The new Debian-13 version of MX Linux, version 25, is looking very close to ready for release. A big change may divide its audience, though.

MX Linux 25 is getting close, and the project has already released ISO images for the beta testing version of its Debian 13-based release – no fewer than seven different ones, in fact. However, there is a significant difference in this release cycle, as we warned you back in August: four of the seven releases use the dreaded systemd.

Part of MX Linux’s appeal is an atypical approach compared to how most other distros work. One approach is to try to support every major desktop environment, resulting in multiple editions and choices – leading to decision paralysis on the part of users. Examples include Ubuntu, Fedora, Debian, Arch, and openSUSE. The other is to only offer a single desktop and invest all available effort into polishing that single environment. Examples of this include Elementary OS, Linux Lite, Endless OS, and of course the paid enterprise RHEL and SLE offerings.

MX takes neither path – it offers just three: KDE Plasma, Xfce, and Fluxbox. Effectively, these represent high end, middleweight, and lightweight options. Back in August, a news update said that: “For maximum compatibility with the Debian ecosystem, the standard Xfce, Fluxbox, and KDE releases will utilize systemd.” For us, part of the appeal of MX Linux is that it didn’t use systemd by default, and we suspect that for a significant fraction of its user base, this change will reduce its appeal. The change is not mandatory: variants of the Xfce and Fluxbox editions are still available with the traditional sysvinit.

The version of KDE Plasma on offer is 6.3.6, the same found in Debian 13. Xfce is the latest 4.20, and Fluxbox is version 1.3.7 – also the latest version, even though it appeared a decade ago. For all three desktops, the default edition uses kernel version 6.12 from Debian, but “AHS” versions with the latest Liquorix kernel. We looked at Liquorix a few years ago, and it remains an easy way to get the latest kernel on fixed-release-cycle distros. In MX Linux, it does have one drawback: you can’t use the Liquorix kernel if your PC is configured for Secure Boot. As a rule, we recommend disabling Secure Boot, anyway.

Another of the selling points of MX Linux is the “MX Tools” suite of utilities for easy point-and-click system administration. These include a broad range of functions and mean less reason to ever have to open a terminal emulator, which again, we suspect will appeal to many users. The MX Tools have been upgraded: they’re now built with Qt 6, the same as KDE Plasma 6, and have some other improvements too – for instance, the software-updater can optionally use the replacement Nala package management front-end instead of APT.

We took a quick look at the sysvinit-based Xfce edition in Virtualbox, and for us, it seems to look and work identically. We consider that good news: The Reg FOSS desk rather likes MX Linux and has done since we first looked at it in 2022. It is comparable to Linux Mint or Ubuntu in ease of use, has more and richer admin tools, and it’s a bit lighter and faster. It gives you a much more complete setup than plain upstream Debian, and we find it easier to install than Devuan. ®