The LightDM display manager is back: version 1.33.0 is the first release since 2022 – and the first under new, community-led maintenance. The lightweight login manager, once known as Ubuntu’s default, had recently been all but abandoned.
Under Canonical, LightDM was formally maintained but barely developed: the last release dated from 2022 and development largely stalled in 2024. Now Joshua Peisach and Neal Gompa are taking over maintenance – and contributors no longer need to sign a Canonical CLA.
What 1.33.0 brings
- Qt6 support: the greeter toolkit now runs on Qt6 (Qt5 still works).
- systemd failsafe: if LightDM fails to start repeatedly, systemd stops the restart loop and switches to a TTY console with troubleshooting instructions – rather than leaving the user staring at a black screen.
- Backlog cleared: numerous fixes that had piled up since 2022.
The new version has already landed in the Arch testing repository, in Fedora Rawhide and in Debian Unstable; Ubuntu is likely to backport it for the upcoming version 26.10. For anyone who values the resource-friendly login manager, the return is good news.
Sources: OMG! Ubuntu, LWN.net.
