Shift

SHIFT is an independent shell fork focused on convergence. It builds on KDE Plasma Mobile, keeps the upstream phone UI available, and layers desktop-oriented behaviour on top of the same session.

Desktop demos

SHIFT tracks plasma-mobile as its upstream base. The upstream phone UI remains intact; convergence-specific behaviour is added on top.

What convergence mode changes

• Navigation panel replaced by a dock with running-app indicators, favourites, context menus, and hover tooltips

• App drawer opens as a floating popup above the dock

• Window management: edge tiling, edge maximize, close buttons, task context menus, Overview integration

• Status bar gains a system tray, date display, and hover highlights

• Screen space reserved for the dock via layer-shell exclusive zone

• Desktop niceties: right-click wallpaper settings, minimize-all on home press, clickable page indicators

Locations

• components/mobileshell - private shell component library
• containments - shell panels (homescreens, status bar, task panel)
• envmanager - convergence mode environment manager (kwinrc, etc.)
• kwin/scripts - KWin scripts for convergence window behaviour
• kcms - settings modules
• look-and-feel - Plasma look-and-feel packages
• shell - Plasma shell package
• quicksettings - quick settings for the action drawer

Building

cmake -B build -DPLASMA_MOBILE_LOCAL_KAUTH_INSTALL=ON
cmake --build build
cmake --install build

Compatibility-sensitive identifiers such as org.kde.plasma.mobileshell are intentionally preserved in the runtime and build instructions. They are part of the current compatibility boundary, not the public product name.

Disclaimer

SHIFT is an independent project based on KDE Plasma Mobile.

It is not affiliated with or endorsed by KDE or the KDE community.

Some visual elements (such as icons or graphical assets) may originate from KDE Plasma Mobile and are used in accordance with their respective licenses. These elements may be replaced in future versions as the project evolves.

All trademarks, including KDE, belong to their respective owners.

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Upstream Relationship

SHIFT is not intended as a direct contribution to KDE Plasma Mobile.

However, if parts of this project are considered useful, contributions or ideas may be proposed upstream in a collaborative manner.

See pm_README.md for the original Plasma Mobile README.

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License

SHIFT-specific code is licensed under the European Union Public Licence 1.2.

Upstream files retain their original licenses (GPL-2.0-or-later, LGPL-2.1-or-later, etc.). See individual file headers and the .reuse/dep5 manifest for details.