Asmi Linux 13 Debian Edition debuts: Xfce desktop never looked so good
(2025/08/15)
- Reference: 1755268215
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2025/08/15/asmi_13_debian_edition/
- Source link:
Teejeetech turns its attention from Ubuntu to its progenitor. The result is a refined and attractive spin of Debian with Xfce.
[1]Asmi Linux 13 Debian Edition is a new Debian-based distro with lots to offer. There was a [2]Bookworm version too, but it only appeared last July. Asmi Debian is closely related to the Ubuntu-based [3]Asmi 24.04 which we looked at in May last year - it was the new name for the Ubuntu remix [4]formerly known as Zinc .
Asmi 13 takes Debian "Trixie" and configures it with the latest Xfce and a careful selection of additional applications and tools to deliver a distro which is almost entirely pure Debian, but is also smaller and easier to install. It contains a more attractive and configurable desktop, with a careful and discerning collection of tools pre-installed. You also get the latest Firefox direct from Mozilla.
[5]
As with its stablemate, the Ubuntu-based Asmi, you also get the improved package-management tools [6]Nala and [7]deb-get . It uses the Bash shell with the [8]Starship prompt. Aside from Firefox and a few of TeejeeTech's own additional utilities, everything comes directly from Debian itself.
[9]
[10]
Once installed, Asmi 13 is basically just Debian and will update from then on just like Debian itself, needing no special additional steps or additional repositories.
[11]
Asmi's default vertical panel, with an inconspicuous indicator icon that opens a comprehensive system management tool. - Click to enlarge
The older Asmi, as we described last year, is similar to Xubuntu but with a more polished experience: a better-looking Xfce, with some tasteful customization in place, plus a collection of improved tools and accessories. It also smooths out some of the pain points users have with Ubuntu, for example removing Snap support and disabling the promotional messages in the command-line package manager.
This new Debian flavor does similar things, but for Debian itself. Ubuntu's original slogan was Linux for Human Beings , which meant "Debian but for non-nerds". Thus the [12]joke , based on the origins of the name in an [13]African philosophy , that Ubuntu is an ancient African word that means 'I can't install Debian.'
So, in Asmi 13, you get the basis of Debian 13 direct from Debian's own servers. In place of Debian's ESR version of Firefox – which has [14]caused problems with updates in older Debian releases – you get the very latest release, [15]as packaged by Mozilla itself . You get a gently-tweaked setup of Xfce, the [16]most mature Linux desktop of all .
[17]
We realize that this will be controversial, but in our opinion, Xfce is the single most sensible and coherent of all the FOSS desktops. It has all the configurability of KDE, but it's smaller and faster. It's cleaner; for instance, there's just one Help|About option in all of the bundled apps. It's more consistent; all apps share a version number, unlike KDE's strange mix of Plasma version and separate [18]KDE Gear version . All apps have true title bars, and there are no hamburger menus. It's capable of being as stripped-out and simple as GNOME, complete with the [19]overview dashboard , if that's what you want – but it's much smaller and faster.
We do read complaints that Xfce is ugly, mainly from those young enough to find its Windows 95-era aesthetic prehistoric. (Personally, this vulture remembers when Win95 was new and exciting, and we actively preferred that look and feel to modern translucent flatness.) Either way, Asmi fixes that. It buffs Xfce to a high gloss, with a new theme, custom layout, custom icons, custom controls and indicators, custom wallpaper, and so on.
Asmi uses a version of [20]Ubuntu's Yaru theme , adds the [21]DockbarX task-switcher for big taskbar icons with activity indicators, as Windows has sported since Vista, and it offers a choice of file managers: Xfce's built-in Thunar, and the more-sophisticated Nemo from the Cinnamon desktop, configured with two panes to resemble an [22]orthodox file manager . In addition to the basic Xfce terminal emulator, its default is the more capable [23]Terminator . In place of one of Xfce's basic text editors, you get [24]Geany 2.0 , together with TeejeeTech's simplified version called [25]GeanyPad .
