Not many Linux distributions take such major leaps, especially when things are already working. Nitrux is known for making such major changes, constantly experimenting and exploring new approaches for improving the desktop experience.
Instead of following convention, Nitrux is making good on its tagline: #DisruptiveByDesign. Their latest move is a perfect example. 👇
What's Happening: As of June 10, 2025, Nitrux has officially discontinued support and maintenance for both its custom NX Desktop and the underlying KDE Plasma base. The entire NX Desktop project page has already been archived.
Replacing them is Hyprland, along with a suite of utilities like Waybar and Wlogout. The developers also switched the Linux kernel from Liquorix to Cachy, citing the lack of PSI support in Liquorix as a problem since it's needed for Waydroid.
Similarly, development of Maui Shell is on hold because the team’s resources are stretched thin, and there has been limited interest or contributions from the community.
Uri Herrera, the founder of Nitrux, put it like this:
This would have been a reversal of our previous decision not to use Plasma 6 and to continue working on Maui Shell. However, an ever-changing landscape, coupled with development efforts that are stretched thin and a lack of interest in code contributions from community contributors, means that we will put Maui Shell on hold.
What to Expect: For users, it means that they will be using Hyprland, the hottest, most dynamic tiling window compositor out there. Its highly customizable nature means that you can rice your desktop to the max without sacrificing performance or simplicity.
That's not all. Nitrux is prioritizing its own app distribution methods,NX AppHub and AppBox, over traditional AppImage packages and will phase out support for older FUSE 2 runtimes, meaning AppImages won’t run unless they use the newer FUSE 3 runtime.
Looking ahead, the team plans to switch the ISO image format from SquashFS to DwarFS for better performance with AppBox. They also aim to expand hardware support by adding ARM64 alongside the existing x86_64 architecture support.
The whole transition will take some time, likely a few weeks.
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