![\"FreeBSD](\"https:\/\/linuxiac.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/kde-freebsd-15-installer-1.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nOnce the installation is done, you\u2019re left with a bare-bones system that you can customize and tune however you like\u2014yep, pretty much the same idea as with the Linux distros mentioned earlier. In short, the FreeBSD\u202f installer does not<\/em> offer a \u201cpick\u2011a\u2011desktop\u201d screen like you see in many Linux installers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Instead, you complete a minimal console-only install first, then, with the familiar It\u2019s the kind of process longtime Linux users might remember, back when just getting X to run was enough to celebrate. All that, however, is now about to change for the FreeBSD users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The idea behind this is simple: offer users\u2014especially those new to FreeBSD\u2014a minimal-interaction setup that concludes with a ready-to-use KDE desktop. Right after installing, users would be welcomed by the KDE graphical login screen, eliminating the usual manual setup hassle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At this point, the development team is still evaluating the package dependencies to select and automatically install the appropriate graphics drivers. Current work includes building intuitive, dialog-based interfaces integrated into the existing FreeBSD installer. Once finished, these dialogs will seamlessly guide users through choosing a KDE desktop during installation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After the initial reboot post-installation, the system\u2019s graphical login manager, SDDM, would automatically launch, letting users dive straight into their new KDE environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For now, the installer dialogs exist as previews and mockups<\/a>, showcasing the planned user flow. The next steps include finalizing the implementation based on community feedback and integrating the necessary scripts to fully automate the desktop setup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, I’m curious what\u2019s going to happen when KDE suddenly drops X11 and moves fully to Wayland\u2014which is expected with the Plasma 7 release<\/a>. I bring this up because, currently, Wayland on FreeBSD is only partially usable; it’s still a work in progress and not as polished or widely supported as it is on Linux.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Additionally, it’s worth noting that the FreeBSD developers have selected KDE as the desktop environment for users looking for a quick and easy desktop setup. That\u2019s a bit of a contrast to most Linux distributions, which tend to go with GNOME by default.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In conclusion, FreeBSD has consistently maintained a reputation for rock-solid stability and performance; however, its desktop usability has lagged behind that of Linux in terms of out-of-the-box polish. By baking a desktop option directly into the installer, FreeBSD 15.0 could significantly change all this, making it a more appealing choice for everyday use, not just servers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This initiative is truly promising, and as always, I\u2019ll keep you informed if anything changes. FreeBSD 15.0 is expected to be released<\/a> in early December this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For more details on implementing a KDE installation option directly in the FreeBSD installer, refer to this link<\/a> or look here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" FreeBSD 15.0 aims to introduce a KDE desktop installation option, allowing users to boot directly into a graphical login with minimal setup required.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":178835,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[5855,5894,1254],"class_list":["post-178832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-bsd","tag-freebsd","tag-kde"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/linuxiac.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178832","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/linuxiac.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/linuxiac.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linuxiac.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linuxiac.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=178832"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/linuxiac.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178832\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linuxiac.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/178835"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/linuxiac.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=178832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linuxiac.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=178832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linuxiac.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=178832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"FreeBSD](\"https:\/\/linuxiac.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/kde-freebsd-15-installer-2.jpg\")
pkg install<\/code> command (or Ports), you\u2019re starting from scratch\u2014adding everything you need for a desktop setup: the X server, a desktop environment, drivers, and, yes, even manually configuring X.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"KDE](\"https:\/\/linuxiac.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/kde-freebsd-15-installer-3.jpg\")