Linux Mint 2025 Update: Fingerprint Login Now Available by Default
Linux Mint 2025 Update: Fingerprint Login Now Available by Default
In their latest monthly development update, the Linux Mint team revealed a highly anticipated feature that has been on users’ wishlists for years: native fingerprint login support . As one of the most user-friendly Linux distributions, Linux Mint has long focused on delivering a smooth and hassle-free experience — especially for newcomers. However, the lack of built-in biometric authentication had become a noticeable gap, particularly with the increasing number of modern laptops featuring fingerprint readers.
This new functionality will debut in Linux Mint 22.2 , powered by a newly developed tool called Fingwit — an XApp designed specifically to manage fingerprint recognition and integration within the system. Fingwit automatically detects your device’s fingerprint hardware and allows you to register your prints. Once set up, users can unlock their sessions, bypass screensavers, authenticate sudo commands, and approve administrative actions through simple fingerprint scans.
One of the standout aspects of Fingwit is how intelligently it handles edge cases where fingerprint authentication might not be suitable. While it relies on fprintd as its backend, the Linux Mint developers have created a custom authentication module that dynamically adapts to different scenarios. For example, if your home directory is encrypted, using only a fingerprint could result in a failed session startup — since decryption requires a password. In such cases, Fingwit intelligently switches back to prompting for a password.
The team also emphasized that Fingwit is not limited to Linux Mint alone. It’s designed to work seamlessly across any desktop environment and any Linux distribution , making it a potentially valuable tool for the broader open-source community.
A key factor behind this development has been Linux Mint’s collaboration with Framework , the laptop manufacturer known for its repairable and customizable hardware. Working with Framework has encouraged the Mint team to improve support for modern hardware features. This partnership was also responsible for introducing power profiles in Linux Mint 22.1 and the inclusion of a newer HWE (Hardware Enablement) kernel in version 22.2.
Alongside this major update, several core applications are getting refreshed as well. Tools like gnome-calendar , simple-scan , and baobab will be updated to use the newer libAdwaita UI toolkit . To address longstanding issues with libAdwaita-based apps ignoring system-wide themes, the team has patched the library and even forked it into a new project named libAdapta , offering improved theming capabilities.
Finally, the Linux Mint team issued a strong reminder to users still running older versions: the Linux Mint 20.x series (versions 20 through 20.3) officially reached its End of Life (EOL) in April 2024 . While existing systems will continue to operate, they will no longer receive security updates or bug fixes from official repositories — leaving them exposed to potential threats.
The team recommends two paths forward:
- The best option is a clean install of Linux Mint 22.1 , which offers full support until 2029.
- Alternatively, users may attempt a multi-step upgrade process from version 20.x to 21.3 — though this method is more complex and not officially supported.
