Debian 13 'Trixie' arrives: x86-32 and MIPS out, RISC-V in
- Reference: 1755003726
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2025/08/12/debian_13_trixie_released/
- Source link:
The OS, [1]code-named "Trixie" , has added support for 64-bit RISC-V hardware – but dropped its x86-32 edition as well as both 32-bit and 64-bit MIPS. Other [2]supported architectures included several forms of 32-bit and 64-bit Arm, 64-bit little-endian POWER and IBM mainframes. This is the [3]last release for armel , though.
"Trixie" – named after the [4]blue Triceratops from Toy Story 3 , and with a blue-green theme called [5]Ceratopsian to match – upgrades [6]APT to version 3 , uses [7]64-bit times to evade the Y2K38 problem, and uses kernel 6.12, the latest LTS kernel release. In this release, the installer offers a choice of what the project calls [8]Pure Blends , which install pre-configured selections of packages for various special interest groups. An intriguing option here is [9]Debian Junior , aimed at children up to the age of eight.
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Debian 13 offers a standalone GNOME Flashback, with no GNOME shell. We think fans of the old style may like it. - Click to enlarge
The [11]release announcement contains a summary of the new package versions. In terms of desktop support, a few stood out for us. It includes GNOME 48, but interestingly, the installer offers the option of a standalone [12]GNOME Flashback session without GNOME Shell. It also offers what it calls "LXDE 13": the [13]LXDE desktop is back in active development, notably including a new Gtk3 version of [14]LXTerminal . Notably, Debian 13 [15]no longer includes Hyprland . It's too fast-changing for Debian Stable, but still, this is a blow to this sometimes [16]controversial tiling Wayland compositor funded by a [17]subscription tier .
For machines which support [18]HTTP Boot , the installer can be booted directly from Debian's servers. The standard installation media boot directly into the installation program, which can run in GUI or text-only modes, or using speech synthesis. If you prefer to try before you install, the project also offers [19]live images with seven different desktops, plus a live Debian Jr image. There are also a collection of [20]Debian cloud images for Amazon EC2, Microsoft Azure, OpenStack, Nocloud, and plain VMs.
[21]
Less visibly, Debian's cryptography support has been upgraded in various places, including the package manager. It continues on its path to deeper integration with systemd, now including the [22]run0 command, while in our testing sudo wasn't configured by default for a default user account. We had to [23]add the account to sudoers manually. The version of Curl included supports HTTP3 and the new [24]wcurl command, which makes downloading files from the shell [25]as straightforward as the [26]GNU Wget command.
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Catching up with most other distros, Trixie holds the /tmp folder in a [29]Tmpfs . The debate about this [30]started in 2012 but it was [31]only decided last year . This should be faster on most hardware, although it will use more RAM on low-memory systems. Files will be automatically purged after a [32]configurable interval .
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Debian 13 also offers LXDE, which has been revived and sports a new version of LXTerminal - Click to enlarge
In theory, the removal of 32-bit x86 support may affect quite a few people. Despite its size, Debian is often perceived as a lightweight distro for older and lower-end hardware. This is in part why it has many spinoffs, such as the [34]Raspberry Pi Desktop , [35]antiX Linux , and the [36]two descendants of Crunchbang , aimed at lower-end kit. Sadly the PC edition of "Raspbian" never made it to Debian 12, but now the others have much more work to do in order to create 32-bit editions. The official statement is:
From trixie, i386 is no longer supported as a regular architecture: there is no official kernel and no Debian installer for i386 systems. […] The architecture's sole remaining purpose is to support running legacy code, for example, by way of multiarch or a chroot on a 64-bit (amd64) system.
Debian is a vast project; the new-release post says:
This release contains over 14,100 new packages for a total count of 69,830 packages, while over 8,840 packages have been removed as "obsolete". 44,326 packages were updated in this release. The overall disk usage for "trixie" is 403,854,660 kB (403 GB), and is made up of 1,463,291,186 lines of code.
