Refreshed packages in Debian 13

Debian 13 (Trixie) upgrades the toolchain and desktop across the board: Linux 6.12 LTS, Python 3.13, GCC 14.2, GNOME 48 and KDE Plasma 6.3.

Debian 13 (Trixie) ships a sweeping refresh of the kernel, toolchain and desktops. Compared with Debian 12, nearly every core component moves up a major version while keeping Debian's usual stability bar.

Core component versions

Software	Debian 13	Debian 12	What improves
Linux kernel	6.12 (LTS)	6.1 (LTS)	Better new-hardware support and performance
Python	3.13	3.11	Faster execution, better error messages
GCC	14.2	12.2	C++23 support, fuller language coverage
GNOME	48	43	Modern UI, performance and memory gains
KDE Plasma	6.3	5.27	Qt 6 base, mature Wayland experience
LibreOffice	25.2	7.4	Better document compatibility
Firefox ESR	128+	102	Privacy and performance improvements

Other versions worth noting

systemd 257 - faster parallel boot, improved logging and cgroup handling
OpenSSL 3.5 - stronger defaults for encryption
LLVM/Clang 19 - available as an alternative toolchain
Rust 1.85, PHP 8.4, PostgreSQL 17, OpenSSH 10.0
Archive size: about 14,100 new packages, roughly 69,800 in total, plus ~44,300 updates

Desktop experience

Wayland is now the default session for most desktop environments. GNOME and KDE Plasma feel smoother on Wayland, with better multi-monitor scaling and touchpad gestures. X11 sessions remain available for users who depend on legacy X11 applications.

Verify your versions

# Kernel version
uname -r

# Available versions of a package
apt policy python3 gcc-14

# Current desktop environment
echo "$XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP"

Next steps

What's new in Debian 13 - every change at a glance
Choosing a desktop environment - GNOME / KDE / Xfce compared
Versions & lifecycle - support windows per release

Try the new toolchain and desktops: Download Debian 13 →