[26]
Allegedly, Oscar Wilde said that "you never get a second chance to make a first impression." This is a weakness of Xfce, and that's what Asmi sets out to fix. Nothing here is very hard to do for experienced Xfce users, but it's a lot to ask of someone new to the environment, and as a result, we suspect many don't stick around long enough to learn. The default look of Xfce on Debian is a little old-fashioned and dull, and Xubuntu isn't much better. That's enough to put people off. Asmi looks smart and attractive, and things like the default vertical taskbar are distinctive and space-efficient on now-ubiquitous widescreen displays.
Despite all these small improvements, and being a live desktop medium so you can try it before installing, Asmi is smaller than Debian itself. This is partly because it omits an office suite, all the server tools, and so on.
[27]
Asmi's modern look with a dock instead, showing that the Settings app is also an app store. - Click to enlarge
You're not stuck with this. Asmi's Settings app is one of the star features of the distro. It makes it easy to update the system, install additional apps and drivers (including Nvidia drivers), choose an alternate web browser, switch to alternate kernels such as [28]Liquorix or Xanmod , and enable or disable subsystems such as Snap, Flatpak, WINE, and Steam.
One tab of the Asmi Settings app makes it easy to switch between desktop layouts: Classic, Modern, Windows-like or Ubuntu-like. True, Xfce has its own tool for this, called [29]Panel Profiles , but it's not installed by default, it's more complex, and it can't install or manage optional extras such as the [30]Whisker Menu or DockbarX. Asmi pre-installs this and lots of other helpful little extras. The Settings app is also a simple but functional app store, which can install most of the well-known Linux apps, both FOSS and commercial freeware, from 1Password to Zoom.
You will need that app store. Aside from a web browser, image and PDF viewers, there are almost no other apps, except Asmi's own tools. So, it's quicker, it's easier to install, and uses less space. It goes for the simplest partitioning system: a single big ext4 volume, and [31]zram for swap.
[32]Debian 13 'Trixie' arrives: x86-32 and MIPS out, RISC-V in
[33]Debian isn't waiting for 2038 to blow up, switches to 64-bit time for everything
[34]MX Linux 25 loses systemd toggling power as Debian 13 looms
[35]30 years on, Debian is at the heart of the world's most successful Linux distros
True, this tool, the status-tray indicator, and the [36]ChronShield system-restore app are proprietary TeejeeTech extras. The distro's info page spells this out:
This Linux distribution includes proprietary tools and components such as Asmi Settings and Asmi Indicator. This software is freeware but not open-source. If you require access to the source code for use in your own projects, please contact us for pricing and licensing options.
If that is off-putting, then fair enough; this probably isn't the distro for you. We feel that they're modest additions. Asmi is free to use, and acts as a showcase for this small company's paid tools. That seems like a fair deal to us, but it will be too much for some to swallow. Not all the additions and changes would be our choice, but that's the nature of Linux. It's why there are so many different distros.
Asmi does a lot of what Ubuntu originally set out to achieve: it's a better-looking, easier Debian, with much better integration and polish. Because it uses Xfce, it's lighter-weight than some other offerings such as the [37]beautiful but GNOME-based AnduinOS . For us, it's just as good-looking as Zorin OS Lite, but sadly, that Xfce-based offering is [38]being sunset .
However, Asmi does achieve some of its power and simplicity with proprietary freeware tools. This will be a deal-breaker for many FOSS fundamentalists. If you're not one of them and you are looking for a clean and attractive replacement Linux, Asmi 13 is one of the most appealing.
