero and Pi 2

For headless projects, Lite is the right choice: less to update and more memory free.

Installing

Raspberry Pi Imager is the easiest route. It downloads the image, writes it to the SD card or SSD, and lets you preset the hostname, user, Wi-Fi, and SSH keys before first boot, which avoids ever needing a monitor for a headless Pi. Our SSH beginners guide covers connecting afterwards.

Updating an existing install

You do not need to reflash. A normal upgrade brings existing systems up to date:

sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade
sudo reboot

Verify Your Download

SHA256 checksums are published next to each image in the official image directory. Raspberry Pi Imager verifies images automatically.