Debian 13 'Trixie' released: Get ready for latest and greatest packages in the current Debian Stable
Today, August 9, 2025, the Debian Project released Debian 13, also known as "trixie". At first glance, it is clear that it will be one of the greatest distribution releases of 2025.
I can't speak for you, my dear readers, but I have been following the release of Debian Trixie as it was released today on their IRC channels and micronews posts. Whoever follow this could feel it going through a streamlined process as updates came from different Debian teams until, finally, Debian 13 was officially released!
You can download the Debian 13 Trixie installation or live install image ISO for the desktop environment of your choice right now. Both are live and readily available.
Debian 13 Trixie, the new stable release, comes with a new theme called Ceratopsian. You can view some of the theme art here.
What's cool in Debian 13 'Trixie'?
Frankly, the release notes bring me a lot of joy. There is a lot to share, from support for open-source CPU architecture and new packages to updates and critical security patches.
Here are some that are worth mentioning:
- Official support for riscv64
For the first time, this release officially supports riscv64. This is exciting news for anyone who wants to run the new Debian Stable 13 distribution on RISC-V open-source CPU hardware and architecture.
- Debian installer now offers the option to install Debian Pure Blends
Debian Pure Blends are handy collections of packages designed for easier installation and configuration for specific purposes. Starting with this release of Debian Stable 13, also known as Trixie, you can now install a selection of Debian Pure Blends, such as Debian Junior, Debian Science, and Debian FreedomBox, directly from the Debian installer!
- Hardening against ROP and COP/JOP attacks on amd64 and arm64
The Debian Team has implemented security measures that make it more difficult for attackers to exploit these techniques and execute arbitrary code on systems with amd64 or arm64 processors running Debian. These measures are part of Debian's ongoing efforts to improve the security of its operating system.
- HTTP Boot Support
You can now boot the Debian Installer and Debian Live Images using "HTTP Boot" on supported UEFI and U-Boot firmware.
- 64-bit time_t ABI transition
The transition to a 64-bit time_t application binary interface (ABI) is a proactive measure that ensures the continued reliability and functionality of Debian systems after 2038.
This change is significant because it solves the Year 2038 problem, which affects systems that use 32-bit time_t values.
- wcurl and HTTP/3 support in curl
Both the curl CLI and libcurl now have support for HTTP/3. HTTP/3 requests can be made with the flags --http3 or --http3-only.
The curl package now ships wcurl, a wget alternative that uses curl to perform downloads. Downloading files is as simple as wcurl URL.
In addition, Debian 13 aka. Trixie comes with improved manual page translations, spell-checking support in Qt WebEngine web browsers, progress toward reproducible builds, and BDIC binary Hunspell dictionary support for the first time etc.
Updated packages: Truly a 'current' Debian Stable
If you can excuse the choice of LTS kernel in Debian Stable owing to its release cycle. Debian 13 is more recent or neck-and-neck with many regular release distributions, like Ubuntu 25.04 (Plucky Puffin) or Fedora Linux 42, for example.
| Package(s) name | Debian 13 Trixie's included version | Upstream release date |
|---|---|---|
| Linux Kernel | 6.12.38-1 | 14th July 2025 |
| Gnome DE | 48.3-1 | 27th June 2025 |
| KDE Plasma | 6.3.6 | 8th July 2025 |
| OpenSSL | 3.5.1-1 | 1st July 2025 |
| OpenSSH | 10.0p1-7 | 9th April 2025 |
| Mesa | 25.0.7-2 | 28th May 2025 |
| LibreOffice | 25.2.3-2 | 30th April 2025 |
| Wayland | 1.44-1 | 27th April 2025 |
| systemd | 257.7-1 | 25th June 2025 |
Its MAGA oops I mean MDGA!
This Makes Debian Great Again!
Not that it wasn't great earlier. For most use cases, this release is the most up-to-date version of Debian Stable available ever. Even by regular release standards, you get the latest libraries and packages.
For example, take a look at OpenSSL (3.2.4-3.fc42), OpenSSH (9.9p1-11.fc42), Gnome (48.2-1.fc42) or Wayland (1.23.1-1.fc42) in Fedora 42 Workstation.
Or feel free to take a look at Mesa (25.0.3-1ubuntu2), OpenSSH (9.9p1-3ubuntu3.1), OpenSSL (3.4.1-1ubuntu3), Wayland (1.41-1) or Gnome (48.0-1ubuntu1) in Ubuntu 25.04 (Plucky Puffin).
Contrast that with Debian Stable version 13, a distribution that is commonly believed to have outdated packages. This is not the case at all, by any stretch of the imagination. It's pointless to compare it with the recently released Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 in terms of relevant, updated packages.
Don't be fooled by the updated packages it ships with. Debian 13 Trixie remains a LTS GNU/Linux distribution. So, you can expect the same level of reliability on a Debian laptop or desktop that I do. After all, it is a truly universal operating system.
There's no doubt that this year's Debian Stable 13, also known as Trixie, is a true 'current' Debian Stable.
