Monthly Report - March 2026
The second and third betas for Krita 5.3.0/6.0.0 have been released, with the final release drawing near. There was also a hotfix stable release, 5.2.16, to fix a regression causing problems with HEIF files.
Read on for a look at development news and the Krita-Artists forum's featured artwork from last month.
Development Report
5.2.16 Hotfix Release
This release contains exactly two regression fixes: some HEIF files not loading properly (bug), and the Move Tool movement shortcuts not working until clicking the canvas (bug).
If you're encountering either issue, update to 5.2.16.
Manual Updated Ahead of Release
The Krita Manual has been updated with all the new features in 5.3.0, thanks to the efforts of manual writer Wolthera and others.
Having trouble figuring something out? The friendly documentation is there to guide you in multiple languages, thanks to the ongoing work of all the translators!
Second and Third Betas for 5.3.0/6.0.0 Released
The second beta and third beta for 5.3.0/6.0.0 were released, with many bug-fixes and a look at the new splash screen artwork by Tyson Tan.
Thanks to everyone who tested! The beta period is at an end with the final release right around the corner, but you can keep testing the latest nightly builds (found at the bottom of this post), and keep reporting bugs!
Fixes in Beta 2
Zoom In/Out to Cursor is the default canvas input zoom again, and Zoom In/Out to Center is the alternatively configurable action. (bug; change by Carsten)
Qt6 Fixes
Some Krita 6 bugs were caused using an outdated version of Qt6. As updating Qt would cause too many issues before the final release, Dmitry backported the fixes to our version.
On Windows, Krita won't crash when news is enabled (bug; change) and menus won't instantly close when using a stylus with WinTab (bug 1, bug 2; change).
On Linux with Wayland, issues with incorrect stylus cursor position (bug 1, bug 2; change 1, change 2), wrong cursor shape (change), and shortcut keys being auto-repeated (bug; change) are fixed.
The Help menu's Report Bug item is back, so don't be shy to report bugs! (bug; change by Luna)
Fixes in Beta 3
File Layers now allow Inherit Alpha and Layer Styles (change), .kra files used as File Layers now use their color profiles (bug; change), and renaming File, Filter, and Generator Layers is now undoable (bug; change), all thanks to Dmitry.
Agata fixed some regressions. Tools that auto-scroll when dragged to the edge of the canvas, such as the Selection tools, no longer scroll too much when zoomed in (bug change); Liquify Transform Masks no longer appear different than before (bug; change), plus the new Comics Panel Editing Tool no longer affects text (rather than turning characters into blocks) (bug; change)
On Android, a saving issue where the file is claimed to be unwritable was fixed by Carsten (change).
On Linux with X11/XWayland, there have been reports of Krita 6 running at a low framerate. The fix for this is to switch the OpenGL interface from GLX to EGL. This switch needs testing, so please read the EGL backend testing thread on how to do that and leave some feedback on whether it works or not.
Fixes in the Upcoming Final Release
Crashes were fixed when making a new vector layer after switching to a session (bug; change by Wolthera), converting the only layer of a group into a selection mask (bug; change by Dmitry), or on startup after removing a bundle containing tags. (change by Carsten)
More issues loading and saving HEIF images were fixed (bug; change 1, change 2 by Dmitry).
The Selection Actions Bar was fixed by Luna and Carsten to work with stylus or touch again, and have the right colors. (change 1, change 2; change 3)
More fixes to the Comic Panel Editing Tool by Agata (change): Only cut shapes the cut goes all the way through. Remove shapes that are small enough to be inside the cut gap. Work properly when using Shift for a straight line and putting the cursor on the end of the line. Don't add to the undo stack when nothing happened. The buttons and options have explanatory tooltips now (CCbug; change 1, change 2).
Krita 6 no longer crashes when loading window layouts. (bug; change by Gregg Jansen van Vuren)
On Linux with Wayland, pasting images with multiple sources in the clipboard no longer crashes. (bug; change by Luna)
Krita 6 on Windows no longer crashes when trying to open the background color selector. (bug; change by Dmitry)
A regression in beta 3 that broke translations on Android and Krita 6 has been fixed by Carsten and Freya (bug; change 1, change 2). Missing translations in Krita 6 were fixed by Dmitry and Ivan (change 1, change 2). Translations for some standard menu items such as 'New File' or 'About Krita' were also fixed for all versions. (bug; change by Dmitry)
The G'MIC plugin has been updated by Ivan to version 3.7.2 (change) and a crash when using the 'Layers Blend [Seamless]' filter was also fixed by Carsten (bug, change).
