Plasma session keeps crashing randomly

Issues & Assistance
,
1

Hey everyone,

I recently did a fresh install of Garuda Linux and have been running into an issue where Plasma keeps randomly restarting itself.

Every once in a while, the screen freezes for a second, all my panels and windows disappear, and then the desktop reloads automatically

❯ journalctl -p 3 -b | grep -iE 'kwin|gpu|drm|intel'

Nov 05 12:22:41 LenovoIdeapad-81vd kwin_wayland[3295]: XKB: [XKB-679] No Compose file for locale "en_IN.ISO8859-1": locale is either invalid or not installed
Nov 05 12:22:41 LenovoIdeapad-81vd kwin_wayland[3295]: XKB: [XKB-679] couldn't find a Compose file for locale "en_IN" (mapped to "en_IN.ISO8859-1")
Nov 05 13:38:47 LenovoIdeapad-81vd kwin_wayland[256944]: XKB: [XKB-679] No Compose file for locale "en_IN.ISO8859-1": locale is either invalid or not installed
Nov 05 13:38:47 LenovoIdeapad-81vd kwin_wayland[256944]: XKB: [XKB-679] couldn't find a Compose file for locale "en_IN" (mapped to "en_IN.ISO8859-1")
Nov 05 14:21:37 LenovoIdeapad-81vd systemd-coredump[319235]: Process 256944 (kwin_wayland) of user 1000 dumpedcore.
#21 0x00007f85c7eb1f99 n/a (org.kde.kwin.aurorae.so + 0x10f99)
#22 0x00007f85c7eb2215 n/a (org.kde.kwin.aurorae.so + 0x11215)
#23 0x00007f85ffd7556a n/a (libkwin.so.6 + 0x17556a)
#24 0x00007f85fffed36a _ZN4KWin6WindowD1Ev (libkwin.so.6 + 0x3ed36a)
#25 0x00007f8600031925 n/a (libkwin.so.6 + 0x431925)
#26 0x00007f85ffe04dae _ZN4KWin15AnimationEffect15postPaintScreenEv (libkwin.so.6 + 0x204dae)
#27 0x00007f85ffe09c0c _ZN4KWin14EffectsHandler15postPaintScreenEv (libkwin.so.6 + 0x209c0c)
#28 0x00007f85ffe09c0c _ZN4KWin14EffectsHandler15postPaintScreenEv (libkwin.so.6 + 0x209c0c)
#29 0x00007f85fff530ea _ZN4KWin14WorkspaceScene9postPaintEv (libkwin.so.6 + 0x3530ea)
#30 0x00007f85ffd8d519 _ZN4KWin10Compositor9compositeEPNS_10RenderLoopE (libkwin.so.6 + 0x18d519)
#32 0x00007f85ffdb4e5b _ZN4KWin10RenderLoop14frameRequestedEPS0_ (libkwin.so.6 + 0x1b4e5b)
#41 0x000055abe3d599f4 n/a (/usr/bin/kwin_wayland+ 0x3c9f4)
#44 0x000055abe3d5feb5 n/a (/usr/bin/kwin_wayland+ 0x42eb5)
