Linux From Scratch, a project and book that guides users in building a complete Linux system from source code, has announced the release of LFS 13.0 along with Beyond Linux From Scratch (BLFS) 13.0.
For those unfamiliar with the project, Linux From Scratch is not a traditional distribution but a freely available book that provides step-by-step instructions for compiling and assembling a working Linux system.
A key change in this release is that LFS 13.0 is the first version available exclusively as a systemd edition, following the decision to discontinue the long-maintained SysVinit variant. Previous releases supported both init systems, but the maintainers opted to simplify maintenance and align with modern software that increasingly relies on systemd.
In addition to the init system update, LFS 13.0 includes significant upgrades to core components. The release features binutils 2.46, glibc 2.42, and 36 updated packages compared to the previous stable version. The base system now uses Linux kernel 6.18.10 LTS, ensuring the build instructions reflect recent kernel releases.
The maintainers report over 100 commits to the LFS book since the last stable release. Security-related updates were applied to packages such as glibc, coreutils, expat, Perl, Python, systemd, xz, and Vim.
Last but not least, released with LFS 13.0, the BLFS 13.0 book significantly expands the base system by offering instructions for installing a broad range of additional software, including desktop environments such as GNOME, KDE Plasma, XFCE, and LXQt, as well as common applications like web browsers, email clients, and office suites.
For further information, refer to the official announcement.
