Karton: A New Virtual Machine Manager for KDE Plasma
In the world of Linux, virtual machines have become an essential tool for developers, testers, and power users alike. While GNOME users have had it easy with GNOME Boxes, KDE users have often had to rely on third-party tools or makeshift solutions. That’s about to change with the introduction of Karton, a new virtual machine manager specifically designed for KDE Plasma.
A Brief History
Karton has its roots in Aaron Rainbolt’s original effort to build a QEMU frontend using its command line interface. Later, KDE developer Harald Sitter took over and developed it as a Google Summer of Code project. Currently, Karton is being actively developed by Derek Lin, a University of Waterloo student participating in Google Summer of Code 2025.
What’s in Store
Karton is being built with Qt Quick and Kirigami, ensuring a seamless integration with the KDE ecosystem. The project’s primary aim is to deliver a virtual machine manager that truly belongs in the KDE universe. To achieve this, Lin is focusing on the following key deliverables:
- Install and configure virtual machines through libvirt’s XML format instead of virt-install CLI
- Add ability to configure commonly used options in UI
- Implement a custom SPICE viewer to allow users to interact with and view the active virtual machine
- Virtual machine snapshots to restore/backup previous states
- Intuitive UI for displaying virtual machines
- Making a user-friendly and aesthetically pleasing GUI by addressing community feedback
A Glimpse into the Future
With Karton, KDE users can expect a more streamlined and user-friendly virtual machine management experience. The project’s timeline indicates that the official GSoC coding starts on June 2, 2025, with the goal of having a working app ready by the midterm evaluation around July 14, 2025. The final submission is due on September 1, 2025.
Conclusion
Karton promises to revolutionize virtual machine management for KDE Plasma users. With its focus on user-friendliness, aesthetics, and community feedback, Karton is poised to become the go-to virtual machine manager for KDE enthusiasts. As the project progresses, we can expect to see a more polished and feature-rich application that truly belongs in the KDE ecosystem.
Actionable Insights
- Keep an eye on Karton’s development progress and provide feedback to the community.
- Explore the project’s GitHub repository to learn more about the development process.
- Consider participating in Google Summer of Code 2025 to contribute to Karton’s development.
Summary
Karton, a new virtual machine manager for KDE Plasma, is being developed by Derek Lin as part of Google Summer of Code 2025. With its focus on user-friendliness, aesthetics, and community feedback, Karton promises to revolutionize virtual machine management for KDE users. Stay tuned for updates on Karton’s development and get ready to experience a more streamlined and user-friendly virtual machine management experience.