#4  0x00007f860008d3e5 n/a (libkwin.so.6 + 0x48d3e5)
#5  0x00007f860008d7ca n/a (libkwin.so.6 + 0x48d7ca)
#6  0x00007f8600087826 n/a (libkwin.so.6 + 0x487826)
#9  0x00007f86000882bf n/a (libkwin.so.6 + 0x4882bf)
Nov 05 14:21:38 LenovoIdeapad-81vd kwin_wayland[319265]: XKB: [XKB-679] No Compose file for locale "en_IN.ISO8859-1": locale is either invalid or not installed
Nov 05 14:21:38 LenovoIdeapad-81vd kwin_wayland[319265]: XKB: [XKB-679] couldn't find a Compose file for locale "en_IN" (mapped to "en_IN.ISO8859-1")
Nov 05 14:31:14 LenovoIdeapad-81vd systemd-coredump[335760]: Process 319265 (kwin_wayland) of user 1000 dumpedcore.
#7  0x00007f40bc0a5f99 n/a (org.kde.kwin.aurorae.so + 0x10f99)
#8  0x00007f40bc0a6215 n/a (org.kde.kwin.aurorae.so + 0x11215)
#9  0x00007f40e557556a n/a (libkwin.so.6 + 0x17556a)
#10 0x00007f40e57ed36a _ZN4KWin6WindowD1Ev (libkwin.so.6 + 0x3ed36a)
#11 0x00007f40e5831925 n/a (libkwin.so.6 + 0x431925)
#12 0x00007f40e5604dae _ZN4KWin15AnimationEffect15postPaintScreenEv (libkwin.so.6 + 0x204dae)
#13 0x00007f40e5609c0c _ZN4KWin14EffectsHandler15postPaintScreenEv (libkwin.so.6 + 0x209c0c)
#14 0x00007f40e5609c0c _ZN4KWin14EffectsHandler15postPaintScreenEv (libkwin.so.6 + 0x209c0c)
#15 0x00007f40e57530ea _ZN4KWin14WorkspaceScene9postPaintEv (libkwin.so.6 + 0x3530ea)
#16 0x00007f40e558d519 _ZN4KWin10Compositor9compositeEPNS_10RenderLoopE (libkwin.so.6 + 0x18d519)
#18 0x00007f40e55b4e5b _ZN4KWin10RenderLoop14frameRequestedEPS0_ (libkwin.so.6 + 0x1b4e5b)
#27 0x000055749c2349f4 n/a (/usr/bin/kwin_wayland+ 0x3c9f4)
#30 0x000055749c23aeb5 n/a (/usr/bin/kwin_wayland+ 0x42eb5)
#4  0x00007f40e588d3e5 n/a (libkwin.so.6 + 0x48d3e5)
#5  0x00007f40e588d7ca n/a (libkwin.so.6 + 0x48d7ca)
#6  0x00007f40e5887826 n/a (libkwin.so.6 + 0x487826)
#9  0x00007f40e58882bf n/a (libkwin.so.6 + 0x4882bf)
Nov 05 14:31:15 LenovoIdeapad-81vd kwin_wayland[335794]: XKB: [XKB-679] No Compose file for locale "en_IN.ISO8859-1": locale is either invalid or not installed
Nov 05 14:31:15 LenovoIdeapad-81vd kwin_wayland[335794]: XKB: [XKB-679] couldn't find a Compose file for locale "en_IN" (mapped to "en_IN.ISO8859-1")

