LXQt 2.3: Lightweight Desktop Environment with Enhanced Wayland Support and New Features

LXQt 2.3: Lightweight Desktop Environment with Enhanced Wayland Support and New Features

The LXQt project team has officially released the stable version 2.3 of its lightweight desktop environment, LXQt, bringing a series of important new features and user experience improvements while maintaining its performance edge.

This release places a significant focus on deep optimizations for the Wayland display protocol, marking a notable advancement for LXQt users moving to or using Wayland sessions.

Better Wayland Experience with New Wayfire Backend

A core highlight of LXQt 2.3 is the introduction of a new, advanced Wayfire backend designed to improve graphics handling in Wayland sessions.

The LXQt panel’s desktop switcher applet has also been enhanced to support the ext-workspace-v1 protocol, enabling smoother workspace management on Wayland compositors such as Labwc and Niri.

Additionally, the new lxqt-qdbus utility has been added to simplify qdbus command usage across all Wayland compositors, making it easier to interact with system services in Wayland environments.

Power management on Wayland has been extended with new commands for turning off monitors, including support for compositors like KWin, Niri, and Hyprland.

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User-Friendly Desktop and File Management Improvements

The update also brings multiple human-centric improvements in desktop and file management.

The file manager PCManFM-Qt now offers a “Safely Remove” option directly from the sidebar context menu for external drives, enhancing hardware safety and convenience.

For compressed files, a quick “Extract Here” option has been added to simplify archive management.

Users looking to streamline their desktop can now disable file hover tooltips, reducing visual distractions.

Furthermore, the system gains native integration with systemd services, improving session and system management.​

Core Application Upgrades

Several core LXQt components have been upgraded with notable new capabilities. LXImage-Qt, the image viewer, now supports animated WebP images and multi-page TIFF files, expanding media format compatibility.

The LXQt archiver has added support for the LZ4 compression format, broadening its archival flexibility.

The QTerminal terminal emulator has introduced new convenience features, including a “Toggle Bookmarks” option in the context menu, emoji flag support, and the ability to save window states, enhancing usability for developers and power users alike.

Specific improvements for Wayland compositors like Hyprland include the addition of dpms (display power management signaling) commands.​

Additional Enhancements and Availability

The LXQt panel has seen various enhancements beyond Wayland support, including an overhauled Custom Command plugin that supports structured output and real-time updates, allowing advanced users to create dynamic desktop widgets. Locale-aware sorting in the menus improves navigation for international users. A new default configuration file is placed externally to prevent empty panels on fresh setups, while the Show Desktop plugin is activated on drag-and-drop actions for smoother interactions. Screen backlight adjustment via the mouse wheel on the panel has also been introduced, making brightness control more intuitive.

LXQt 2.3.0 is currently available as source code, with rolling-release Linux distributions like Arch, openSUSE Tumbleweed, Void, and Gentoo expected to integrate the update soon. This release cements LXQt’s reputation for combining lightweight efficiency with modern desktop functionality, especially for users seeking improved Wayland support without sacrificing speed.​

In summary, LXQt 2.3 offers a thoughtful combination of performance, Wayland session enhancements, and user-oriented features that make it an excellent choice for those seeking a fast, flexible, and modern desktop environment.