The wait is over for Mageia fans. Mageia 10 is finally here, and the ISO images are already available for download!
This latest version of the community-driven Linux distribution arrives with the Linux 6.18 kernel, bringing support for newer hardware along with updated graphics capabilities thanks to Mesa 26.0.
Desktop users have plenty of choices too. KDE Plasma 6.5.5 serves as the flagship desktop and ships with Qt 6.10 and KDE Frameworks 6.22. GNOME users get GNOME 49, while fans of lighter environments can choose from Xfce 4.21, Cinnamon 6.6, MATE 1.28, LXQt 2.3, and several window managers.
ALSO READ: Commodore thinks this Linux flip phone can cure your smartphone addiction
One of the more interesting changes is the move to DNF 5. Mageia has supported DNF alongside its traditional urpmi package manager for years, but Mageia 10 ships with DNF 5.4 out of the box. The older urpmi tools remain available, so longtime users are not being forced to abandon familiar workflows overnight.
Developers are getting plenty of fresh software too. Mageia 10 includes Python 3.13, GCC 15.2, LLVM 20.1, Rust 1.95, PHP 8.4, and Perl 5.42. Virtualization and container users will also appreciate updated versions of Docker, QEMU, libvirt, and VirtualBox.
Gamers and desktop users should benefit from updated graphics support as well. The distribution ships with newer NVIDIA drivers, support for open source NVIDIA kernel modules, and refreshed AMD graphics support through newer Mesa releases.
Interestingly, Mageia continues to support 32-bit systems, although users will now need processors that support SSE2 instructions. In an era when many Linux distributions have abandoned 32-bit hardware entirely, even limited support will likely be welcomed by some users.
There are a few other noteworthy changes. Chromium packages have been dropped from the repositories due to maintenance demands, with users encouraged to install the browser as a Flatpak instead. The Nextcloud server package makes a return, and Firefox 140 ESR ships as the default browser.
Perhaps the biggest surprise is audio. While PipeWire support is included, Mageia continues to enable PulseAudio by default. Most Linux distributions have already completed the transition to PipeWire, making Mageia something of an outlier in 2026.
If you have been waiting for a reason to revisit Mageia, version 10 might be worth a look.
Support independent tech journalism
NERDS.xyz is independently owned and operated. If you enjoy my coverage of Linux, AI, hardware, cybersecurity, and tech culture, consider supporting the site on Ko-fi.
Support NERDS.xyz