Podman Desktop 1.21 Release! 🎉
by Philippe Martin
[image: podman-desktop-hero-1.21]
Podman Desktop 1.21 is now available. Click here to download it
<https://podman-desktop.io/downloads>!
This release brings exciting new features and improvements:
- Updated dashboard notification design: Brought notifications in line
with the latest extension design (#13106
<https://github.com/podman-desktop/podman-desktop/issues/13106>)
- Notify when multiple Podman installations are detected: Added a
warning for duplicate Podman installations (#12011
<https://github.com/podman-desktop/podman-desktop/issues/12011>)
- Update Podman to v5.6: Updated Podman to version 5.6 for enhanced
features (#13427
<https://github.com/podman-desktop/podman-desktop/issues/13427>)
- Make libkrun the default when creating a Podman machine: Changed
default provider from AppleHV to libkrun on macOS (#11453
<https://github.com/podman-desktop/podman-desktop/issues/11453>)
------------------------------
Release details 🔍✨ EnhancementsUpdated dashboard notification design
Dashboard notifications now follow the same design as the latest extensions
(e.g., AI Lab). This enhancement ensures consistency in the user interface
by implementing the updated notification design. The change addresses the
visual inconsistency between dashboard notifications and newer extension
notifications, providing a more cohesive and polished user experience.
[image: Updated dashboard notification design]Notify when multiple Podman
installations are detected
Added a notification system to detect and warn users when they have
multiple Podman installations (e.g., one installed through the website
download and another through Homebrew). This enhancement addresses the
issue where duplicate installations can lead to unexpected behavior, such
as the UI displaying outdated version information even after running brew
update. The notification informs users of the duplicate installation
situation, allowing them to uninstall one version to resolve potential
conflicts.
[image: Updated dashboard notification design]Update Podman to v5.6.0
Updated the Podman engine to version 5.6.0, which was released on August
15, 2025. This update ensures that Podman Desktop users have access to the
latest features, improvements, and bug fixes from the Podman project. The
upgrade maintains compatibility and provides enhanced functionality for
container management and orchestration tasks.
More information about Podman release are available on Podman 5.6 Released
<https://blog.podman.io/2025/08/podman-5-6-released/> and Podman 5.6
Released: Rosetta Status Update
<https://blog.podman.io/2025/08/podman-5-6-released-rosetta-status-update/>
blog
posts.
Make libkrun the default when creating a Podman machine
Changed the default provider from AppleHV to libkrun when creating new
Podman machines on macOS. This enhancement ensures that the default
provider is synchronized with the CLI configuration, particularly for
first-time users or when no existing machines are present. The change
addresses the need for users to recreate machines when switching to AI
model support, providing a more seamless experience.
🐞 Bug FixesUI/UX Issues
- Cannot edit any Input value for path / folder: Fixed input field
editing issues in preferences and file selection dialogs (#13603
<https://github.com/podman-desktop/podman-desktop/issues/13603>)
- Unable to save or make changes to any Preferences input value:
Resolved preference input field saving problems (#13601
<https://github.com/podman-desktop/podman-desktop/issues/13601>)
- When shrinking and expanding Pods the UI layout breaks: Fixed CSS
responsiveness issues with pod expansion/collapse (#13287
<https://github.com/podman-desktop/podman-desktop/issues/13287>)
- Upgrading from v19 to v20 causes shortcut errors: Resolved Windows
upgrade path issues and shortcut problems (#13214
<https://github.com/podman-desktop/podman-desktop/issues/13214>)
- Website: Podman Desktop gets trimmed on some responsive sizes: Fixed
logo trimming issues on responsive website layouts (#13510
<https://github.com/podman-desktop/podman-desktop/issues/13510>)
- Prompt box behaviour not handling secrets as expected: Fixed password
input obfuscation in extension API (#13476
<https://github.com/podman-desktop/podman-desktop/issues/13476>)
- After setting up Podman from dashboard notifications, the notification
is still active: Fixed persistent notification after setup completion (
#12877 <https://github.com/podman-desktop/podman-desktop/issues/12877>)
- Onboarding initial tiles are not rendered until all built-in
extensions are activated: Fixed dashboard tile rendering dependency
issues (#13047
<https://github.com/podman-desktop/podman-desktop/issues/13047>)
- Logs of cancelled tasks keep going on forever: Fixed persistent
logging for cancelled VM/cluster creation tasks (#12430
<https://github.com/podman-desktop/podman-desktop/issues/12430>)
Container and Pod Management
- bug(ContainerList): column environment should compare on engine name:
Fixed container list environment column comparison logic (#13556
<https://github.com/podman-desktop/podman-desktop/issues/13556>)
- bug(ContainerList): container groups do not have environment set:
Fixed missing environment information for pod and compose groups (#13553
<https://github.com/podman-desktop/podman-desktop/issues/13553>)
- Pod may be listed several times on the pod page: Fixed duplicate pod
listings and Svelte key errors (#13048
<https://github.com/podman-desktop/podman-desktop/issues/13048>)
Extensions Issues
- Fix the podman extension monitoring loop to avoid infinite loop when
deactivated: Fixed extension deactivation loop issues (#13149
<https://github.com/podman-desktop/podman-desktop/issues/13149>)
- Cannot build an image on macOS with X-Registry-Config header errors:
Fixed image building with invalid registry configurations (#13061
<https://github.com/podman-desktop/podman-desktop/issues/13061>)
- When creating a kind cluster with default values, http port should be
detected dynamically: Fixed port conflict detection for Kind cluster
creation (#12405
<https://github.com/podman-desktop/podman-desktop/issues/12405>)
- Update button for particular CLI tool not removed after uninstallation:
Fixed CLI tool update button persistence after removal (#13128
<https://github.com/podman-desktop/podman-desktop/issues/13128>)
------------------------------
Community thank you
🎉 We’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who helped to make Podman
Desktop even better. In this release we received pull requests from the
following people:
-
serbangeorge-m <https://github.com/serbangeorge-m> in chore(test): Add
e2e test for volume creation and usage
<https://github.com/podman-desktop/podman-desktop/pull/13348>
-
alilleybrinker <https://github.com/alilleybrinker> in docs: add Podman
machine reboot step to cert install
<https://github.com/podman-desktop/podman-desktop/pull/13498>
------------------------------
Final notes
The complete list of issues fixed in this release is available here
<https://github.com/containers/podman-desktop/issues?q=is%3Aclosed+milesto...>
.
Get the latest release from the Downloads
<https://podman-desktop.io/downloads> section of the website and boost your
development journey with Podman Desktop. Additionally, visit the GitHub
repository <https://github.com/containers/podman-desktop> and see how you
can help us make Podman Desktop better.
5 days, 13 hours