LXQt is a desktop environment for Linux built around the idea of staying lightweight, and it’s the default desktop for Lubuntu. Version 2.4.0, released recently, doesn’t aim to reinvent anything. The goal is straightforward: polish what already works, fix bugs, clean up the code, and add some practical improvements where they matter.

Wayland Configuration Gets Clearer

Settings for X11 and Wayland sessions are now separated in the configuration interface. Wayland-specific options only appear if lxqt-wayland-session is installed, so X11 users don’t see irrelevant options cluttering their menus. Multi-monitor setups also got attention: desktop icon visibility in Wayland now properly respects per-screen preferences instead of applying a blanket setting across all displays.

Audio Control and Power Management

The panel’s volume control finally works intuitively. The plugin now displays all available audio devices in a horizontal layout, and you can adjust the default volume by scrolling your mouse wheel over the icon without opening extra windows. Power management improvements include separate timeouts for screen shutdown on AC power versus battery, and some unnecessary options have been removed from the menus to reduce clutter.

QTerminal and Notifications

QTerminal received various refinements: better handling of custom tab names, highlighting all matches during search instead of cycling through them one at a time, a new Nord theme, and a fix for a bug that cut off links containing closing parentheses. Transient notifications like song titles no longer get saved to history when Do Not Disturb mode is active.

Qt compatibility remains unchanged. LXQt 2.4.0 still builds on Debian Trixie and its derivatives.