The Debian Installer team has announced the second Release Candidate (RC 2) for the installer of Debian 13, codenamed "Trixie". This latest iteration brings a number of important improvements and fixes designed to make your Debian installation experience smoother and more reliable than ever.
Cyril Brulebois, the Debian Installer release manager, shared this exciting update on Debian mailing list, inviting everyone to try out RC 2 and provide valuable feedback.
What's New and Improved in Debian 13 Installer RC 2?
This release candidate ships with several key enhancements as listed below:
- Smarter Installation Media Handling: The installer now intelligently disables CD-ROM sources if you’re installing Debian from a USB stick, SD card, or ISO file. This is a handy change because APT (Debian’s package manager) can’t use these sources after the installation, leading to a much cleaner setup process for you.
- Enhanced Japanese Language Support: For our Japanese-speaking users, there's fantastic news! Thanks to Kentaro Hayashi, Japanese rendering support has been greatly improved. This includes adding new fonts and increasing the font size, ensuring a much better visual experience during installation.
- Secure Boot Just Got Easier: On AMD64 and ARM64 systems, the installer now helps you enable Secure Boot by automatically installing
shim-signed. This is a big step for enhancing the security of your Debian system right from the start. - Better Encrypted System Setup: If you prefer encrypted partitions, you’ll be pleased to know that
systemd-cryptsetupis now installed alongsidecryptsetup-initramfs. This change supports a wider range of encrypted configurations, making your secure setups more robust. - Rescue for Btrfs Systems: Have a Btrfs system installed via the Calamares installer from Debian Live images? RC 2 now offers support for rescuing these systems. This could be a lifesaver if you ever run into trouble!
- Improved Bootloader Reliability: The
grub-installerhas been tweaked to setforce-efi-extra-removableto "true" by default in certain situations. This aims to resolve issues where some EFI firmwares might not handle boot variables correctly. - Updated Look and Feel: The installer’s visual appeal has been updated! The banner image now adapts to the latest iteration of the Ceratopsian theme, which is the default theme for Debian 13.
- Kernel Update: The Linux kernel ABI has been bumped to 6.12.33+deb13.
Broader Hardware Support
RC 2 also brings welcome additions in terms of hardware compatibility.
- Support for Apple M1/M2 MacBooks: Great news for owners of newer Apple laptops! The installer now includes support for Apple MTP keyboards and Apple SPI keyboards, as found on ARM-based Apple devices like the M1 MacBook Pro and M2 MacBook Air.
- Expanded AMD64 Driver Support: On AMD64 systems, new drivers for
pinctrl/intelhave been added to the kernel image.
Language Availability
The Debian Installer continues to be incredibly accessible globally. In this RC 2 release, 78 languages are supported, with 31 of them offering full translation. This is an increase from the 26 full translations in RC 1, showing ongoing dedication to a worldwide user base.
What About Bugs?
As of its release, RC 2 seems to have no known major bugs. However, the team always encourages checking the official errata page for the most up-to-date information.
Get Involved!
The Debian Installer team thrives on community input. If you're eager to help shape the future of Debian, please download and try out Debian Installer Trixie RC 2.
You can find the installation images and all other necessary resources on the official Debian installer website.
