The biggest chunk of work in KDE Frameworks 6.28.0 landed in KIO, the library that underpins virtually every file operation across KDE Plasma and its applications. Released 2026-07-10, this monthly update fixes a batch of memory and thread lifecycle leaks in KIO's worker system, enables POSIX ACL preservation when copying files, and makes recursive deletion and directory listing stop promptly when a job is cancelled rather than continuing in the background. The file worker now sets copied file permissions and ownership through a file descriptor instead of a path, and mkdir operations can set uid/gid directly. KDE also enabled the LeakSanitizer in KIO's CI pipeline, a sign the project is serious about catching regressions before they ship.
KXMLGUI now supports modifier-only shortcuts in its shortcut editor, meaning KDE apps can finally let users bind actions to a lone Meta or Ctrl press without workarounds. KTextEditor's vi-mode picked up several fixes and features in this cycle: mouse selection ranges work correctly again, read-only registers for search and command are implemented, and undo/redo now accept a repeat count. The editor also gained color theme preview icons in its configuration pages, so users can see what a syntax theme looks like before switching to it.
Syntax highlighting definitions received updates for systemd v261 unit files, plus fixes for Bash brace command substitution, Zsh string translation highlighting, Fish function descriptions, PowerShell parentheses matching, and Rust scope formatting for types like std::char. KCoreAddons added basic GNU/Hurd support for memory info and filesystem type detection, extending KDE's reach to yet another free kernel. On the Wayland side, KWindowSystem handles Xwayland restarts more gracefully and introduced a future-based API for window exports, while KAuth ported to the new KWaylandExtras::exportToplevel interface.
Beyond the desktop, this release continues KDE's push toward mobile platforms. KConfig, KCoreAddons, KGuiAddons, KCalendarCore, and KIconThemes all received patches for Android or iOS compatibility, including an Android platform calendar plugin in KCalendarCore. Smaller additions round out the release: KUnitConversion gained watt-hour energy conversions (useful in KRunner searches), Prison added ITF and Codabar barcode rendering, and KImageFormats improved HEIF random access reading and EXR metadata support. Frameworks 6.28.0 requires Qt 6.9.0 and the full source is available for download, though installing through your distribution's package manager remains the recommended path.