Text
The usual plethora of text fixes by Wolthera:
In the Text Properties Docker, Line Height property is now visible by default (change) and the dropdowns are touch-scrollable (change by Carsten). The Style Presets preview now shows properly in paragraph mode (bug; change).
The Text Tool won't modify hidden or locked layers (bug; change). Rendering issues when undoing/redoing text modifications have been fixed (bug; change 1, change 2).
Text-on-path now works properly with RTL and end-anchors (change). Gradients are properly positioned on text-in-shape (change), and flow-text-in-shape only happens for filled shapes (change). Text-on-path can't also be inside a shape (bug; change).
Instead of crashing when loading a font on startup fails, a fallback font is loaded (bug; change). Try harder to load some fonts (CCbug; change 1, change 2).
And Even More!
If that wasn't enough bugfixes for you, there's even more listed in the "Additional Changes" section near the bottom of this post.
Roadmap Revealed
The next major release is almost here! But the work to improve Krita never ends, so the development team got together to decide their next priorities.
Read the 2026 Krita Roadmap post to find out what problems the team wants to address after 5.3/6.0.
Community Report
February 2026 Monthly Art Challenge Results
The winner of the "Alien World Building" challenge is…
Birth in the Depths by Rhea_Asma
Join This Month's Art Challenge!
For March's theme, last month's winner has chosen "An unforgettable scene – 5 seconds before". Maybe you've got an artwork just waiting to happen?
Featured Artwork
This month's featured forum artwork, as voted in the Best of Krita-Artists - January/February 2026:
Skeleton and Cat by ShangZhou0
Pennywise Fan-art by Devin_Lopez
We are going to have to defend it with machete by Joseiby_Tapia
Why.. So.. Serious? by TBs_thename
Bad opal by Sineater
Nominate and Vote For Next Month's Featured Artwork!
Participate in next month's nominations and voting to voice your opinion on the Best of Krita-Artists - February/March 2026.
Krita is Free - But You Can Contribute!
Krita is free to use and modify, but it can only exist with the contributions of the community. A small sponsored team alongside volunteer programmers, artists, writers, testers, translators, and more from across the world keep development going.
If this software has value to you, consider donating to the Krita Development Fund. Or Get Involved and put your skills to use making Krita and its community better!
Additional Changes
5.3.0/6.0.0 Beta 2 (Stable pre-release):
- Freehand Brush Tool: Properly remember Stabilizer sample count values. (bug; change by Dmitry Kazakov)
- Dockers: Palette: Don't scroll the palette view when the foreground color changes with select nearest palette color on. (change by Carsten Hartenfels)
- Android: Fix the UI font being too big with the Enable HiDPI setting disabled. (bug; change by Carsten Hartenfels)
- Android: Fix the Add Style Preset dialog being a white box. (bug; change by Carsten Hartenfels)
- Android: Go back to the previous way of working around the window not updating when first opening an image. (bug; change by Carsten Hartenfels)
- Linux Wayland: Fix a crash when running with --nosplash. (change by Dmitry Kazakov)
- Python Plugins: Batch Exporter: Fix script error when exporting. (bug; change by Freya Lupen)
- Qt6: Fix line-edits having an unreadable placeholder text color. (bug; change by Freya Lupen)
- Qt6 macOS: Fix the SVG Text Editor's background always using macOS style. (change by Freya Lupen)
5.3.0/6.0.0 Beta 3 (Stable pre-release):
- Selection Tools: Improve Selection Actions Bar. Switch between light and dark icons. Show the cursor when hovering over it. (change by Luna Lovecraft)
- Text Tool: Make sure text selection highlight is synced to changes. (bug; change by Wolthera van Hövell)
- Text Tool: Fix double ends being drawn in type setting mode. (change by Wolthera van Hövell)
- Text: Avoid crash by testing bounds for cursor pos. (change by Wolthera van Hövell)