Get our [39]Tech Resources
[1] https://teejeetech.com/2025/08/09/asmi_13/
[2] https://teejeetech.com/2025/07/27/asmi_12/
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2024/05/15/asmi_2404_ubuntu_without_snap/
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2022/10/13/zinc_ubuntu_remix/
[5] 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=2aJ9ZmSyOs7CxP-czG1FEsgAAAME&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[6] https://gitlab.com/volian/nala
[7] https://github.com/wimpysworld/deb-get
[8] https://starship.rs/
[9] 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=44aJ9ZmSyOs7CxP-czG1FEsgAAAME&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[10] 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=33aJ9ZmSyOs7CxP-czG1FEsgAAAME&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[11] https://regmedia.co.uk/2025/08/14/asmi-13-indicator.jpg
[12] https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=ubuntu
[13] https://www.ttbook.org/interview/i-am-because-we-are-african-philosophy-ubuntu
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2021/12/10/debian_firefox_issues/
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/25/firefox_122_is_out/
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2022/12/08/forthcoming_xfce_418_on_show/
[17] 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=44aJ9ZmSyOs7CxP-czG1FEsgAAAME&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[18] https://kde.org/announcements/gear/25.04.3/
[19] https://docs.xfce.org/apps/xfdashboard/start
[20] https://github.com/ubuntu/yaru
[21] https://github.com/xuzhen/dockbarx
[22] https://www.linuxlinks.com/orthodoxfilemanagers/
[23] https://gnome-terminator.org/
[24] https://www.theregister.com/2023/12/06/veteran_editors_notepad_and_geany/
[25] https://teejeetech.com/2025/07/12/geanypad/
[26] 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=33aJ9ZmSyOs7CxP-czG1FEsgAAAME&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[27] https://regmedia.co.uk/2025/08/14/asmi-13-settings.jpg
[28] https://www.theregister.com/2022/02/25/friday_foss_fest_liquorix_kernel/
[29] https://docs.xfce.org/apps/xfce4-panel-profiles/start
[30] https://docs.xfce.org/panel-plugins/xfce4-whiskermenu-plugin/start
[31] https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Zram
[32] https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/12/debian_13_trixie_released/
[33] https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/25/y2k38_bug_debian/
[34] https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/06/debian_13_mx_25/
[35] https://www.theregister.com/2023/08/17/debian_turns_30/
[36] https://teejeetech.com/chronshield/
[37] https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/23/anduinos/
[38] https://help.zorin.com/docs/getting-started/getting-zorin-os-lite/
[39] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
[1]Asmi Linux 13 Debian Edition is a new Debian-based distro with lots to offer. There was a [2]Bookworm version too, but it only appeared last July. Asmi Debian is closely related to the Ubuntu-based [3]Asmi 24.04 which we looked at in May last year - it was the new name for the Ubuntu remix [4]formerly known as Zinc .
Asmi 13 takes Debian "Trixie" and configures it with the latest Xfce and a careful selection of additional applications and tools to deliver a distro which is almost entirely pure Debian, but is also smaller and easier to install. It contains a more attractive and configurable desktop, with a careful and discerning collection of tools pre-installed. You also get the latest Firefox direct from Mozilla.
[5]
As with its stablemate, the Ubuntu-based Asmi, you also get the improved package-management tools [6]Nala and [7]deb-get . It uses the Bash shell with the [8]Starship prompt. Aside from Firefox and a few of TeejeeTech's own additional utilities, everything comes directly from Debian itself.
[9]
[10]
Once installed, Asmi 13 is basically just Debian and will update from then on just like Debian itself, needing no special additional steps or additional repositories.
[11]
Asmi's default vertical panel, with an inconspicuous indicator icon that opens a comprehensive system management tool. - Click to enlarge
The older Asmi, as we described last year, is similar to Xubuntu but with a more polished experience: a better-looking Xfce, with some tasteful customization in place, plus a collection of improved tools and accessories. It also smooths out some of the pain points users have with Ubuntu, for example removing Snap support and disabling the promotional messages in the command-line package manager.
This new Debian flavor does similar things, but for Debian itself. Ubuntu's original slogan was Linux for Human Beings , which meant "Debian but for non-nerds". Thus the [12]joke , based on the origins of the name in an [13]African philosophy , that Ubuntu is an ancient African word that means 'I can't install Debian.'
