Install KDE Plasma 5.8 On Ubuntu 16.04 and Linux Mint

KDE Plasma 5.8 released. Here’s how to install KDE Plasma 5.8 on Ubuntu Systems, via ppa:kubuntu-ppa/backports. KDE Plasma desktop environment is created by KDE primarily for Linux systems.

KDE Plasma 5.8

KDE Plasma 5.8 is the latest release of the KDE Plasma desktop environment. It brings the following changes:

New Login Screen – This release brings an all-new login screen design giving you a complete Breeze startup to shutdown experience. The layout has been tidied up and is more suitable for workstations that are part of a domain or company network. While it is much more streamlined, it also allows for greater customizability: for instance, all Plasma wallpaper plugins, such as slideshows and animated wallpapers, can now be used on the lock screen.

Right-to-Left Language Support – Support for Semitic right-to-left written languages, such as Hebrew and Arabic, has been greatly improved. Contents of panels, the desktop, and configuration dialogs are mirrored in this configuration. Plasma’s sidebars, such as widget explorer, window switcher, activity manager, show up on the right side of the screen.

KDE Plasma 5.8 also brings bugfixes in multi-screen support and new default fonts.

Install KDE Plasma 5.8 On Ubuntu

Open terminal and run the following commands to install KDE Plasma 5.8 on Ubuntu and Linux Mint systems:

$ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:kubuntu-ppa/backports
$ sudo apt-get update
$ sudo apt-get dist-upgrade
$ sudo apt-get install kubuntu-desktop


During the installation process, you will have to configure login manager, click OK and select the lightdm login manager.

Once the installation process is completed and KDE Plasma is installed, logout and select Plasma Desktop to login. Use the regular username and password to login.