Debian 14 (Forky)

The dedicated Debian 14 (Forky) page: current development status, the official timeline with freeze cadence reference, safe ways to try testing, and FAQ. Updated as Debian announces.

Debian 14 (Forky) illustration

Current status (2026-09-26)

Debian 14 carries the codename Forky and is currently the testing development branch. As of September 2026, testing tracks the Linux 7.2 kernel series; freeze and release dates have not been announced. The current stable release remains Debian 13 (Trixie). This page is updated as Debian publishes announcements.

📌 Status at a Glance

Item	Status
Codename	Forky (a Toy Story 4 character, per Debian's naming tradition)
Current phase	testing: packages from unstable (Sid) migrate in automatically once they qualify
Kernel	Linux 7.2 series (7.2.6+deb14 in testing since 2026-09)
Freeze schedule	Not yet announced
Expected release	Around 2027 (Debian ships roughly every two years; no fixed date)
Production advice	Stay on Debian 13; never run testing in production

🧭 Why "Forky"

Following Debian tradition, releases are named after Toy Story characters. On 2025-07-19 the Release Team announced the next testing codename in "Let's Fork(y)!"; when Trixie became stable on 2025-08-09, the testing branch continued under the Forky name. Packages from unstable migrate into testing automatically once they satisfy age, build, and RC-bug requirements.

🗓️ Timeline

What has happened

Date	Event
2025-07-19	Release Team announces the Forky codename (Let's Fork(y)!)
2025-08-09	Debian 13 (Trixie) released; testing continues as Forky
2026-09	Linux 7.2.6+deb14 kernel lands in Forky testing
2026-11 – 2027-05	Trixie point-release schedule (13.8–13.11), running in parallel with Forky development

Reference: the Trixie freeze cadence

Until Forky's freeze dates are published, Trixie's actual cadence is the best reference (source: the DebianTrixie wiki). If Forky targets mid-2027, the equivalent milestones would fall roughly in the first half of 2027 — that is an estimate, and Release Team announcements always take precedence.

Milestone	Trixie actual date	Distance to release
Transition & toolchain freeze	2025-03-15	~5 months
Soft Freeze	2025-04-15	~4 months
Hard Freeze	2025-05-15	~3 months
Full Freeze	2025-07-27	~2 weeks
Release	2025-08-09	—

What the stages mean: the transition freeze stops large library migrations; after the soft freeze no new packages enter; the hard freeze allows only critical fixes; the full freeze ships critical corrections only, until release.

🛰️ Progress Tracker

Reverse-chronological log of verifiable Forky / testing activity, updated as Debian publishes (last checked: 2026-09-26). Sources: the deb.debian.org archive index, packages.debian.org, and sources.debian.org.

Recent developments

2026-09: default toolchain switched — python3 in testing now defaults to 3.14 (3.14.7) and GCC defaults to 16.1 (gcc-15.3 remains available), paving the way for large-scale package rebuilds
2026-09: Linux 7.2.6+deb14 landed in testing — the kernel jumps from Trixie's 6.12 LTS series to 7.2
2026-09: major desktop and base components in place — GNOME 50.5, KDE Plasma 6.7.4, systemd 261.2, glibc 2.43, LibreOffice 26.8, Firefox ESR 140.16
From 2026-11: Trixie point releases 13.8–13.11 ship on schedule — before Forky freezes, release management stays focused on Trixie's stable maintenance

Testing component snapshot (forky/main amd64, 2026-09-26)

Component	Forky testing	Debian 13 baseline
Linux kernel	7.2.6	6.12 LTS
systemd	261.2	257.13
glibc	2.43	2.41
GCC (default)	16.1	14.2
Python (default python3)	3.14.7	3.13
GNOME	50.5	48
KDE Plasma	6.7.4	6.3
LibreOffice	26.8	25.2
Firefox ESR	140.16	128

Testing keeps rolling until the freeze; live versions are authoritative at packages.debian.org/forky. This table only "settles" once the freeze begins.

Archive activity

The forky archive index refreshes daily (the Release index generated at 2026-09-26 08:08 UTC was already superseded the same day) — the unstable → testing autopilot is rolling normally
That cadence slows down markedly once the freeze starts, down to critical fixes only — the clear signal that Forky has entered its release cycle

🔍 Visible differences from Debian 13 so far

Kernel: Debian 13 ships the Linux 6.12 LTS series; Forky testing already tracks 7.2
Everything else (desktop environment versions, toolchains, installer behavior) only settles during the freeze — any "Debian 14 feature list" circulating today is premature. Wait for the official Release Notes.

🧪 How to try Forky safely

VM or spare machine: install testing from the netinst testing image, see the installation guide
Daily cloud images: cloud.debian.org publishes daily Forky testing builds, for testing only
Never run testing on your daily driver or production servers: testing's security update path differs from stable and does not carry stable-grade response guarantees
Testing becomes 14: at release, testing turns into Debian 14 in place — no reinstall needed, and don't try to "downgrade" back to 13

❓ FAQ

Question	Answer
When will Debian 14 release?	No official date. The two-year cadence points to 2027; a concrete window only appears once the freeze schedule is announced
Is installing testing the same as installing 14?	Yes. Testing evolves into Debian 14 and converts in place at release
What features does Forky have so far?	The Linux 7.2 kernel is confirmed; the full change list waits for the official Release Notes. Treat early "feature lists" with skepticism
Can I use testing in production?	No. Keep production on Debian 13 and plan migration after 14 ships with its first point update
Can 13 upgrade directly to 14?	Yes, after 14 releases — see the upgrade guide and the official Release Notes

🔗 Official resources

release.debian.org — release status and point-release schedule
Debian "forky" release info — official release page
debian-devel-announce — freeze and release announcements
Debian cloud images — daily testing builds
DebianTesting wiki — how testing works

Debian 14 (Forky)

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