Debian 13 “Trixie” Is Around the Corner

Debian’s long‑awaited next stable release, Debian 13 (codename “Trixie”), is just about ready, with a projected release on August 9, 2025.

What’s New in Debian 13

Official Support for riscv64

For the first time, Debian includes official support for the 64-bit RISC‑V architecture. This opens the doors for Debian to run on modern RISC‑V hardware platforms.

Enhanced Security Hardening

• On amd64, Intel CET (Control‑flow Enforcement Technology) guards against ROP/COP‑style exploits
• On arm64, PAC (Pointer Authentication) and BTI (Branch Target Identification) provide similar protections
  These mitigations activate automatically on supported CPUs.

HTTP Boot Support

Debian Installer and Live Images now support network boot via HTTP on UEFI and U‑Boot firmware—a modern deployment feature.

Software Upgrades & Reproducibility

Significant package upgrades include:

• LibreOffice → 25
• Python 3.13, Perl 5.40, Rust 1.85, Systemd 257, KDE Plasma 6, GNOME 48, LXDE 13, XFCE 4.20
  Debian also continues its push toward fully reproducible builds.

Installation & Deployment Updates

Debian Installer improvements include:

• Better hardware support, especially for newer platforms
• Integration of Debian Pure Blends (e.g. Debian Science, Junior) selectable during installation
• Official cloud and container images for AWS, Azure, OpenStack, Docker (including “slim” variants).

Upgrading from Debian 12 “Bookworm”

Important upgrade guidance from the release notes:

1. Backup /etc, /var/lib/dpkg, /var/lib/apt/extended_states, and optionally user dotfiles
2. Expect a kernel upgrade and at least one reboot during the process
3. Plan downtime when upgrading essential services; alternatively use a minimalist upgrade first to reduce outage
4. If upgrading remotely (e.g. via SSH), have fallback access (remote serial console, rescue mode) ready.

Known Issues & Deprecations

From the release notes:

• i386 architecture is no longer supported as a standalone port—only partial userland support on amd64; no installer or kernel provided. Users are advised to migrate or retire i386 hardware.
• mipsel architecture has been removed entirely.
• System directories /tmp and /var/tmp are now regularly cleaned automatically (tmpfs).
• Some tools have changed behavior—e.g., openssh-server no longer reads ~/.pam_environment, no DSA key support, changes in Samba AD packaging, WirePlumber, strongSwan, OpenLDAP/TLS updates, and more. Refer to section 5 of the release notes for full details.

Summary & Recommendations

For mission-critical or production environments, waiting for Point Release 13.1 is recommended. Developers and testers can start evaluating Trixie early to provide feedback and report issues via Debian’s BTS.