The [37]release notes run to 52 pages in their [38]PDF form . They are as comprehensive as you might wish for; for instance, there are good [39]instructions on upgrading from previous releases, although for production servers, seasoned sysadmins will wait for at least version 13.1 in a month or two.
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Debian Junior has a very stripped-back IceWM session, but lots of fun apps for kids. - Click to enlarge
We tried it both in VirtualBox 7.1 and on the bare metal of the new Reg FOSS desk testbed, a Dell XPS 13. Both worked fine; on bare hardware, Trixie complained about missing firmware, but even so, successfully brought up a Wi-Fi connection and installed fine. On a VM it asked where to install its bootloader, but dual-booting with hardware, it clobbered the existing bootloader without asking. We tried a few desktops. GNOME Flashback works much like GNOME 2 or MATE these days, right down to re-positionable controls on its panels, and is maturing into a decent choice to rival Cinnamon or MATE. The refreshed LXDE looks exactly as it used to, and remains slightly lighter than its newer successor LXQt. Debian Junior provides a very lightweight IceWM session and loads of pre-installed apps, although there's nothing conspicuously kid-friendly about the default setup. On bare metal, we installed Xfce, and it worked flawlessly, even letting us set different scaling factors for the internal and an external screen.
Debian has gradually picked up some polish from its younger offshoot Ubuntu over the latter's [41]twenty years of existence . Over that time, Ubuntu has done many things that have alienated some people: [42]Amazon links in search results; asking for [43]financial donations ; [44]promotional messages in command output; the endlessly controversial [45]Snap package format , to which it [46]remains committed . Various of these remain sources of great irritation to some users.
[47]Star leaky app of the week: StarDict
[48]MX Linux 25 loses systemd toggling power as Debian 13 looms
[49]Debian isn't waiting for 2038 to blow up, switches to 64-bit time for everything
[50]GNOME 48 beta is another nail in X11's coffin
These days, Debian Trixie requires very little more skill to install, and remains free of all these things. If you crave stability and a quiet life, it is a more [51]compelling offering than ever. ®
Get our [52]Tech Resources
[1] https://bits.debian.org/2025/08/trixie-released.html
[2] https://www.debian.org/ports/
[3] https://www.debian.org/releases/trixie/release-notes/issues.en.html#last-release-for-armel
[4] https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Trixie
[5] https://wiki.debian.org/DebianArt/Themes/Ceratopsian
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2024/05/22/apt_gains_keepassxc_loses/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/25/y2k38_bug_debian/
[8] https://www.debian.org/blends/
[9] https://wiki.debian.org/DebianJr
[10] https://regmedia.co.uk/2025/08/11/deb_13_flashback.jpg
[11] https://www.debian.org/News/2025/20250809
[12] https://wiki.gnome.org/Projects/GnomeFlashback
[13] https://github.com/lxde
[14] https://github.com/lxde/lxterminal
[15] https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=1107152
[16] https://drewdevault.com/2024/04/09/2024-04-09-FDO-conduct-enforcement.html
[17] https://account.hypr.land/
[18] https://github.com/tianocore/tianocore.github.io/wiki/HTTP-Boot
[19] https://cdimage.debian.org/debian-cd/current-live/amd64/iso-hybrid/
[20] https://cloud.debian.org/images/cloud/
[21] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aJtlFIc6XxRy2hSBY0tM5AAAAMI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[22] https://www.freedesktop.org/software/systemd/man/256/run0.html
[23] https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/292562/adding-a-sudoer-in-debian
[24] https://curl.se/wcurl/
[25] https://daniel.haxx.se/docs/curl-vs-wget.html
[26] https://www.gnu.org/software/wget/
[27] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aJtlFIc6XxRy2hSBY0tM5AAAAMI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[28] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/oses&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aJtlFIc6XxRy2hSBY0tM5AAAAMI&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[29] https://www.kernel.org/doc/html/latest/filesystems/tmpfs.html
[30] https://lwn.net/Articles/499410/
[31] https://lwn.net/Articles/975565/
[32] https://www.debian.org/releases/trixie/release-notes/issues.en.html#the-temporary-files-directory-tmp-is-now-stored-in-a-tmpfs
