The new version of this lightweight desktop environment based on Qt, LXQt 2.3 It's available now and comes with a host of changes focused on Wayland, the panel, and several key utilitiesThe edition maintains the goal of offering a fast desktop and content in resources without sacrificing modern features.
After several months of work since the previous release, the project launches an update that aims to improve the daily experience and compatibility with more composers. Overall, The jump incorporates broader Wayland support.Practical adjustments to the panel and advancements in tools such as QTerminal, LXImage-Qt, Screengrab and LXQt-Archiver.
Focus on Wayland and compatible compositors
One of the key aspects of this version is the integration with WaylandThe panel's desktop switch now understands the protocol ext-workspaces-v1Therefore, it works with more composers, and a more advanced backend is being launched for WayfireFurthermore, Screengrab now works in Wayland sessions, thus expanding the range of tasks that can be performed without resorting to X11.
In power management and display, LXQt can Turn off the monitor in Wayland when used with compositors such as KWin, Niri, or Hyprland. For the latter, a specific dpms command is added, while the option lxqt-qdbus It simplifies several qdbus commands to handle them homogeneously with supported composers.
Panel, power, and desktop shortcuts in LXQt 2.3
The panel gains details that are noticeable in everyday use: it's possible Adjust the screen brightness using the mouse wheel directly from the toolbar, and the Custom Command add-on becomes more flexible by accepting structured output and updating itself each time it receives new results.
Practical improvements appear on the desktop and in the file manager: there is an option to disable file tooltips On the desktop, "Safely Remove" is added to the context menu of the side panel for external drives, and "Extract Here" is added, taking advantage of the argument --extract-here from lxqt-archiver.
The "Show Desktop" add-on can also be activated by dragging and dropping, and the package now includes a native service for systemd, facilitating the management and startup of the environment in systems that use this init.
Updated applications and utilities
QTerminal incorporates an action of “Alternate markers” In the View menu, there is support for emoji flags and a new option to save the window state; in addition, the "Don't ask again" checkbox disappears from the confirmation dialog.
The LXImage-Qt image viewer adds support for Animated WebP and multi-page TIFFMeanwhile, LXQt-Archiver introduces support for LZ4, expanding the available compression formats, and Screengrab improves the Selection border color in X11 sessions to facilitate taking screenshots.
Among the minor additions, lxqt-sudo receives the parameter -q/--quiet to reduce verbosity, while the Fancy menu gains category separators and sorting responsiveness regional configuration, which improves consistency with the system language.
LXQt 2.3 Download and Availability
The source code and release details can be found on GitHubThose who compile from code can update now; the rest will have to wait for the maintainers of each distribution to publish the packages in their repositories, something that usually arrive gradually depending on the cycle of each project.
With this release, LXQt takes a step forward in its goal of offering a lightweight and modern environment: Wayland gains prominenceThe panel and desktop become more comfortable, and applications incorporate useful features without complicating the experience.