- Type Setting Mode: Don't maintain pos when there's no selection. (change by Wolthera van Hövell)
- File Formats: PNG: Fix the 'Assume sRGB' setting to actually use sRGB for PNG images without a color profile. (bug; change by Dmitry Kazakov)
- Input Profiles: Bind mouse button 6 to Eraser Mode in the Krita Default input profile and Eraser Preset in the other default profiles. Bind middle-click on Android to mouse button 6. (change 1 change 2 by Carsten Hartenfels)
- Bundle Creator: Fix thumbnails of selected resources to not be blank in thumbnails view mode. (bug; change by Dmitry Kazakov)
- Plugins: Workflow Buttons: Fix settings button not being visible. (bug; change by Timothée Giet)
- Scripting: Avoid crashing if another version of PyQt is on Python's search path, by removing its containing folder (which may contain other modules) from the search path. This also adds a new script function, 'pykrita.qt_major_version()'. (bug; change by Freya Lupen)
- Qt6 Dockers: Specific Color Selector: Fix saturation and value/lightness not updating in HSV/HSL mode. (bug; change by Freya Lupen)
- Linux Wayland: Fix deploying Wayland client-side-decoration (change by Dmitry Kazakov)
- Linux Wayland: Fix error when opening Settings on compositors without the 'wp_color_manager_v1' extension. (change by Luna Lovecraft)
- Linux: Make sure Dr.Konqi has a bugreport address (bug; change by Dmitry Kazakov)
- Linux Wayland: Fix the Pop-up Palette's docker config dialog not appearing. (bug; change by Luna Lovecraft)
Krita Plus (Stable, 5.3.0/6.0.0):
- Tools: Make non-mouse multi-clicks in tools such as Crop and Polyline work. (bug 1, bug 2; change by Carsten Hartenfels)
- Freehand Brush Tool: Improve Pixel Smoothing mode and fix it to work with sensor dynamics. (change by Carsten Hartenfels)
- Brush Engines: Fix brush speed lurching. (bug; change by Carsten Hartenfels)
- Crop Tool: Show negative coordinates in grow mode, snap to the canvas bounds when not in grow mode. (change by Luna Lovecraft)
- Comics Panel Editing Tool: Fix the last edge being missing when merging shapes by removing a gutter. (change, by Agata Cacko)
- Pasting: Fix missing colorspace with Paste into New Image with a selection. (bug; change by Luna Lovecraft)
- Layer Stack: When switching to a mask with a shortcut, show its name in the floating message instead of its parent layer's. (bug; change by Dmitry Kazakov)
- Resources: Fix being able to save resources that are inside a subfolder into a document. (bug; change by Dmitry Kazakov)
- Palettes: Save modifications to palettes saved in documents. (change by Mike Will)
- Palettes: Make the 'Default' palette the default in the FG/BG color selector. (bug; change by Dmitry Kazakov)
- Touch Input: Don't touch paint when multiple fingers were down. (bug; change by Carsten Hartenfels)
- Touch Input: Disable pointless long-press on the FG/BG color selector. (change by Carsten Hartenfels)
- Text Properties Docker: Fix right-clicking slider-spinboxes selecting the text label instead of only the value. (bug; change by Luna Lovecraft)
- General: Speed up start-up by making the Text Properties Docker load color theme faster. (change by Carsten Hartenfels)
Krita Next (Unstable, 5.4.0/6.1.0-prealpha):
- Pop-up Palette: Add option to not rotate the triangular color selector; 'Settings->Pop-up Palette->Fix sRGB Triangle Selector Rotation'. (change by Dat Le)
- Scripting: Add brushFade get/set to the View class. (change by Aqaao Aqaao)
- Toolbox Docker: Add horizontal layout and compact mode (remove separators) options to the context menu. (change by Mike Will)
Nightly Builds
These pre-release versions of Krita are built every day.
Note that there are currently no Qt6 builds for Android.
Test out the upcoming Stable release in Krita Plus (5.3.0/6.0.0-prealpha): Linux Qt6 Qt5 — Windows Qt6 Qt5 — macOS Qt6 Qt5 — Android arm64 Qt5 – Android arm32 Qt5 – Android x86_64 Qt5
Or test out the latest Experimental features in Krita Next (5.4.0/6.1.0-prealpha). Feedback and bug reports are appreciated!: Linux Qt6 Qt5 — Windows Qt6 Qt5 — macOS Qt6 Qt5 — Android arm64 Qt5 – Android arm32 Qt5 – Android x86_64 Qt5