How to install the latest version of Plasma on Kubuntu 18.04 LTS

No. Kubuntu 18.04 Bionic Beaver LTS cannot install latest version of Plasma nor from its Backports repository. Personally it seems to me a mistake not to offer support for the latest LTS version of an operating system, but their reasons will have. The most up-to-date version of Plasma that we can aspire to from Bionic Beaver is v5.12.7, for which it is not necessary to use any special repository. But can we install Plasma 5.15.5 on Kubuntu 18.04 LTS? Yes, you can, and here we will teach you the tricks to be able to do it.

Before continuing I would like to advise something: to do so we will have to edit some configuration files. Changes ARE SUPPOSED to be safe, but everyone must be responsible for their actions if you decide to move on. Many people are using these tricks without problems, but whenever we manipulate a software in an unofficial way we can find a stone in the way. Having explained this, I will detail what needs to be done to be able to use the latest version of Plasma in Kubuntu 18.04LTS.

Plasma 5.15.5 on Kubuntu 18.04.x

It is necessary to be clear about the difference between «Plasma» and «KDE Applications»The first is the graphical environment, while the second is the application package. The first and safest thing is to edit a font by changing a word. The complete process to achieve this is as follows:

1. We install the KDE Backports repository with this command:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:kubuntu-ppa/backports
sudo apt update

2. Next, we open Discover.
3. We click on «Preferences».
4. The next thing is to click on the icon with the three lines that is at the top left and choose "Software Sources".
5. We enter our password.
6. Let's go to «Other Software».
7. We choose the Kubuntu Backports source and click on "Edit ...".
8. We change the word "bionic" to "disk."
9. We save and close.
10. When he asks us, we say yes to refresh repositories.
11. We close and open Discover. Plasma 5.15.5 will appear as an available update.

Also update KDE Applications

This is a bit more complicated and not because of how difficult it is, but because you have to edit the file where the fonts are saved. The theory is simple but, once again, everyone must be responsible for their actions if they decide to make these changes. The "trick" would be to do the following:

1. We open Dolphin.
2. Let Root / etc / apt.
3. We make a backup copy of the file sources.list, for what it could happen.
4. We download a text editor that allows us to edit files as administrator or root user. For example, Feather.
5. We open the file sources.list., for which we will have to write "sudo pen" without the quotes, drag the file to the terminal and press Enter.
6. We edit the sources, leaving the first "Bionic" untouched. We change the other three to "disco".
7. In the first font we put that of Disco Dingo:

Kubuntu 19.04 _Disco Dingo_ - Release amd64 (20190416)]/ disco main multiverse restricted universe

8. We save and close.
9. We open Discover and check if everything has gone well. It is difficult to do so. In the best case, we will see several errors before looking at the available packages.

I have managed to install it in a virtual machine, but I do not guarantee that we all suffer the same fate. If it is urgent for you to have the latest versions of the KDE Applications, you can always try to change only one of the "bionic" for "disk" and go testing. The first one does have to be exactly as it says above. If it does not come out, it is enough to recover the backup that we had made in step 3 of the previous list. Another option is to download the base packages of the applications and perform the manual installation.

The best: updating to the latest version of Kubuntu

Before I finish this tutorial, I would like to give my opinion regarding all this: As a user who updates the operating system every 6 months, sometimes from scratch, I think it is best to update the operating system to the latest version and add the Backports repository to it. You have an article on how to update directly from X-buntu 18.04 here, and another if we use a more advanced version here.

Have you managed to install the latest version of Plasma and / or KDE Applications on Kubuntu 18.04.x?