Debian

Reader supplied reviews for Debian Average rating 9.0 from 513 review(s) Please select a rating in the range of 1-10. Please write at least a few sentences about the distribution while limiting your review to 4080 characters. What are your thoughts on Debian? Please include a few pros and a few cons, along with your overall impression of the operating system. Our FAQ page has tips on writing a good mini-review. Version: -- unstabletesting1312111098.07.06.05.04.03.13.02.22.12.01.31.21.1 Rating:    -- 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 out of 10 Your review (minimum 250 words): Past reviews - sort by: DateVotes Version: 13 Rating: 10 Date: 2026-05-08 Country: Brazil Votes: 21 Debian 13 Trixie. It works very well. You install the system and everything works right away. The system has become very user-friendly. I remember Debian Sarge 3.1 was my first contact with Debian in 2005. It was pure suffering. Today you install it and everything works. If you have any problems, there's a vast community to help you solve anything. In all these years with Linux, I've tried several flavors, but nothing is like Debian. I'm impressed how a group of people can create something like this system without support from specialized companies. And companies that sponsor distributions make distros full of problems. These Debian people deserve my respect. Was this review helpful? Yes No Version: 12 Rating: 9 Date: 2026-04-22 Country: France Votes: 43 Debian has a well deserved reputation for being very solid. As long as you stick to supported software (and sometimes even when you don't) it just won't break on you. If you want your software to stop getting new features every two seconds, and just get security updates, this is it. It doesn't get better than this. Debian is well documented, very well supported for various architectures, and is no-nonsense. They are basically the most vanilla you can get. Debian provides a perfect in-between experience. They have a good experience out of the box, without holding onto your hand too hard. They have sane defaults, then document clearly how to depart from those defaults. The more mature Linux software gets, the better Debian looks. You don't always need the latest to have the greatest. Debian will just get the job done. Now my only pain point with Debian was their lack of support for the AAC codec due to licensing issues. This made it so my bluetooth headphones wouldn't work. I ended up just using them wired. Once you set up Debian, it will just continue to work the same way forever. Their releases are supported for such a long time, you never have any pressure to update. Things can just keep on working. Now of course, if you want newer software (or need for hardware quirks), or don't like needing to do a big update from one LTS to another, then Debian may not be for you. And there is some truth to the fact that some bugs are there to stay (but at least you know they're there, and if you can work around them, then your fix will continue to work). The Gnome software slowness never went away in Debian 12 for me. I just used the command line. Overall, Debian is my #1 recommendation for people who want to put in just a little work to make sure their desktop is solid for years. Was this review helpful? Yes No Version: 13 Rating: 10 Date: 2026-04-17 Country: United Kingdom Votes: 63 I have always had at least one computer/laptop running Debian, maybe not "pure" Debian , but always Debian. The rock solid stability and the straightforward structures make it probably the easiest "Linux" to learn . For beginners there is a learning curve, although it is nowhere near as steep as it once was , most tasks can be accomplished using a gui , and those that cannot are usually self explanatory in their terminal command form. Debian is capable, dependable and backed up by world class documentation and an enormous worldwide community of people who are always willing to help those who try to help themselves. A little bit of rtfm never hurt anyone . For the latest offering, Trixie, as ever rock solid, and when paired with the KDE Plasma desktop environment it is a pleasure to use , everything is configurable and customizable . Seamless integration with all of my Bluetooth devices , KDE Connect allows me to have three phones and another laptop all connected to my main laptop for easy file transfers and shares. Printing using a 7000 series HP Smart Tank works effortlessly . Downsides are few, each new release sees the Debian developers taking a step further towards painless transition for Windows users into the world of Linux . similarly the old image of Debian being an elitist , purist OS similar to Arch is rapidly changing . Debian in its many forms is adaptable scalable and very very capable of doing pretty much anything you need your computer to do . My advice to anyone is keep the laptop you have right now , running whatever you run and get a second laptop running on Debian and gradually switch yourself over to Debian , take time to learn not just how it does what you want ti to do , but try to understand how it does everything it does. Once you grasp the way it works , you can make it do what you need in so many different ways until you find the way that is right for you . I have been using Debian since around 1998 and would be reluctant to move away from it now . I have used many many other OS's over the years but most of them fall short on compatibility , dependability or stability which I know I can achieve with Debian. Keep up the good work Debian developers, and all the Debian team worldwide too . We see you and we acknowledge you . Was this review helpful? 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