We’re pleased to announce the first release candidate for Qubes 4.0.1! This is the first of at least two planned patch releases for version 4.0. Features:

• All 4.0 dom0 updates to date
• Fedora 29 TemplateVM
• Debian 9 TemplateVM
• Whonix 14 Gateway and Workstation TemplateVMs
• Linux kernel 4.14

Qubes 4.0.1-rc1 is available on the Downloads page.

What is a patch release?

A patch release does not designate a separate, new major or minor release of Qubes OS. Rather, it designates its respective major or minor release (in this case, 4.0) inclusive of all updates up to a certain point. Installing Qubes 4.0 and fully updating it results in the same system as installing Qubes 4.0.1.

What should I do?

If you’re currently using an up-to-date Qubes 4.0 installation, then your system is already equivalent to a Qubes 4.0.1 installation. No action is needed.

Regardless of your current OS, if you wish to install (or reinstall) Qubes 4.0 for any reason, then the 4.0.1 ISO will make this more convenient and secure, since it bundles all Qubes 4.0 updates to date. It will be especially helpful for users whose hardware is too new to be compatible with the original Qubes 4.0 installer.

Release candidate planning

We expect that there will be a second release candidate (4.0.1-rc2) following this one (4.0.1-rc1). The second release candidate will include a fix for the Nautilus bug reported in #4460 along with any other available fixes for bugs reported against this release candidate. As usual, you can help by reporting any bugs you encounter.

What about Qubes 3.2.1?

We announced the release of 3.2.1-rc1 one month ago. Since no serious problems have been discovered in 3.2.1-rc1, we plan to build the final version of Qubes 3.2.1 at the end of this week.