[33] https://regmedia.co.uk/2025/08/11/deb_13_lxde.jpg
[34] https://www.theregister.com/2022/07/11/raspberry_pi_desktop_update/
[35] https://www.theregister.com/2023/09/01/antix_23/
[36] https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/31/crunchbang_versus_bunsen_labs/
[37] https://www.debian.org/releases/trixie/release-notes/
[38] https://www.debian.org/releases/trixie/release-notes.en.pdf
[39] https://www.debian.org/releases/trixie/release-notes/upgrading.en.html
[40] https://regmedia.co.uk/2025/08/11/deb_13_jr.jpg
[41] https://www.theregister.com/2024/10/11/ubuntu_oracular_oriole_released/
[42] https://www.theregister.com/2012/09/24/ubuntu_amazon_suggestions/
[43] https://www.theregister.com/2012/10/11/ubuntu_download_donations/
[44] https://www.theregister.com/2022/10/13/canonical_ubuntu_ad/
[45] https://www.theregister.com/2023/11/10/snap_without_ubuntu_tools/
[46] https://www.theregister.com/2022/11/09/canonical_conference/
[47] https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/08/stardict_leaky_app_of_week/
[48] https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/06/debian_13_mx_25/
[49] https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/25/y2k38_bug_debian/
[50] https://www.theregister.com/2025/02/18/gnome_48_beta/
[51] https://www.debian.org/intro/why_debian
[52] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: Sometimes Prdictable is good
I meant windows 11, but you get the idea.
" Files will be automatically purged after a configurable interval. "
Don't programs wipe their temp files when done with them, then?
" On a VM it asked where to install its bootloader, but dual-booting with hardware, it clobbered the existing bootloader without asking. "
The Mint installer did this when I installed it onto a USB key for playing around with to get to know the system. It spotted Windows on the internal drive and installed Grub there and not onto the USB device that I was putting Linux upon. Asking would have been nice, y'know?
I have read that the tmp file purging procedure arose from systems where users who were allocated disk quotas had figured out that they could get "extra" space by permanently storing files there instead of using tmp for short term operations only.
Deleting the tmp directory on reboot was only a partial solution, as administrators valued long uptimes and so reboots came about infrequently.
The solution adopted was to clear files from tmp based on various criteria, such as time since modification.
If you are using Linux on an individual computer that you shut off regularly the problem never really arises.
DebianJr
This looks like a wonderful thing to have more effort put in to!
Genuinely - won't somebody think of the children!?
End of the road also for LMDE-32 (linux mint debian edition)
My go to distro for 32bit only laptops in my country in latam. Those are very abudant here, as is people who are VERY gratefull to receive one as a hand-me-down gift.
Decent enough to browse the web and "hear" (but not see) youtube videos.
usually some of them have nothing. Others have a very old barely working win10 desktop (the vista capable type) upgraded from XP to vista to 7 to 10... In that case the laptop is the "backup and transportable machine)...
LMDE-32 Could be used for a short while, but the cliff is clear.
Will be missed.
And no, while light DSM-ng, CBPP and AntiX are too raddical a departure for windows refugees.
"Trixie complained about missing firmware, but even so, successfully brought up a Wi-Fi connection and installed fine."
It's done this for at least one and possibly more previous releases.
Mostly good in a dull way
I've upgraded all my systems at home, bar my wife's and the servers. All upgrades were perfect though one had an issue when the Ethernet cable came free and apt managed to skip installing something it should have done. Once I manually added it back all was okay. That was mostly my fault for not properly clicking the cable in. After upgrading I purged obsolete stuff and all the systems are running fine bar one.
The only issue I've encountered relates to KDE and factional scaling on my 4K screen with a Nvidia card. Basically it doesn't work. Some programs behave but some are riddled with artefacts and are basically unusable. A quick google found a QT parameter you can use to reduce the problem, but the actual fix didn't make it into Debian 13, so if you do have a 4K or higher screen and want to use fractional scaling in KDE watch out.
