MX Linux 25 Beta 1: A first look at the future of MX Linux 25
As many already know, the GNU/Linux Distribution project called MX Linux was for many years and until 2024, the #1 Distro on the famous and reputable Linux website DistroWatch. For this reason, here at Desde Linux, along with the GNU/Linux Debian distro, one of the oldest, most stable, and reliable in the world, they are one of our favorites not only to recommend, but also to promote in terms of news, guides, and tutorials. For this reason, and because just a few days ago, their development team released the first test ISO under the name MX Linux 25 Beta 1Today we'll take the opportunity to not only let you know about the new features included in the update, but also to show you in detail what's new with it through some useful and fresh screenshots.
However, as an appetizer, One of the most important and anticipated things by the faithful and growing users of MX Linux for this version 25 has reached the same, and this is nothing other than, make use of the new and robust stable version of Debian (13 «Trixie») as the basis of the operating system. This will not only make it, by default, a more modern, robust, and stable distro, but will also allow it to take advantage of the opportunity to innovate in other important aspects to improve the user experience for the entire community that already uses it. So, whether you are a user of this project or not, we invite you to continue reading this post so you're up to date with these great and long-awaited updates from the MX Linux Project.
MX Linux is a stable Debian-based lightweight Linux operating system, with the core components of antiX
For those unfamiliar with MX Linux, it's an operating system based on stable versions of Debian and uses core components from antiX, with additional software created and packaged by the MX community. It's basically an operating system that combines an elegant and efficient desktop with simple configurations, high stability, stable performance, and minimal footprint. It's also one of the few Linux distributions that still provide and maintain support for 32-bit architecture.
MX Linux 25 Beta 1: A first look at the future of MX Linux 25
Top 10 News of MX Linux 25 Beta 1
And to get straight to the many interesting news about MX Linux 25 Beta 1 We leave you immediately below and in a summarized and orderly manner, the most important ones commented within the official launch announcement Of the same:
- From now on, MX-25 beta 1, and MX-25 in general, is and will be based on the Debian 13 “Trixie” repositories.
- The Desktop Environments currently offered in the published editions are: XFCE 4.20, Fluxbox 1.3.7, and KDE/Plasma 6.3.6.
- The Distribution's antiX live system has now been modified to work better with systemd as the init system.
- The MX tools based on the Qt graphical user interface (GUI) have been migrated to Qt6. Most applications have received bug fixes and translation updates.
- Most ISOs include and use the Linux 6.12.43 kernel, which is available in the Debian stable repositories. However, the "AHS" variants with Advanced Hardware Support include and use the Liquorix 6.15 Linux kernel.
- The update tool, apt-notifier, has been replaced by a new tool called mx-updater. Functionally, they are very similar, but they include some additional tricks and preference options, such as the ability to use Nala as the backend instead of Apt.
- From now on, systemd and sysVinit versions are provided and supported separately. Therefore, for those who want them, versions of Xfce, Xfce-ahs, and Fluxbox are only available with each bootloader separately. Furthermore, ISOs with sysVinit are clearly indicated as such in the download filename.
- MX 25 uses the new deb822 format for source (repository) information. These are located in *.sources files in /etc/apt/sources.list.d. The legacy *.list format is still supported. The MX Repository Manager and other mirror-locating routines have been updated to support this useful new format.
- The system installer has been improved, with the addition of a feature to replace an existing Linux installation. However, this new tool or feature does not currently work with previously encrypted installations, but the proven custom options remain available. Additionally, there is a new feature to configure ZRAM swap devices, as well as several optimizations and code updates.
- The installer now supports 64-bit UEFI Secure Boot installations. Users will still need to use a signed kernel (currently the stable Debian 6.12 kernel) for it to work. However, "AHS" builds with Liquorix kernels do not support Secure Boot.
Screenshots of this first development version
GRUB
The first major change is that instead of having systemd and sysVinit on the same ISO, we'll have separate ISOs for each bootable system. Our systemd-shim packages, which previously allowed us to distribute systemd and sysVinit on a single ISO, are currently not compatible with the latest Debian 6.12 kernels. As a result, sysVinit and systemd will no longer be able to coexist on the same ISO or installation. For maximum compatibility with the Debian ecosystem, the standard versions of Xfce, Fluxbox, and KDE will use systemd. SysVinit versions of Xfce and Fluxbox will also be available. You still have a choice: just choose it when you download the system instead of when you boot.
Desktop
In this beta 1, the KDE/Plasma edition received several configuration adjustments to adapt to the new configuration options available in Plasma 6.3.6, in addition Wayland This is the default session, although X11 is available in the session switcher on the login screen. There are also many new configuration options for the Fluxbox version, with revised dashboard settings, revised appfinder settings for ROFI, and revised Fluxbox root-level menus.
In this test version, the MX Linux development team He is particularly interested in testing and improving the installer as much as possible, with an emphasis on traditional installations with ext4 and btrfs, as well as searching for bugs in the MX tools, especially in the mx-packageinstaller->popular apps entries.
Performance at startup
Favorites (Applications menu)
Accessories (Applications Menu)
Development (Applications Menu)
Games (Applications menu)
Charts (Applications Menu)
Internet (Applications menu)
Multimedia (Applications menu)
MX Tools (Applications Menu)
Office (Applications Menu)
Settings (Applications menu)
System (Applications menu)
MX Tour
MX Linux Installer
Visual appearance
System exit management screen
While it is true that there are many Mother or important Distros on which many others are based (derived Distros and respines), such as Arch, Fedora, openSUSE, Ubuntu, Mint, the truth is that we usually prefer to make these Guides based on Debian GNU/Linux, since it is one of the oldest, most solid, stable, well-known and used worldwide. Also, because it is not only ideal for novice home and office users, but for experienced users, IT professionals and important technological infrastructures (servers) worldwide. If not also, because it is one of the most used Mother Distributions globally, to create well-known personal and community projects, such as "MX, antiX and Devuan".