So, in Asmi 13, you get the basis of Debian 13 direct from Debian's own servers. In place of Debian's ESR version of Firefox – which has [14]caused problems with updates in older Debian releases – you get the very latest release, [15]as packaged by Mozilla itself . You get a gently-tweaked setup of Xfce, the [16]most mature Linux desktop of all .
[17]
We realize that this will be controversial, but in our opinion, Xfce is the single most sensible and coherent of all the FOSS desktops. It has all the configurability of KDE, but it's smaller and faster. It's cleaner; for instance, there's just one Help|About option in all of the bundled apps. It's more consistent; all apps share a version number, unlike KDE's strange mix of Plasma version and separate [18]KDE Gear version . All apps have true title bars, and there are no hamburger menus. It's capable of being as stripped-out and simple as GNOME, complete with the [19]overview dashboard , if that's what you want – but it's much smaller and faster.
We do read complaints that Xfce is ugly, mainly from those young enough to find its Windows 95-era aesthetic prehistoric. (Personally, this vulture remembers when Win95 was new and exciting, and we actively preferred that look and feel to modern translucent flatness.) Either way, Asmi fixes that. It buffs Xfce to a high gloss, with a new theme, custom layout, custom icons, custom controls and indicators, custom wallpaper, and so on.
Asmi uses a version of [20]Ubuntu's Yaru theme , adds the [21]DockbarX task-switcher for big taskbar icons with activity indicators, as Windows has sported since Vista, and it offers a choice of file managers: Xfce's built-in Thunar, and the more-sophisticated Nemo from the Cinnamon desktop, configured with two panes to resemble an [22]orthodox file manager . In addition to the basic Xfce terminal emulator, its default is the more capable [23]Terminator . In place of one of Xfce's basic text editors, you get [24]Geany 2.0 , together with TeejeeTech's simplified version called [25]GeanyPad .
[26]
Allegedly, Oscar Wilde said that "you never get a second chance to make a first impression." This is a weakness of Xfce, and that's what Asmi sets out to fix. Nothing here is very hard to do for experienced Xfce users, but it's a lot to ask of someone new to the environment, and as a result, we suspect many don't stick around long enough to learn. The default look of Xfce on Debian is a little old-fashioned and dull, and Xubuntu isn't much better. That's enough to put people off. Asmi looks smart and attractive, and things like the default vertical taskbar are distinctive and space-efficient on now-ubiquitous widescreen displays.
Despite all these small improvements, and being a live desktop medium so you can try it before installing, Asmi is smaller than Debian itself. This is partly because it omits an office suite, all the server tools, and so on.
[27]
Asmi's modern look with a dock instead, showing that the Settings app is also an app store. - Click to enlarge
You're not stuck with this. Asmi's Settings app is one of the star features of the distro. It makes it easy to update the system, install additional apps and drivers (including Nvidia drivers), choose an alternate web browser, switch to alternate kernels such as [28]Liquorix or Xanmod , and enable or disable subsystems such as Snap, Flatpak, WINE, and Steam.
One tab of the Asmi Settings app makes it easy to switch between desktop layouts: Classic, Modern, Windows-like or Ubuntu-like. True, Xfce has its own tool for this, called [29]Panel Profiles , but it's not installed by default, it's more complex, and it can't install or manage optional extras such as the [30]Whisker Menu or DockbarX. Asmi pre-installs this and lots of other helpful little extras. The Settings app is also a simple but functional app store, which can install most of the well-known Linux apps, both FOSS and commercial freeware, from 1Password to Zoom.
You will need that app store. Aside from a web browser, image and PDF viewers, there are almost no other apps, except Asmi's own tools. So, it's quicker, it's easier to install, and uses less space. It goes for the simplest partitioning system: a single big ext4 volume, and [31]zram for swap.
