Debian: The Complete Guide

Debian is a free operating system made by the Debian Project, a volunteer association that Ian Murdock started in August 1993, and it is the base that Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Kali and many other distributions are built on. It uses the Linux kernel, installs software through APT, and puts out a new stable release roughly every two years, each one supported for five years in total.

This page is our hub for Debian. It gives you the key facts in one table, explains which branch to run and how long each release is supported, and links to every tuxai.dev guide that covers Debian or a distribution built on it. Versions, dates and requirements were checked against debian.org, the Debian 13 release notes and the official installation guide on 14 October 2026.

Debian at a glance

Debian guides on tuxai.dev

Start with the installation guide if Debian is new to you. The other three cover software you add on top of it and one unusual remaster built on Debian 13.

Two related guides help before you install: you can try Debian first in VirtualBox, or put it next to Windows with our dual boot guide. If APT is new to you, our comparison of apt, dnf and pacman explains how it differs from the package managers on other distributions.

Stable, testing or unstable: which Debian branch?

Run stable. Debian recommends it for production use, and it is the branch the Security Team looks after. Testing does not get security fixes on time. Today that means Debian 13 "trixie".

• Stable (trixie) changes very little after release. Point releases such as 13.7 bundle security and serious bug fixes. You do not reinstall for them: a normal update through APT brings you to the new point release.
• Testing (forky) holds the packages that will form Debian 14. A package only moves there after a waiting period and if it has no release-critical bugs, so it breaks less often than unstable. The catch is security: the Security Team does not manage testing, and fixes can arrive late.
• Unstable (sid) is where development happens. New uploads land here first. Debian points it at developers and people who accept breakage, and asks them to follow the debian-devel-announce list.

If you want newer software on a desktop, a stable base with Flatpak apps is usually less work than tracking testing. To see which release and point version you are on:

cat /etc/debian_version     # prints the point release, for example 13.7
sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade   # moves you to the latest point release

Debian release and support timeline

Each Debian release gets three years of full support and then two years of LTS, handled by a separate team of volunteers and sponsoring companies. The dates below come from the official releases page and the LTS announcements on debian.org.

Two details matter if you rely on LTS. It covers fewer architectures than full support: Debian 12 LTS supports amd64, i386, arm64, armhf and ppc64el. And after LTS, Debian itself stops. For bullseye, only a subset of packages continues under Extended LTS, a paid service from outside companies that the releases page lists until 30 June 2031. If you still run Debian 11, plan the upgrade to 12 and then to 13.

Distributions based on Debian

Many of the best known Linux distributions start from Debian, either directly or through Ubuntu, which is itself built from Debian. Debian calls these derivatives and lists Ubuntu and Kali among the ones it highlights. These are the ones we have guides for. For everything else, see all Linux distros.

Troubleshooting Debian: Common Questions

Is Debian good for beginners?

Yes, if you are fine with a plain system that you finish setting up yourself. The installer takes you through partitions, users and software in simple menus, and you end up with a clean GNOME desktop with few extras. If you want everything ready on the first boot, start with Linux Mint or Ubuntu, and come back to Debian later.

The Debian 13 install guide explains each installer screen, so the first install is less of a guessing game.

Debian vs Ubuntu: which one should I use?

Pick Debian if you want a community distribution with no company in charge and fewer changes between releases. Pick Ubuntu if you want newer hardware support, a release every six months and commercial support from Canonical. Ubuntu is built from Debian and both use APT and .deb packages, so most commands and guides carry over from one to the other.

What is the current version of Debian?

Debian 13 "trixie" is the current stable release, and its latest point release is 13.7, published on 12 September 2026. Run cat /etc/debian_version to see which point release your system is on.

How long is Debian 13 supported?

Debian 13 has full support until 9 August 2028 and LTS until 30 June 2030, which adds up to five years from its release on 9 August 2025. During the LTS years, fewer architectures are covered.

How do I enable non-free firmware on Debian?

Add non-free-firmware to the Components line of your APT sources, run sudo apt update, and install the firmware package your device needs. On most new installs you will not have to: since Debian 12, the official images include non-free firmware, and the installer enables that component on its own when it installs a firmware package.

With the deb822 format, the file is /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian.sources. The Debian 13 release notes give this layout:

Types: deb
URIs: https://deb.debian.org/debian
Suites: trixie trixie-updates
Components: main non-free-firmware
Signed-By: /usr/share/keyrings/debian-archive-keyring.gpg

Types: deb
URIs: https://security.debian.org/debian-security
Suites: trixie-security
Components: main non-free-firmware
Signed-By: /usr/share/keyrings/debian-archive-keyring.gpg

If your system still uses the old /etc/apt/sources.list, sudo apt modernize-sources converts it to this format.

Can I upgrade from Debian 12 to Debian 13 without reinstalling?

Yes. Change every bookworm in your APT sources to trixie, then upgrade in two steps as the release notes describe. Make a backup first, and read the upgrade chapter of the release notes before you start.

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade --without-new-pkgs
sudo apt full-upgrade

What is Debian sid?

Sid is the permanent name of Debian unstable, the branch where new packages arrive first. It never becomes a numbered release. Packages move from sid to testing after a waiting period, and testing becomes the next stable.

Sources

• Debian Releases (branches, release dates, end of life, LTS and ELTS dates) and the trixie and forky release pages
• Debian News: Debian 13.7 released, Debian 13 trixie released, bookworm handed over to LTS and Debian 11 LTS end of life
• Debian Long Term Support
• Debian 13 release notes: What's new and Upgrades from Debian 12
• Debian 13 Installation Guide (amd64): minimum hardware requirements, devices requiring firmware, using the installer, loading missing firmware and disk space needed for tasks
• About Debian and Debian derivatives
• Debian Reference, chapter 3: system initialization
• Ubuntu release cycle (Canonical)