QGIS 4.2 New Features: Base of the Next LTR

Introduction

QGIS 4.2 “Belém do Pará” was released on July 3, 2026. Belém is a port city in northern Brazil, and it is also known in the QGIS community as the site of the global FOSS4G conference in 2024.
The previous version, QGIS 4.0, was released in March 2026 as the first version of the 4.0 series. QGIS 4.2 includes many stability fixes as well as several new features.

This article picks out the main new features from the changelog for version 4.2.

QGIS 4.2 is scheduled to become the next long-term release (LTR) in October 2026.

User interface

Settings migration from QGIS 3

The first time you start QGIS 4, settings such as your QGIS 3 user profile and installed plugins are automatically migrated to a separate folder for QGIS 4.
Because the settings folders are separate, settings files are less likely to be corrupted even if you change settings in both QGIS 3 and QGIS 4.

QGIS 3 and QGIS 4 use separate settings folders, so settings are not synchronized between the two versions.

Topocentric projection support

QGIS can now use a topocentric coordinate reference system (CRS). A topocentric CRS is a local coordinate system whose origin is any point you choose. When you select this CRS, a new widget appears for setting the origin of the projection. It is useful when you want to work in a local coordinate system centered on a specific area, and it also works when you want a globe-like display around the center point.

Show the elevation profile in 3D views

The elevation profile settings have a new Show Profile in 3D Views option. When you enable it, the elevation profile curve appears in the 3D view. QGIS takes the curve from the elevation profile and sets its Z values from the minimum and maximum Z values calculated from the data within the curve's range. This makes changes in the profile easy to grasp at a glance.

Expanded STAC asset support

STAC (SpatioTemporal Asset Catalog) is a standard specification for organizing geospatial data such as satellite imagery, SAR, and point clouds into a catalog, so that it is easier to search and share.

QGIS 4.2 strengthens this STAC support. It can now handle STAC assets stored in cloud object storage such as Azure and Google, so data loads more smoothly. It also supports a range of cloud-optimized formats beyond GeoTIFF, including JPEG2000, TileDB, and point cloud data. You can use any supported format directly in QGIS.

Symbology

Load and save styles from the layer menu

Until now, Load Style and Save Style were available only from a layer's symbology settings. In this version, you can open them directly from the Styles submenu of the layer menu, so you can quickly load or save a layer's style.

Categorized renderer for 3D symbols

3D symbology in QGIS now supports categorized and rule-based rendering. The controls feel much like the renderers used for 2D vector layers, so setting up the display of a 3D scene is familiar.

You set the 3D style separately from the 2D style, as a 3D symbol on the 3D View tab.

Processing

Add Processing algorithms to custom menus and toolbars

You can now add the action for a Processing algorithm to menus and toolbars you create yourself. QGIS has so many features that it can be hard to find the tool you need, but the ability to create your own toolbars and menus, added in QGIS 4.0, now works with Processing algorithms too. If you gather the operations you use most in the places you use most, you can shape your workspace to suit your own style.

Approximate medial axis (polygon centerlines)

This algorithm calculates the “centerline” of a polygon. It is useful when you want to extract features such as rivers and roads from polygons as lines. The algorithm was already available in QGIS 4.0, but it required the SFCGAL library. In QGIS 4.2, basic centerline estimation works out of the box, without installing SFCGAL. Only the newly added Extend endpoints to the polygon boundary option requires SFCGAL 2.3 or later.

Conclusion

In addition to settings migration and UI improvements, QGIS 4.2 strengthens symbology, Processing, and more. The features you use every day are easier to reach, and you can check terrain and data, set styles, and run operations more flexibly.

QGIS 4.2 adds many more features than the ones covered here. See the changelog for details.

Install QGIS 4.2 and try the updated experience for yourself.

For notes on moving from QGIS 3 to QGIS 4, see the article below.

Data sources

• Natural Earth
• GSI Tiles
• GSI vector tiles
• Point cloud data (Nagasaki Prefecture) from Open Nagasaki
• USGS 3D Elevation Program (3DEP)