You are helping the user reset corrupted or problematic KDE Plasma settings back to defaults.
Resets corrupted KDE Plasma settings to defaults. Use this when panels disappear, widgets break, or Plasma behaves unexpectedly. Creates backups automatically and offers targeted resets for panels, window manager, shortcuts, or specific apps.
/plugin marketplace add danielrosehill/linux-desktop-plugin/plugin install lan-manager@danielrosehillYou are helping the user reset corrupted or problematic KDE Plasma settings back to defaults.
WARNING: This will reset KDE customizations. Back up first if you want to preserve any settings.
Ask user what to reset:
Backup current configuration (recommended):
# Create backup before reset
BACKUP_DIR=~/.kde-backups/pre-reset-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S)
mkdir -p "$BACKUP_DIR"
cp -r ~/.config/plasma* ~/.config/k* "$BACKUP_DIR/" 2>/dev/null
echo "Backup created: $BACKUP_DIR"
Full Plasma Reset:
# Stop Plasma
kquitapp6 plasmashell
# Remove Plasma configuration
rm -rf ~/.config/plasma*
rm ~/.config/plasmarc
rm ~/.config/plasmashellrc
# Remove desktop and panel configs
rm -rf ~/.local/share/plasma
rm -rf ~/.local/share/plasmashell
# Optional: Reset KDE globals
rm ~/.config/kdeglobals
# Restart Plasma
kstart plasmashell
Reset Panels and Desktop Only:
# Stop Plasma
kquitapp6 plasmashell
# Remove panel and desktop layouts
rm -rf ~/.config/plasma-org.kde.plasma.desktop-appletsrc
rm -rf ~/.local/share/plasma/plasmoids
rm -rf ~/.local/share/plasma/layout-templates
# Restart Plasma
kstart plasmashell
Reset Window Manager (KWin):
# Stop KWin (will restart automatically)
kwin_x11 --replace & # For X11
# OR
kwin_wayland --replace & # For Wayland
# Or reset KWin config
mv ~/.config/kwinrc ~/.config/kwinrc.backup
kquitapp6 kwin_wayland && kstart kwin_wayland
Reset Keyboard Shortcuts:
# Backup then remove shortcuts
cp ~/.config/kglobalshortcutsrc ~/.config/kglobalshortcutsrc.backup
rm ~/.config/kglobalshortcutsrc
# Restart to apply
kquitapp6 plasmashell && kstart plasmashell
Reset Specific Applications:
Dolphin:
rm ~/.config/dolphinrc
rm -rf ~/.local/share/dolphin
Konsole:
rm ~/.config/konsolerc
rm -rf ~/.local/share/konsole # Removes custom profiles
Kate:
rm ~/.config/katerc
rm ~/.config/kateschemarc
rm -rf ~/.local/share/kate
Spectacle (screenshots):
rm ~/.config/spectaclerc
System Settings:
rm ~/.config/systemsettingsrc
Reset Theme and Appearance:
# Remove theme configs
rm ~/.config/plasmarc
rm ~/.config/kcmfonts
rm ~/.config/kcminputrc
# Remove custom color schemes
rm -rf ~/.local/share/color-schemes
# Reset to default theme
kwriteconfig6 --file plasmarc --group Theme --key name breeze
Clear Plasma Cache:
# Remove cached data
rm -rf ~/.cache/plasma*
rm -rf ~/.cache/kwin
rm -rf ~/.cache/icon-cache.kcache
# Rebuild icon cache
kbuildsycoca6 --noincremental
Nuclear Option - Complete KDE Reset:
# ONLY if really needed - this resets EVERYTHING
kquitapp6 plasmashell
# Move all KDE configs (preserves them for recovery)
mkdir -p ~/kde-config-backup-$(date +%Y%m%d)
mv ~/.config/k* ~/kde-config-backup-$(date +%Y%m%d)/ 2>/dev/null
mv ~/.config/plasma* ~/kde-config-backup-$(date +%Y%m%d)/ 2>/dev/null
mv ~/.local/share/k* ~/kde-config-backup-$(date +%Y%m%d)/ 2>/dev/null
mv ~/.local/share/plasma* ~/kde-config-backup-$(date +%Y%m%d)/ 2>/dev/null
# Log out and back in to regenerate all configs
qdbus org.kde.ksmserver /KSMServer logout 0 0 0
After reset:
pgrep plasmashellsystemsettingsjournalctl --user -xe | grep -i plasmaPlasma doesn't restart:
# Force start
plasmashell &
# Or from TTY (Ctrl+Alt+F2)
export DISPLAY=:0
plasmashell &
Black screen after reset:
# Check if running
pgrep plasmashell || plasmashell &
# Restart display manager
sudo systemctl restart sddm
Settings not actually reset:
# Make sure Plasma was stopped first
killall plasmashell
sleep 2
rm ~/.config/plasmarc
plasmashell &
Want to undo reset:
# Restore from backup
kquitapp6 plasmashell
cp -r $BACKUP_DIR/* ~/.config/
kstart plasmashell
Remove only problematic configs:
# List all KDE configs with sizes
ls -lhS ~/.config/k* ~/.config/plasma* 2>/dev/null
# Check modification dates to find recently changed
ls -lt ~/.config/k* ~/.config/plasma* 2>/dev/null | head -20
# Move suspect config instead of deleting
mv ~/.config/problematic-file ~/.config/problematic-file.old
# View current Plasma errors
journalctl --user -xe | grep -iE "plasma|kwin"
# Check config file syntax
kreadconfig6 --file plasmarc --group Theme --key name
# Rebuild KDE config cache
kbuildsycoca6
# Check for corrupt databases
rm ~/.local/share/kactivitymanagerd/resources/database*
~/.local/share/ not ~/.config/~/.config/kwinrulesrc~/.config/kwinrc