https://www.debian.org/releases - Official information about Debian releases
Contents
Introduction
Debian is under continual development but periodically declares a new version as stable. Each stable release contains a (mostly) fixed set of software: as the name stable suggests, software in stable does not change: however, security issues are fixed by Debian. A stable version of Debian is available for several computer architectures and Debian makes it easy to upgrade to the next version of stable when it is released: this generally happens every couple of years.
The latest release is Debian 13.1. It is also (currently) known as stable or by its codename "Trixie".
At any given time, there is one stable release of Debian. Security updates are provided by Debian security team for three years. This generally means that each stable release is supported for its whole life plus an extra year (or so) after a new version of stable is released. In addition, further security support is provided by the LTS and [LTS/Extended]] projects. Only stable is recommended for production use.
Debian also provides two main development versions unstable and testing which are continually updated and which form the next stable release. The latest software packages are first added to unstable (which always has the codename "Sid"), and are copied into testing once they meet criteria, such as lack of release-critical bugs, and once any dependencies are met by packages also in testing.
Choosing which version of Debian to use
End users should generally choose to run either stable or testing. Stable is recommended for applications requiring production-level stability and security (servers, firewalls etc) and is also recommended for those who are new to Linux. Testing is recommended for advanced users who want new software on their desktops and who are capable of reporting and fixing bugs to help Debian.
Choosing a debian distribution discusses the pros and cons of choosing one Debian distribution over another. And the overview of software for Debian Stable describes common ways Debian stable is enhanced with newer software or otherwise given extended capabilities.
The Debian FTP archives chapter of the Debian FAQ has even more information.
Current Debian Releases and repositories
Debian organises its software into 'repositories', and people often use terms such as versions/releases/repositories/archives/suites interchangeably.
The main versions of Debian are:
Also available are:
experimental - Not really a release (RC-Buggy), but a repository where packages are tested (and experiments made) if they are not suited for unstable.
backports - Not a release, but a repository for updated packages for stable.
Versions of Debian stable
Version |
Code name |
Release date |
End of life date |
EOL LTS |
EOL ELTS |
15 |
|
|
|
|
|
14 |
|
|
|
|
|
13 |
|
|
|
||
12 |
2026-06-10 |
2028-06-30 |
|||
11 |
2026-08-31 |
||||
10 |
|||||
9 |
|||||
8 |
|||||
7 |
~2020-06-30 |
||||
6 |
|||||
5 |
|||||
4 |
|||||
3.1 |
|||||
3.0 |
|||||
2.2 |
2003-06-30 |
||||
2.1 |
2000-10-30 |
||||
2.0 |
- |
||||
1.3 |
- |
||||
1.2 |
- |
||||
1.1 |
- |
||||
0.93R6 |
|
- |
|||
0.93R5 |
|
- |
|||
0.91 |
|
~1994-01-01 |
- |
Reminder: the EOL date for the stable release is the date of the next stable release plus one year. For example, Debian bullseye ("buster +1") was released on 2021-08-14 so Debian buster's EOL is around 2022-08.
Note: the point releases (like 7.1 and 7.2) are detailed in each distribution's page.
Release statistics
Version |
Code name |
Freeze length |
Time from previous release |
Time from next release up to EOL |
Total lifetime |
1.2 |
|
178 days |
|||
1.3 |
|
175 days |
|||
2.0 |
171 days |
414 days |
|||
2.1 |
125 days |
228 days |
76 days |
601 days |
|
2.2 |
212 days |
525 days |
346 days |
1049 days |
|
3.0 |
383 days |
703 days |
389 days |
1442 days |
|
3.1 |
34 days |
1053 days |
357 days |
1028 days |
|
4.0 |
258 days |
671 days |
366 days |
1044 days |
|
5.0 |
202 days |
678 days |
365 days |
1087 days |
|
6.0 |
184 days |
722 days |
391 days |
1209 days |
|
7 |
308 days |
818 days |
366 days |
1087 days |
|
8 |
171 days |
721 days |
365 days |
1149 days |
|
9 |
224 days |
784 days |
366 days |
1115 days |
|
10 |
185 days |
749 days |
392 days |
1162 days |
|
11 |
28 days |
770 days |
431 days |
1096 days |
|
12 |
101 days |
665 days |
|||
13 |
In the above array, data closely following "current" releasing tendencies have been highlighted in green. What can be deduced from those data is that the "most-typical" Debian release:
endures a freeze cycle of 7 +/- 1 months before getting released.
is released about 2 years after the previous one (the often cited example of Debian Sarge being quite an exceptional event in Debian history).
leaves users about 1 year to upgrade to the next one once this latter itself gets released.
has (from release to the end of security updates) a total lifetime of about 3 years.
http://debian.semistable.com/releases.gif
How packages move between different repositories
Here's a diagram describing how packages flow between repositories:
The above graphic is generated from a dot file in the package-cycle git repository.
See also the various software powering that archive.
Codenames
Releases of the Debian distribution have both traditional version numbers and codenames based on characters from the Pixar/Disney Toy Story franchise. Sid was the evil, mentally "unstable", neighbor who broke all the toys. The experimental repository codename, RC-Buggy, was Andy's toy car, and is a pun on 'Release Critical' and 'Remote Control.'
See also
DebianStability - Changing from one release version to another.