Garuda-inxi:

❯ garuda-inxi
System:
Kernel: 6.17.7-zen1-1-zen arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 15.2.1
clocksource: tsc avail: hpet,acpi_pm
parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/@/boot/vmlinuz-linux-zen
root=UUID=f36cd41d-5fe0-4622-a117-a12fe4cc458c rw rootflags=subvol=@
vt.default_red=30,243,166,249,137,245,148,186,88,243,166,249,137,245,148,166
vt.default_grn=30,139,227,226,180,194,226,194,91,139,227,226,180,194,226,173
vt.default_blu=46,168,161,175,250,231,213,222,112,168,161,175,250,231,213,200
quiet resume=UUID=e6d944a4-0019-4d5f-aac1-ff280aa726fb loglevel=3
Desktop: KDE Plasma v: 6.5.1 tk: Qt v: N/A info: frameworks v: 6.19.0
wm: kwin_wayland with: krunner vt: 3 dm: SDDM Distro: Garuda
base: Arch Linux
Machine:
Type: Laptop System: LENOVO product: 81VD v: Lenovo IdeaPad S145-15IKB
serial: <superuser required> Chassis: type: 10 v: Lenovo IdeaPad S145-15IKB
serial: <superuser required>
Mobo: LENOVO model: LNVNB161216 v: SDK0Q55724 WIN
serial: <superuser required>
part-nu: LENOVO_MT_81VD_BU_idea_FM_IdeaPad S145-15IKB
uuid: <superuser required> UEFI: LENOVO v: CSCN17WW date: 05/20/2021
Battery:
ID-1: BAT0 charge: 27.7 Wh (100%) condition: 27.7/35.3 Wh (78.5%)
volts: 8.43 min: 7.6 model: CPT-COS L16C2PB1 type: Li-poly serial: <filter>
charging: status: full type: standard avail: long_life,standard
cycles: 386
CPU:
Info: model: Intel Core i3-7020U bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Amber/Kaby Lake
note: check gen: core 7 level: v3 note: check built: 2017
process: Intel 14nm family: 6 model-id: 0x8E (142) stepping: 9
microcode: 0xF6
Topology: cpus: 1x dies: 1 clusters: 2 cores: 2 threads: 4 tpc: 2
smt: enabled cache: L1: 128 KiB desc: d-2x32 KiB; i-2x32 KiB L2: 512 KiB
desc: 2x256 KiB L3: 3 MiB desc: 1x3 MiB
Speed (MHz): avg: 800 min/max: 400/2300 scaling: driver: intel_pstate
governor: powersave cores: 1: 800 2: 800 3: 800 4: 800 bogomips: 18399
Flags-basic: avx avx2 ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx
Vulnerabilities: <filter>
Graphics:
Device-1: Intel HD Graphics 620 vendor: Lenovo driver: i915 v: kernel
arch: Gen-9.5 process: Intel 14nm built: 2016-20 ports: active: eDP-1
empty: DP-1,HDMI-A-1,HDMI-A-2 bus-ID: 00:02.0 chip-ID: 8086:5916
class-ID: 0300
Device-2: Chicony Integrated Camera driver: uvcvideo type: USB rev: 2.0
speed: 480 Mb/s lanes: 1 mode: 2.0 bus-ID: 1-8:6 chip-ID: 04f2:b624
class-ID: 0e02 serial: <filter>
Display: wayland server: X.org v: 1.21.1.20 with: Xwayland v: 24.1.9
compositor: kwin_wayland driver: gpu: i915 display-ID: 0
Monitor-1: eDP-1 model: AU Optronics 0x61ed built: 2018 res:
mode: 1920x1080 hz: 60 scale: 100% (1) dpi: 142 gamma: 1.2
size: 344x194mm (13.54x7.64") diag: 395mm (15.5") ratio: 16:9
modes: 1920x1080
API: EGL v: 1.5 hw: drv: intel iris platforms: device: 0 drv: iris
device: 1 drv: swrast gbm: drv: iris surfaceless: drv: iris wayland:
drv: iris x11: drv: iris
API: OpenGL v: 4.6 compat-v: 4.5 vendor: intel mesa v: 25.2.6-arch1.1
glx-v: 1.4 direct-render: yes renderer: Mesa Intel HD Graphics 620 (KBL GT2)
device-ID: 8086:5916 memory: 11.31 GiB unified: yes display-ID: :0.0
API: Vulkan v: 1.4.328 layers: 9 device: 0 type: integrated-gpu name: Intel
HD Graphics 620 (KBL GT2) driver: mesa intel v: 25.2.6-arch1.1
device-ID: 8086:5916 surfaces: N/A device: 1 type: cpu name: llvmpipe
(LLVM 21.1.4 256 bits) driver: mesa llvmpipe v: 25.2.6-arch1.1 (LLVM
21.1.4) device-ID: 10005:0000 surfaces: N/A
Info: Tools: api: clinfo, eglinfo, glxinfo, vulkaninfo
de: kscreen-console,kscreen-doctor gpu: corectrl wl: wayland-info
x11: xdpyinfo, xprop, xrandr
Audio:
Device-1: Intel Sunrise Point-LP HD Audio vendor: Lenovo
driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel alternate: snd_soc_avs bus-ID: 00:1f.3
chip-ID: 8086:9d71 class-ID: 0403
API: ALSA v: k6.17.7-zen1-1-zen status: kernel-api with: aoss
type: oss-emulator tools: N/A
Server-1: PipeWire v: 1.4.9 status: active with: 1: pipewire-pulse
status: active 2: wireplumber status: active 3: pipewire-alsa type: plugin
4: pw-jack type: plugin tools: pactl,pw-cat,pw-cli,wpctl
Network:
Device-1: Qualcomm Atheros QCA9377 802.11ac Wireless Network Adapter
vendor: Lenovo driver: ath10k_pci v: kernel pcie: gen: 1 speed: 2.5 GT/s
lanes: 1 bus-ID: 02:00.0 chip-ID: 168c:0042 class-ID: 0280
IF: wlp2s0 state: up mac: <filter>
Info: services: NetworkManager, systemd-timesyncd, wpa_supplicant
Bluetooth:
Device-1: Qualcomm Atheros driver: btusb v: 0.8 type: USB rev: 2.0
speed: 12 Mb/s lanes: 1 mode: 1.1 bus-ID: 1-7:5 chip-ID: 0cf3:e500
class-ID: e001
Report: btmgmt ID: hci0 rfk-id: 4 state: up address: <filter> bt-v: 4.2
lmp-v: 8 status: discoverable: no pairing: no class-ID: 6c010c
Drives:
Local Storage: total: 176.55 GiB used: 40.62 GiB (23.0%)
SMART Message: Unable to run smartctl. Root privileges required.
ID-1: /dev/sda maj-min: 8:0 model: Daichi size: 119.24 GiB block-size:
physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s tech: SSD serial: <filter>
fw-rev: 8A0 scheme: GPT
ID-2: /dev/sdb maj-min: 8:16 vendor: SanDisk model: USB 3.2Gen1
size: 57.3 GiB block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B type: USB rev: 2.1
spd: 480 Mb/s lanes: 1 mode: 2.0 tech: N/A serial: <filter> fw-rev: 1.00
scheme: MBR
SMART Message: Unknown USB bridge. Flash drive/Unsupported enclosure?
Partition:
ID-1: / raw-size: 114.95 GiB size: 114.95 GiB (100.00%)
used: 18.43 GiB (16.0%) fs: btrfs dev: /dev/sda3 maj-min: 8:3
ID-2: /boot/efi raw-size: 300 MiB size: 299.4 MiB (99.80%)
used: 664 KiB (0.2%) fs: vfat dev: /dev/sda1 maj-min: 8:1
ID-3: /home raw-size: 114.95 GiB size: 114.95 GiB (100.00%)
used: 18.43 GiB (16.0%) fs: btrfs dev: /dev/sda3 maj-min: 8:3
ID-4: /var/log raw-size: 114.95 GiB size: 114.95 GiB (100.00%)
used: 18.43 GiB (16.0%) fs: btrfs dev: /dev/sda3 maj-min: 8:3
ID-5: /var/tmp raw-size: 114.95 GiB size: 114.95 GiB (100.00%)
used: 18.43 GiB (16.0%) fs: btrfs dev: /dev/sda3 maj-min: 8:3
Swap:
Kernel: swappiness: 133 (default 60) cache-pressure: 100 (default) zswap: no
ID-1: swap-1 type: zram size: 11.58 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) priority: 100
comp: zstd avail: lzo-rle,lzo,lz4,lz4hc,deflate,842 dev: /dev/zram0
ID-2: swap-2 type: partition size: 4 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) priority: -2
dev: /dev/sda2 maj-min: 8:2
Sensors:
System Temperatures: cpu: 51.0 C mobo: N/A
Fan Speeds (rpm): N/A
Info:
Memory: total: 12 GiB available: 11.58 GiB used: 4 GiB (34.5%)
Processes: 265 Power: uptime: 3h 14m states: freeze,mem,disk suspend: deep
avail: s2idle wakeups: 1 hibernate: platform avail: shutdown, reboot,
suspend, test_resume image: 4.62 GiB services: org_kde_powerdevil,
power-profiles-daemon, upowerd Init: systemd v: 258 default: graphical
tool: systemctl
Packages: 1644 pm: pacman pkgs: 1631 libs: 488 tools: octopi,paru
pm: flatpak pkgs: 13 Compilers: gcc: 15.2.1 Shell: Bash v: 5.3.3
default: Zsh v: 5.9 running-in: konsole inxi: 3.3.39
Garuda (2.11.1-1):
System install date:     2025-11-04
Garuda release:          251002
Last full system update: 2025-11-05 ↻
Is partially upgraded:   No
Relevant software:       snapper NetworkManager dracut garuda-hardware-profile-standard
Windows dual boot:       No/Undetected
Failed units:
--- System Health Check Report ---
24/25 checks run in 2.55 seconds ⌛
Powered by garuda-health 🦅

