Huzzah! Debian 13 ("trixie") is now available to download and install. As with most Debian releases, it took time (two years) for this release, and (as always) the wait was worth it.

Starring Linux kernel 6.12 LTS, Gnome 48, GCC 1.42, OpenJDK Java 21, Python 3.13, support for HTTP booting (via UEFI and U-Boot), an improved installer, RISC-V 64 support, APT 3.0, and a new default theme, Debian 13 might not look like a major step forward, but the performance will prove you wrong.

Speaking of performance, another change involves the /tmp directory, which Debian 13 changes. This new release uses tmpfs for the /tmp directory by default. This means temporary files are stored in RAM instead of on local storage. Now, files in the /tmp directory will be automatically deleted after 10 days of inactivity, and /var/tmp is cleaned after 30 days. This ensures that temp files don't accumulate and also improves performance via the RAM-based temp storage.

As well, you can expect each of the supported desktops enjoys the latest upgrades. You'll find Gnome 48, KDE Plasma 6.3, Xfce 4.20, LXDE 13, and LXQt 2.1.0.

Other changes include the following: MIPS support has been removed, i386 has been reduced to legacy support, the ping command no longer gains elevated privileges, and 32-bit systems are now using 64-bit time (to avoid the Y2K38 bug).

You can read all about the latest release in the official Debian 13 release notes and download an ISO from the official download page.