Upgrade Debian 12 (Bookworm) to Debian 13 (Trixie)

Debian 13 “Trixie” is the next stable release of Debian, succeeding Debian 12 “Bookworm”.

In this guide, you’ll learn how to safely upgrade your system.

Prepare Your System

Before upgrading:

• Back up your data (files, configs, databases).
• Ensure you have root or sudo access.
• If working remotely via SSH, use screen or tmux so the session won’t drop.

Check your current version:

lsb_release -a

Update Debian 12

Make sure your system is up-to-date:

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade
sudo apt full-upgrade

Remove obsolete packages:

sudo apt --purge autoremove

Reboot if a new kernel was installed:

sudo reboot

Update APT Sources

Shortcut with sed:

sudo sed -i 's/bookworm/trixie/g' /etc/apt/sources.list

Start the Upgrade

Refresh package lists:

sudo apt update

Minimal upgrade first:

sudo apt upgrade --without-new-pkgs

Then perform the full upgrade:

sudo apt full-upgrade

Reboot and Verify

Reboot your system:

sudo reboot

Check version:

lsb_release -a

It should show Debian 13 (Trixie).

Clean Up

Finally, remove leftovers:

sudo apt --purge autoremove
sudo apt clean

Tips

• Read the official Debian release notes before upgrading.
• Update third-party repositories in /etc/apt/sources.list.d/.
• Keep a rescue medium handy in case something goes wrong.

🎉 Done! You’ve successfully upgraded from Debian 12 Bookworm to Debian 13 Trixie.