MX Linux is a midweight distribution based on Debian’s stable branch, designed to be simple and suitable for new and experienced users.
Rating by us as one of the best desktop-oriented distros, betting on Xfce as the flagship desktop environment, the (almost) systemd-free MX Linux is a well-known and long-established name among open-source enthusiasts.
Two and a half months after the release of the major version, MX Linux 23 “Libretto,” the first update in the series is now a fact, so let’s see what it brings us.
MX Linux 23.1 Highlights
Powered by Linux kernel 6.1 LTS, MX Linux 23.1 comes fully rebased on the stable Debian’s 12.2 “Bookworm” branch and MX repositories. This brings all the benefits of that release, the biggest being the completely refreshed package base.
Apart from its flagship editions, the MX 23.1 AHS (Advanced Hardware Support) flavor ships with the latest Linux kernel 6.5. Not familiar with what AHS is? In short, it is a special MX software repo that allows users to install things like new graphics stack and firmware and updated Mesa libraries.
On the desktop side, MX Linux 23.1 includes the latest and greatest – Xfce 4.18.1, KDE Plasma 5.27.5, and Fluxbox 1.3.7. Moreover, the MX installer has received improvements, addressing swapfile, hibernation, and OEM install.
Finally, a new keybinding reference script for Fluxbox shows the default hotkeys. You can refer to the release announcement for detailed information about all changes.
If you want to give MX Linux 23.1 a try, which we highly recommend, the distro offers 32-bit and 64-bit versions, as only the KDE flavor doesn’t have a 32-bit variant.
Of course, if you are already running Libretto, there is no need to reinstall – just run “apt update & apt upgrade” to get the latest release.
