Budgie Desktop Is In For A Qt Future | Joshua Strobl
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In this episode of Tech Over Tea, host Brody Robertson welcomes back Joshua Strobl, founder and lead of Budgie Desktop, to discuss the long-awaited transition to Qt 6 for Budgie 11. After years of shifting toolkits—from Qt 5, to GDK4, to EFL—Strobl reveals that Budgie has finally moved forward with Qt 6, with actual shipping code now in the Budgie 1010 release. The team has built a new Wayland compositor, Magpie, using the Mir framework, which enables rapid development and robust window management. Strobl emphasizes the importance of architectural clarity, separating Budgie core from the shell to allow for greater customization and third-party innovation. He also discusses the use of KDE frameworks and Kirigami for UI components, the decision to avoid Vala and C++ in favor of Rust and Qt, and the team’s commitment to transparency through regular 'chirps' and live-streamed development. The episode reflects on the challenges of open-source sustainability, the role of AI in development, and the future of Linux desktops in a world of customizable, composable environments.
Budgie 11 is officially underway with Qt 6 and a new Wayland compositor, Magpie, built on the Mir framework.
The team has moved away from GDK3 and EFL, embracing Qt 6 for its mature ecosystem, robust libraries, and better developer experience.
Budgie is adopting a modular architecture with a clear separation between core components and the shell, enabling third-party customization.
Transparency is prioritized through regular 'chirps' and live-streamed development, aiming to rebuild trust after years of silence.
The team is leveraging KDE frameworks (like KConfig and KStatusNotifierItem) to avoid reinventing the wheel and focus on innovation.
…and 2 more takeaways available in PodZeus
Welcome Back & The Long Road to Qt 6
“We actually have written code this time around for it if you believe it or not”
The Failed Toolkit Transitions: Qt 5, GDK4, EFL
Strobl recounts the history of Budgie's toolkit shifts—starting with a failed Qt 5 conversion, the delayed GDK4 adoption, and the brief EFL experiment—highlighting how each was abandoned due to team capacity, ecosystem misalignment, or technical debt.
The Birth of Magpie: A New Wayland Compositor
“It enables you to go from having no compositor to having a compositor in, I don't know, 15 minutes? It's insane.”
Qt 6: The Good, The Bad, and The QML Struggle
Strobl shares his mixed experience with Qt 6—praising its comprehensive libraries and robustness—but admitting frustration with QML’s learning curve and the need to integrate C++ with QML.
The Modular Vision: Core vs. Shell
“You could practically vibe code your own desktop environment... and suddenly that is another reason to use Linux.”
“You could practically vibe code your own desktop environment, your own desktop experience.”
“I want to reason about things. I want to take a 20-foot view at the architecture and then if necessary get really into the weeds.”
“We actually have written code this time around for it if you believe it or not”
Host
Guest
Budgie Desktop
other
Qt 6
other
Wayland
other
Magpie
other
Mir
other
KDE Frameworks
other
Rust
other
Joshua Strobl
person
Kirigami
other
C++
other
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