Linux Mint Debian Edition (LMDE) 6’s ISO is undergoing testing according to the Linux Mint Community website’s ISO Images page. Testing has been going on for six days so far with two sets of failures each for the 32-bit and 64-bit editions of LMDE 6; the third attempt to pass the tests is ongoing.
LMDE 6, which is codenamed ‘Faye’, brings the latest changes from Linux Mint 21.2 and uses the newish Debian 12 as its base with a newer Linux 6.1 kernel. Some of the changes being inherited from Linux Mint 21.2 include improvements to the Cinnamon desktop through a feature called styles which gives you greater customizability of your theme and accent colours.
One of the main differences between the Ubuntu-based Linux Mint and LMDE is the matter of lifespan. The main Linux Mint versions have been supported for five years, meanwhile, LMDE has been supported for just two years and you only have a short window to upgrade to the new version.
If you are focused on production then the main edition of Linux Mint could be better for you as it means less frequent upgrading and possibly better software support as it’s more widely used than LMDE.
For those struggling to see how LMDE fits into the Linux Mint product line, it’s essentially a backup plan for the organization. If anything happens to Ubuntu, the Mint team could quickly swap to the Debian edition of their operating system and carry on their work of developing Xapps, Cinnamon, and MATE.
With the team currently testing the ISO images of LMDE 6, users should expect to see it land in the next week or so. If you are already on LMDE 5, upgrade instructions will be published on the Linux Mint blog when the upgrade path is opened up.
Update: The ISO images have passed their tests. The article previously assumed these were the final ISOs as "beta" was not included in the ISO filename but according to the community website, it now says that the ISO has been approved for a beta release. Beta periods typically last a few weeks so that the public can report issues. Expect the final release around the end of the month or in early October.