MX Linux 23 Is Now Available for Beta Testing Based on Debian 12.
The MX Linux team announced the beta version of MX Linux 23, codenamed “Libretto” based on Debian 12, is now available for public testing.
MX Linux 23
MX Linux 23, based on the upcoming Debian 12 “Bookworm” operating system series, is powered by the long-term supported Linux 6.1 LTS kernel series. It uses sysVinit as the default init system instead of systemd. MX Linux 23 comes in three editions: Xfce 4.18, KDE Plasma 5.27 LTS, and Fluxbox 1.3.7.
MX Linux 23 – Majar Features
MX Linux 23 has many new features, including:
- Swapfiles: The installer now supports swapfiles, which are a type of virtual memory that can be used to improve performance. By default, the “regular” auto installation method will use swapfiles.
- PipeWire and WirePlumber: MX Linux 23 now uses PipeWire and WirePlumber for audio management. These newer technologies offer a number of advantages over PulseAudio, including better performance, more flexibility, and better support for modern hardware.
- Nala: MX Updater now uses Nala as the default backend. Nala is a command-line APT frontend that offers a number of advantages over the previous backend, including faster performance, better support for multiple repositories, and more features.
- sysVinit: Default System and Service manage is now sysVinit but systemd remains an option for installed systems.
- MX Tools: Many mx apps have been updated with bug fixes and enhancements. All tools now launch with individual policy kit configurations rather than using the blanket mx-pkexec from past releases. mx-pkexec is not preinstalled.
Major Desktop versions
Major Desktop Environments available with MX Linux 23.
- Xfce 4.18
- Fluxbox 1.3.7
- KDE/plasma 5.27
Download ISO from here.
New features and changes
Here are some additional details about the new features and changes in MX Linux 23:
- The new configuration options for Fluxbox allow users to customize the look and feel of their desktop environment.
- The special “appfinder” configurations for Rofi make it easy to launch applications from the desktop.
- The support for theming Fluxbox using MX Tweak’s theme module allows users to change the appearance of their desktop environment.
- The more obvious “check media” function in the live boot menus makes it easier for users to verify that their installation media is working properly.
- The updated MX apps include bug fixes and enhancements that improve performance and usability.
- The support for launching MX apps with individual policy kit configurations allows administrators to control how users can access these applications.
Final Release
Please note that this is a pre-release version of MX Linux 23. The final release of MX Linux 23 may be released in July 2023, after the release of Debian 12 “Bookworm” on June 10th, 2023. A beta release is available now on the MX Linux announcement page, where you can also find a list of known issues.
Testing
The developers need your help to test the installer and MX tools by installing the beta release on a test machine and using it as you normally would. If you encounter any problems, please report them to the MX Linux team so that they can be fixed in the final release.
Here are some specific areas that the developers would like your help with:
- Testing the installer with traditional EXT4 and Btrfs filesystems.
- Bug-hunting the MX tools, especially the mx-package installer > popular apps entries.
You can report bugs here.