--- INFO ---
- A reboot is pending (update applied since last reboot)

✅ System health check passed. No issues found.
2

First thing, reboot. Problem solved?

1 Like
3

Heya. The crash seems to be caused by an “aurorae” window decoration.

If you disable this window decoration, you should be fine.

5 Likes
4

Yes, I did reboot and the problem still persist.

5

Thanks. Removing aurorae solved the problem.

1 Like
6

Aurorae is not a window decoration but the decoration/theme engine of KDE Plasma.
It looks more like the OP has installed an incompatible or faulty aurorae window decoration theme.

aurorae is up to date and has definitely not been removed from the Arch repos:

Furthermore, aurorae is essential for kwin. Do not remove this package!

3 Likes
7

I haven’t explicitly installed the Aurorae package, and I’m currently using the default theme that came with the distro. So, I’m not entirely sure what’s causing the crash.

Also, I accidentally closed the issue earlier, thinking that switching the window decoration had resolved it but it hasn’t.

8

aurorae is preinstalled.

You haven’t closed anything. If your issue isn’t resolved, simply remove the marked solution.

That’s not really helpful. Never use this in support requests unless you are asked to do so.

If the issue reappears, use the following in the terminal:

garuda-diag

and post the generated link here.

2 Likes
9

Oops! I was on the kde-unstable site for some reason and thought it was removed :person_facepalming:

https://archlinux.org/packages/kde-unstable/x86_64/aurorae/files/

Don’t reply to Issues & Assistance posts early in the morning, lesson learned

Also yeah, this here actually gives the wrong impression. We don’t get to see the whole stack trace, meaning we can’t see the actual root cause. I thought that the issue was with aurorea because it was at the top of the stack trace, but aurorea is actually frame 21, not frame 0 :person_facepalming:

4 Likes
10

Hello, I’ve had the same problem for several months.

11

Just because you have the same symptoms as the OP doesn’t mean your issue has the same cause. Please open a separate topic, including garuda-inxi, relevant logs, and a detailed description of the issue (what, when, and under what circumstances the issue occur).

Btw: It has never been a good idea to struggle with a problem for several months. If you can’t fix something yourself in a short period of time, it is highly recommended to open a topic as soon as possible.

2 Likes
12

I figure it couldn’t hurt to give others suffering from plasma crashes some feedback on my experiences.

I’m not sure which web browsers most Garuda users run full time. I primarily use Firefox, although I do have several Chromium based browsers that I use occasionally. I will admit that I’m a browser tab hoarder, and sometimes I have 100+ tabs open in Firefox. I do use FF extensions that restrict the number of tabs that are actively loaded into memory. I have 32 GB of Ram, but I do notice plasma slow downs or crashes after I pass 12 GB or so of memory usage when FF is open.

When slowdowns or odd Plasma behavior starts to happen I will close Firefox, then I restart Plasma and Kwin, then I will flush my cached memory. After doing this I will have approx around ± 3 GB of memory usage and things run fine.

After a good while (can vary up to a day later) I may start experiencing poor plasma performance again and I will repeat the same process once more. A reboot will fix any poor performance issues, but I’m loath to reboot, so I put it off as long as possible by restarting plasma & Kwin and flushing my Ram cache.

Another issue I notice, is that a Plasma crash will occur if I leave FF open for an extended period (such as overnight) unattended. I do not hibernate or suspend my computer when it is not in use, but plasma will still crash if FF runs continually. If I shutdown FF before going to bed, plasma will not have crashed when I return to using the computer the next day.

Sure I could likely avoid these type of issues by rebooting at least daily, limiting my browser usage to only small amount of tabs, or possibly using an alternate browser. Unfortunately, I’m far too set in my ways to abandon 20+ years of Linux habits. So, I simply avoid most plasma instability issues by employing my workarounds.

That’s my 2 cents of advice, of course YMMV.

2 Likes
13

The Plasma session crashed again - here’s the log I got after running garuda-diag:

14

The logs are unremarkable. We need a complete journal.

2 Likes
15

Can you tell me the command I need to run to get the complete journal? Also, should I run it now or only after it crashes again?

16

You can list the stored journals:

journalctl --list-boots

Simply explained:

journalctl -b -0               #current boot
journalctl -b -1               #previous boot
journalctl -b -2               #second previous boot

etc.

Check the timestamps and select the appropriate journal that contains a kwin crash based on the number, for example for the second previous boot:

journalctl -b -2 --no-pager

You can also pipe the whole thing directly to Garuda PrivateBin, for example for the second previous boot:

journalctl -b -2 | garuda-privatebin
6 Likes
17

2 posts were split to a new topic: Plasma has been crashing randomly for several months