The team behind the lightweight Debian-based Linux distro Sparky announced the release of version 8.0, based on and fully compatible with the recently released stable Debian 13 (Trixie), meaning users get the stability and reliability of Debian’s latest stable branch, plus Sparky’s own set of enhancements.
All packages have been refreshed from Debian and Sparky’s repositories as of August 13, 2025, and the system ships with the Linux kernel 6.12.41 LTS by default, with optional 6.16.0 and 6.6.99 LTS builds also available.
On the desktop side, there’s something for everyone—KDE Plasma 6.3.6, LXQt 2.1, MATE 1.26, Xfce 4.20, and Openbox 3.6.1 are all on offer.
The software stack has also seen key updates, including LibreOffice 25.2.3, Firefox ESR 128.13.0 (with Firefox 141.0.3 in the Sparky repo), and Thunderbird ESR 128.13.
A notable addition is the brand-new sparky-package-tool (spt), designed to make package management easier from the command line. GIMP now comes preinstalled across all ISO images, while the Openbox edition swaps PCManFM for Thunar as its default file manager.
Installation has been made more flexible, too. The text-based Sparky Installer now offers home directory encryption and an auto-partitioning mode that takes over the entire disk in one go.
On the flip side, there are still a couple of rough edges—disk encryption through the Calamares graphical installer isn’t working properly at the moment, and some older Plasma 6 themes from external sources may not display correctly.
Some other changes worth noting: Sparky APTus AppCenter has been updated, with packages removed from Debian 13’s repositories also being cleared out. Raspberry Pi images will come later, and support for x86/i686 ISO builds has been discontinued—though i386 packages remain available.
Lastly, users installing on UEFI systems will need an active internet connection during setup.
For more information, see the release announcement.
Existing users can upgrade from Sparky 7.x to 8.x by following the official upgrade guide. For everyone else, fresh installation images are available now on the SparkyLinux download page.