[32]Debian 13 'Trixie' arrives: x86-32 and MIPS out, RISC-V in
[33]Debian isn't waiting for 2038 to blow up, switches to 64-bit time for everything
[34]MX Linux 25 loses systemd toggling power as Debian 13 looms
[35]30 years on, Debian is at the heart of the world's most successful Linux distros
True, this tool, the status-tray indicator, and the [36]ChronShield system-restore app are proprietary TeejeeTech extras. The distro's info page spells this out:
This Linux distribution includes proprietary tools and components such as Asmi Settings and Asmi Indicator. This software is freeware but not open-source. If you require access to the source code for use in your own projects, please contact us for pricing and licensing options.
If that is off-putting, then fair enough; this probably isn't the distro for you. We feel that they're modest additions. Asmi is free to use, and acts as a showcase for this small company's paid tools. That seems like a fair deal to us, but it will be too much for some to swallow. Not all the additions and changes would be our choice, but that's the nature of Linux. It's why there are so many different distros.
Asmi does a lot of what Ubuntu originally set out to achieve: it's a better-looking, easier Debian, with much better integration and polish. Because it uses Xfce, it's lighter-weight than some other offerings such as the [37]beautiful but GNOME-based AnduinOS . For us, it's just as good-looking as Zorin OS Lite, but sadly, that Xfce-based offering is [38]being sunset .
However, Asmi does achieve some of its power and simplicity with proprietary freeware tools. This will be a deal-breaker for many FOSS fundamentalists. If you're not one of them and you are looking for a clean and attractive replacement Linux, Asmi 13 is one of the most appealing.
Get our [39]Tech Resources
[1] https://teejeetech.com/2025/08/09/asmi_13/
[2] https://teejeetech.com/2025/07/27/asmi_12/
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2024/05/15/asmi_2404_ubuntu_without_snap/
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2022/10/13/zinc_ubuntu_remix/
[5] 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=2aJ9ZmSyOs7CxP-czG1FEsgAAAME&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[6] https://gitlab.com/volian/nala
[7] https://github.com/wimpysworld/deb-get
[8] https://starship.rs/
[9] 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=44aJ9ZmSyOs7CxP-czG1FEsgAAAME&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[10] 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=33aJ9ZmSyOs7CxP-czG1FEsgAAAME&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[11] https://regmedia.co.uk/2025/08/14/asmi-13-indicator.jpg
[12] https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=ubuntu
[13] https://www.ttbook.org/interview/i-am-because-we-are-african-philosophy-ubuntu
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2021/12/10/debian_firefox_issues/
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/25/firefox_122_is_out/
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2022/12/08/forthcoming_xfce_418_on_show/
[17] 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=44aJ9ZmSyOs7CxP-czG1FEsgAAAME&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[18] https://kde.org/announcements/gear/25.04.3/
[19] https://docs.xfce.org/apps/xfdashboard/start
[20] https://github.com/ubuntu/yaru
[21] https://github.com/xuzhen/dockbarx
[22] https://www.linuxlinks.com/orthodoxfilemanagers/
[23] https://gnome-terminator.org/
[24] https://www.theregister.com/2023/12/06/veteran_editors_notepad_and_geany/
[25] https://teejeetech.com/2025/07/12/geanypad/
[26] 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=33aJ9ZmSyOs7CxP-czG1FEsgAAAME&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[27] https://regmedia.co.uk/2025/08/14/asmi-13-settings.jpg
[28] https://www.theregister.com/2022/02/25/friday_foss_fest_liquorix_kernel/
[29] https://docs.xfce.org/apps/xfce4-panel-profiles/start
[30] https://docs.xfce.org/panel-plugins/xfce4-whiskermenu-plugin/start
[31] https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Zram
[32] https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/12/debian_13_trixie_released/
[33] https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/25/y2k38_bug_debian/
[34] https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/06/debian_13_mx_25/
[35] https://www.theregister.com/2023/08/17/debian_turns_30/
[36] https://teejeetech.com/chronshield/
[37] https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/23/anduinos/
[38] https://help.zorin.com/docs/getting-started/getting-zorin-os-lite/
[39] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Does it require systemd?
If yes, then I'll cross it off my list.