EndeavourOS has released Titan Nova, a new installation image for the popular Arch Linux-based distribution. But anyone expecting a massive collection of new features should temper those expectations. Titan Nova is primarily a maintenance release designed to keep new installations current while the developers continue working on the more ambitious Triton release.
And Triton is apparently proving harder to finish than expected. You see, the EndeavourOS team originally expected Triton to arrive sooner, but development has taken longer because the project is preparing to run Wayland in the live environment. Upcoming changes to KDE Plasma make that transition increasingly important, but getting everything working properly is apparently a substantial undertaking.
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Rather than rush Triton out the door, EndeavourOS is using Titan Nova as a bridge. “So, don’t expect big changes. This release includes the necessary hardware support upgrades and a few bug fixes,” the team explains.
For existing EndeavourOS users, there isn’t much to do. Titan Nova primarily affects new installations, the Calamares installer, the offline installer, and the live environment included on the ISO. Anyone already running EndeavourOS and keeping the system updated doesn’t need to reinstall or perform a special Titan Nova upgrade.
The refreshed live environment and offline installer ship with Linux kernel 7.1.8.arch1-3, Firefox 153.0.4-1, Mesa 26.1.7-1, Xorg Server 21.1.24-1, Calamares 26.03.2.3-1, Nvidia-utils 610.57.04-1, and Nvidia-open 610.54.04-6.
There are some fixes worth mentioning, too. EndeavourOS says recent keyboard configuration changes had caused setup errors, so Titan Nova includes a temporary patch. A permanent solution is planned for Triton.
The project has also improved the experience when using the open source Nouveau drivers for NVIDIA graphics hardware from the ISO.
Perhaps the most noticeable removal is Budgie. EndeavourOS has temporarily dropped the option to install the Budgie desktop environment because of its ongoing transition toward Wayland.
According to the project, the current upstream version isn’t delivering a default experience that the EndeavourOS developers are comfortable shipping. Budgie is expected to return in a future release, so this doesn’t appear to be a permanent divorce.
Titan Nova ultimately isn’t the exciting EndeavourOS release. Triton should be much more interesting, particularly because of the planned Wayland live environment.
Still, there’s something refreshing about a Linux distribution acknowledging that a bigger transition needs more time rather than pretending everything is ready. Titan Nova keeps the installation media reasonably current while the developers work through those Wayland complications.
For existing EndeavourOS users, keep updating normally and carry on. For anyone performing a fresh installation, Titan Nova is now the version to grab. Download the ISO here.
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