- Applications Menu (also available as preview in R4.1) ([#6665](https://github.com/QubesOS/qubes-issues/issues/6665)), ([#5677](https://github.com/QubesOS/qubes-issues/issues/5677))
- Qubes Global Settings ([#6898](https://github.com/QubesOS/qubes-issues/issues/6898))
- Qrexec services use new qrexec policy format by default (but old format is still supported) ([#8000](https://github.com/QubesOS/qubes-issues/issues/8000))
For a full list, including more detailed descriptions, please see [here](https://github.com/QubesOS/qubes-issues/issues?q=is%3Aissue+sort%3Aupdated-desc+milestone%3A%22Release+4.2%22+label%3A%22release+notes%22+is%3Aclosed). Below are some screenshots of the new and improved Qubes GUI tools.
- DomU firewalls have completely switched to nftables. Users should add their custom rules to the `custom-input` and `custom-forward` chains. (For more information, see issues [#5031](https://github.com/QubesOS/qubes-issues/issues/5031) and [#6062](https://github.com/QubesOS/qubes-issues/issues/6062).)
- Templates restored in 4.2 from a pre-4.2 backup continue to target their original Qubes OS release repos. If you are using fresh templates on a clean 4.2 installation, or if you performed an [in-place upgrade from 4.1 to 4.2](/doc/upgrade/4.2/#in-place-upgrade), then this does not affect you. (For more information, see issue [#8701](https://github.com/QubesOS/qubes-issues/issues/8701).)
Also see the [full list of open bug reports affecting Qubes 4.2](https://github.com/QubesOS/qubes-issues/issues?q=is%3Aissue+label%3Aaffects-4.2+label%3A%22T%3A+bug%22+is%3Aopen).
We strongly recommend [updating Qubes OS](/doc/how-to-update/) immediately after installation in order to apply all available bug fixes.
- Qubes 4.2 does not support Debian 11 templates (see [supported template releases](/doc/supported-releases/#templates)). Please [upgrade your Debian templates](/doc/templates/debian/#upgrading) to Debian 12.
- Qubes 4.2.2 includes a fix for [#8332: File-copy qrexec service is overly restrictive](https://github.com/QubesOS/qubes-issues/issues/8332). As explained in the issue comments, a change was introduced in Qubes 4.2.0 that caused inter-qube file-copy/move actions to reject filenames containing, e.g., non-Latin characters and certain symbols. This was a backward-incompatible change that should not have been introduced in a minor release. The fix replaces the default file-copy qrexec service that exists in Qubes 4.2.0 and 4.2.1 (`qubes.Filecopy`) with a less restrictive file-copy qrexec service that restores the pre-4.2 behavior (`qubes.Filecopy+allow-all-bytes`). Users who wish to preserve the more restrictive 4.2.0 and 4.2.1 behavior can do so by modifying their RPC policy rules to use the more restrictive service. To switch a single rule to the more restrictive behavior, change `*` in the argument column to `+` (i.e., change "any argument" to "only empty"). To use the more restrictive behavior globally, add a "deny" rule for `qubes.Filecopy+allow-all-bytes` before all other relevant rules. For more information, see [RPC policies](/doc/rpc-policy/) and [Qube configuration interface](/doc/vm-interface/#qubes-rpc).