Compared with Debian 12, other than the changed branding, it looks and feels basically the same. There are some nice improvements, GIMP/Rawtherapee can read Canon CR3 files properly - previously you lost all EXIF data on import. Things have bumped up in version, but it's all evolutionary and not very revolutionary - which I think is a good thing.
I'll wait a bit for the servers, as Dovecot has had a configuration format change and that will require attention and if screw up email I will be told off. Ditto for upgrading my wife's systems - again it must work exactly as before but better. Any visible change will generate a complaint.
Tried it
I installed it on release in a VM that I use for software testing and it went in seamlessly and all my tests passed without any issues.
I had been using both 64 and 32 bit VMs for this purpose. While I had read that Debian was dropping 32 bit x86, I hadn't thought about it much and so it still came as a bit of a surprise to see that 32 bit x86 was gone. It was the last of the major distros that I test with which had 32 bit support, so now I need to think about deprecating 32 bit support and deleting it from my code (it's already isolated in separate files anyway). I'll probably do that while adding RISC-V support.
Loss of 32 bit support in Debian is less of an issue in terms of dealing with old hardware than it may sound at first glance. For quite a few years now Debian only worked with 32 bit x86 CPUs that were new enough to have certain instructions that they required. Attempts to even install 32 bit Debian on the old 32 bit hardware that I have would fail due to the lack of the POPCNT (if I recall correctly) instruction.
As a result of this I have for some years now only been able to test my software on 32 bit Debian by running it in on 64 bit hardware. I suspect that a lot of software developers were in the same boat. What's the point of claiming to have 32 bit support if you can't test it on actual 32 bit hardware that you don't have? The same code ran about 20 to 25 per cent faster in 64 bit mode than in 32 bit mode on the same hardware, so the advantage was clearly in favour of 64 bits. I would say that maintaining 32 bit x86 wasn't worth the effort for a distro like Debian.
Due to making a mistake the first time around I ended up installing the new release twice, and so tried out both the graphical and the text mode installers. They are both more or less the same, with the exception that when you need to enter passwords twice (to confirm them) the graphical installer does this on one screen while the text installer uses two consecutive ones. My mistakes aside, everything went quickly and smoothly, although I didn't install a desktop environment and I added an SSH server.
Trixie going Win11 way?
No way of installing nvidia-tesla-470-driver on Trixie. That's a bummer for me as I won't buy a new video card just to enable a refresh rate of more than 60Hz with the nouveau driver*.
So it's either Bookworm or force a 6.1 kernel on Trixie.
Decisions, decisions...
* It can be done, but my monitor will flicker at 74.5 as 75 is not available.
"deeper"
> It continues on its path to deeper integration with systemd
I suppose I understand why, path of lesser resistance and all that, but I still don't like seeing it.
There was a window of opportunity to make their own way, create a Linux identity different from Red Hat, independent from corporate control, not just like the rest; but it seems lost now.
As long as I can keep the required systemd modules to a minimum, I expect I'll continue muddling along for a while longer, and I'll likely upgrade some of the current Debian 12 systems around here to 13 at some point as well. But I believe there's likely more FreeBSD than Debian coming to the infrastructure servers here.
Not sure what I'll do about the laptop. I suppose when the time comes, as long as it can run XFCE and launch xterms and such, I'll be sorted well enough.
Sometimes Prdictable is good
I installed Trixie on release day to a VM I built for a postgrad course and kept using, it upgraded from bullseye and there was no breakage. I also installed it on a dell latitude windows said was not good enough for windows 10 again installed first time no issue, secure boot and UEFI just worked with the graphical installer. On bare metal with Xfce it felt like OS X panther (which I guess hints I'm no spring chicken). This is not a criticism that OS was so stable many mac users did not upgrade till it went out of support, some downgraded newer hardware to that OS whilst apple kept it alive. It's often hard to sell conservatively well put together things as there is no attention grabbing attribute to point to. In the current FOSS market a healthy community with no intention of allowing commercial interests to mess with the FOSS ideals that has provided stable updates for decades and still just works is remarkable in it's own right.