Devs sketch plans for two more releases this year, blending Debian foundations with modern display tech
The Linux Mint team plans to speed up its release cycle and get two more versions out in the next few months.
The latest Linux Mint Monthly News blog drafts the project’s plans for the final quarter of 2025. At least in terms of timing, the timeline is somewhat bold – especially considering that the blog is titled «August 2025» and it was published on September 12.LMDE 7 «Gigi»
The top story in the blog post is that work has begun on the next version of LMDE. As the download page for the current version 6 says: «LMDE is a Linux Mint project which stands for ‘Linux Mint Debian Edition’.» Almost exactly two years ago last weekend, we looked at the beta of LMDE 6, codenamed «Faye», and it was released in October 2023. LMDE 7, codenamed «Gigi», is now on its way, based on Debian 13.
In essence, LMDE transplants Linux Mint’s flagship Cinnamon desktop and its accompanying tools and accessories from their standard underlying distro – the current Ubuntu LTS release – onto the basis of Debian instead. For the Mint project, it’s a safety net. As the project page says: «Its goal is to ensure Linux Mint can continue to deliver the same user experience if Ubuntu was ever to disappear.»
In addition, LMDE is also a very easy way to run Debian. It’s easier to install and get running with minimal extra work. That’s a little less important in recent years, partly because there are many easier Debian alternatives now, and partly because Debian started including some proprietary drivers on the default installation media in 2022.
