Hannah Montana Linux Is Back!

Jul 08, 2026

Developer Noah Cagle decided the world needed the once obscure but beloved Linux distribution and gave it a decidedly pink refresh.

If Hannah Montana brings back fond memories of your childhood, or you simply love the color pink, the new revival of Hannah Montana Linux (HML) might be just what the open source doctor ordered.

Noah Cagle has revived the project, which was seen as little more than a curiosity when it first arrived on the scene. This latest iteration of the once dead distribution, "is just a re-skin of KDE Plasma." Cagle said. "Many of the Plasma components are direct modifications of Plasma's default theme, Breeze. As such, this project is licensed under GPLv3+."

As far as what's new in HML 26 (besides KDE Plasma 6), you'll find a refreshed icon pack, color scheme, and wallpapers, all of which were created by cloning and modifying the originals. You'll even find a snazzy H as the start button icon.

Although you might think this is nothing more than a whimsical joke, Cagle’s decision to use KDE Plasma makes it a viable Debian-based desktop operating system that can do all the modern things you need to do…all the while reminding you of a more innocent time.

For those who are curious about HML, you can either download the pre-built ISO image or build your own from source using live-build. You can also watch this introductory video created by Cagle that explains the why and how (he even demonstrates how he created HML 26 with live-build).

Unlike the original version, the new HML 26 with KDE Plasma does suggest that your machine has at least 8GB of RAM to run "comfortably."
 
 

 
 
 

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