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# Xfce 4.20 Releases With Experimental Wayland Support and More Upgrades
- URL: https://itsfoss.com/news/xfce-4-20-release/
- Published: 2024-12-16T10:44:02.000Z
- Updated: 2024-12-16T10:44:02.000Z
- Description: Xfce 4.20 is here!
- Author: Sourav Rudra
- Tags: DE Releases, News, #Import 2025-11-08 21:15

Many in the Linux community regard [Xfce](https://www.xfce.org/?ref=itsfoss.com) as a genuinely great [desktop environment](https://itsfoss.com/what-is-desktop-environment/) that is lightweight, fast, and highly customizable in nature, allowing anyone to have a fully featured desktop experience without the bloat factor.

Usually, there is a large gap between new Xfce releases, and this time is no different, as Xfce 4.20 **has arrived two years after** the [Xfce 4.18](https://itsfoss.com/xfce-4-18-release/) release.

Let’s jump right in! 😃

## 🆕 Xfce 4.20: What's New?

![a screenshot of a daily build of xubuntu 25.04 running xfce 4.20 pre2](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/2024/12/Xfce_4.20_pre2_on_Xubuntu_25_04.png)

Xfce 4.20 pre2 (**pre-release*) running on a daily build of Xubuntu 25.04.

Marking a major point in Xfce's development, the Xfce 4.20 release is an important release that signals the desktop environment's slow but noticeable move towards Wayland.

The release's **key highlights** include:

- **Core Upgrades**
- **Experimental Wayland Support**
- **Improved Thunar File Manager**

### Core Upgrades

![a screenshot of a screenshot of a daily build of xubuntu 25.04 running xfce 4.20 pre2 with many xfce apps open](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/2024/12/Xfce_4.20_pre2_on_Xubuntu_25_04_b.png)

The **Xfce panel sees many changes**, including the border width being fully configurable, the various clock panel types receiving tweaks, and the show desktop panel item allowing hovering of the mouse to show the desktop.

The *About* dialog now shows the distribution logo, alongside information on the windowing system in use and the machine's GPU. Similarly, **xfce4-power-manager sees changes** like the “*Security*” tab being removed for streamlining lock screen management and “*lock-on-slee*p” being synced with *xfce4-sessio*n and *xfce4-screensaver*.

There is also **support for handling multiple power profiles** via the *power-profiles-daemon*, and the charge state calculation has been fixed to more accurately display battery charge status (*which was previously incorrect in some cases*).

For **xfce4-settings**, the appearance and display settings have received many improvements, with xfdesktop handling random wallpaper switching more effectively. In case you were wondering, yes, there are **many new wallpapers too**!

They were selected from the Xfce 4.20 [Wallpaper Contest](https://alexxcons.github.io/blogpost%5F13.html?ref=itsfoss.com#:~:text=specific%20development%20packages.-,Wallpaper%20contest,-It%20is%20a).

### Experimental Wayland Support

A long time coming, initial support for [Wayland](https://wayland.freedesktop.org/?ref=itsfoss.com) has been pushed to Xfce as part of this release. Unfortunately, it is **not recommended for production/general use**, as there is a high probability of bugs and incomplete functionality.

Currently, **most Xfce components run on Wayland** while keeping support for X11 windowing intact. They made this possible by simplifying all the X11/Wayland-specific calls and incorporating Wayland/[wlroots](https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/wlroots/wlroots?ref=itsfoss.com) protocols as part of a new Xfce library called “[libxfce4windowing](https://gitlab.xfce.org/xfce/libxfce4windowing?ref=itsfoss.com)”.

Another thing to note is that **many Xfce/non-Xfce components don't work** correctly in this early implementation:

- Xfwm4
- Xfdashboard
- Xfce4-screensaver
- The Workspaces feature doesn't work.
- System tray icons are missing for many apps.
- Power-related keyboard shortcuts don't function.

Progress on this particular topic can be tracked on Xfce's [Wayland roadmap](https://wiki.xfce.org/releng/wayland%5Froadmap?ref=itsfoss.com). Moreover, Xfce **doesn't include a Wayland-compatible compositor**, so users looking to run it on Wayland will need to use compositors like [Labwc](https://labwc.github.io/?ref=itsfoss.com) or [Wayfire](https://wayfire.org/?ref=itsfoss.com).

### Improved Thunar File Manager

![a screenshot of a daily build of xubuntu 25.04 running xfce 4.20 pre2 with the thunar file manager open](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/2024/12/Xfce_4.20_pre2_on_Xubuntu_25_04_c.png)

The default file manager for Xfce, [Thunar](https://gitlab.xfce.org/xfce/thunar?ref=itsfoss.com), has been upgraded extensively thanks to additions like **new toolbar buttons** for switching the view, accessing the menu, and opening a new tab/window.

Similarly, there is now support for client-side decorations, symbolic icons in the side pane, colored icons in the toolbar, and improved drag/drop functionality. **Performance has also been improved** when handling a large number of files.

### 🛠️ Other Changes and Improvements

There are some other notable modifications that include:

- The app finder [now supports](https://gitlab.xfce.org/xfce/xfce4-appfinder/-/issues/86?ref=itsfoss.com) application-specific actions.
- Fixes for icon and thumbnail scaling issues for various components.
- The '*Desktop Icons*' tab in the desktop settings menu has been redesigned.
- The checkbox for enabling session saving during logout has been removed.

You can learn more about this release on the official [tour blog](https://www.xfce.org/about/tour420?ref=itsfoss.com), and for a comprehensive list of changes, you can refer to the [changelog](https://www.xfce.org/download/changelogs/4.20?ref=itsfoss.com).

## 📥 Download Xfce 4.20

You can find the packages for Xfce 4.20 on the [official index](https://archive.xfce.org/xfce/4.20/?ref=itsfoss.com). Other than that, the simplest way to check out the changes is to use the daily builds of [Xubuntu](https://cdimages.ubuntu.com/xubuntu/daily-live/current/?ref=itsfoss.com). As time goes by, more and more distros will start including this Xfce release.

[Xfce 4.20](https://archive.xfce.org/xfce/4.20/?ref=itsfoss.com)

**Suggested Read** 📖

[11 Themes to Make Xfce Look Modern and BeautifulXfce desktop looks outdated? No worries. Here are some of the best themes to make your Xfce desktop look beautiful.![](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/size/w256h256/2022/12/android-chrome-192x192.png)It's FOSSCommunity![](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/wordpress/2022/05/best-xfce-themes.png)](https://itsfoss.com/best-xfce-themes/)