Debian Testing
Hacker ApprovedShares rank 26 of 87 operating systems by recommenders
Recommended as a rolling Debian desktop with newer packages than stable yet tested before release, though updates can break systems and security fixes can lag.
Recommended as a rolling Debian desktop with newer packages than stable yet tested before release, though updates can break systems and security fixes can lag.
27 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 20
- criticize it
- 7
- approval share
- 74%
Recommended in 8 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 20 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 2.9 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 8 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Newer packages than stable
“Debian Testing hits nice mix between "new enough" and "someone actually tested stuff before publishing"”
Comment from 2 Dec 2025 in “After Windows Update, Password icon invisible, click where it used to be” “Debian Testing hits nice mix between new enough and someone actually tested stuff before publishing”
Comment from 2 Dec 2025 in “After Windows Update, Password icon invisible, click where it used to be” “People who want to have more (most ?) recent software on Debian should go for Debian Testing.”
Comment from 2 Jan 2026 in “Linux is good now; to feel like you actually own your PC, put Linux on it” - Comment from 18 Nov 2025 in “Windows 11 adds AI agent that runs in background with access to personal folders”
- Comment from 10 Feb 2026 in “Simplifying Vulkan One Subsystem at a Time”
- Comment from 8 Nov 2025 in “YouTube Removes Windows 11 Bypass Tutorials, Claims 'Risk of Physical Harm'”
- Comment from 13 May 2026 in “CERT is releasing six CVEs for serious security vulnerabilities in dnsmasq”
Stable enough for daily use
“Debian testing is about as stable as it gets while also being a rolling distribution”
Comment from 5 Dec 2025 in “Framework Sponsors CachyOS” “generally provides pretty reliable & up to date experience with a very good OS”
Comment from 10 Feb 2026 in “Simplifying Vulkan One Subsystem at a Time” “I find it more stable and less problematic that the Ubuntu”
Comment from 28 Feb 2026 in “Debian Removes Free Pascal Compiler / Lazarus IDE” - Comment from 2 Jan 2026 in “Linux is good now; to feel like you actually own your PC, put Linux on it”
Tested before packages arrive
“Debian Testing hits nice mix between "new enough" and "someone actually tested stuff before publishing"”
Comment from 2 Dec 2025 in “After Windows Update, Password icon invisible, click where it used to be” “Debian Testing hits nice mix between new enough and someone actually tested stuff before publishing”
Comment from 2 Dec 2025 in “After Windows Update, Password icon invisible, click where it used to be” “Each package gets ~2 weeks of shakeout in Unstable before it gets there”
Comment from 13 May 2026 in “CERT is releasing six CVEs for serious security vulnerabilities in dnsmasq” Good for desktop and gaming
“Usually Debian testing will get you where you need to go with Steam and gaming.”
Comment from 13 Nov 2025 in “Steam Machine” “specifically for recent-enough-packages-and-stable desktop, Debian Testing”
Comment from 8 Nov 2025 in “YouTube Removes Windows 11 Bypass Tutorials, Claims 'Risk of Physical Harm'” “Debian Testing is for desktops.”
Comment from 2 Jan 2026 in “Linux is good now; to feel like you actually own your PC, put Linux on it”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Can be unstable or buggy
“It can be as "unstable" as unstable, while being nearly as out-dated as a stable at points.”
Comment from 2 Jan 2026 in “Linux is good now; to feel like you actually own your PC, put Linux on it” “Debian Testing happened to have shipped a bad package at the repo sync cut-off”
Comment from 17 Jan 2026 in “PCs refuse to shut down after Microsoft patch” “the one where updates broke the system most frequently”
Comment from 2 Jan 2026 in “Linux is good now; to feel like you actually own your PC, put Linux on it” - Comment from 15 Nov 2025 in “A brief look at FreeBSD”
Other operating systems people recommend
The four most recommended other operating systems, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
See all 87 operating systems, rankedWhat people said
27 of the 35 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I'm saying debian testing is less.”
“You could install it to a hard disk and get a ready to use Debian Testing install”
“Each package gets ~2 weeks of shakeout in Unstable before it gets there”
“it is up to date enough to not really be an issue”
“I find it more stable and less problematic that the Ubuntu”
“You're allowed to throw debian testing or arch in a chroot.”
“Over time I evolved to Debian testing for the base system and nix for getting precise versions of tools, which worked fairly well.”
“generally provides pretty reliable & up to date experience with a very good OS”
“Debian Testing happened to have shipped a bad package at the repo sync cut-off”
“There's also a clear upgrade path for users who enjoy Mint or Ubuntu: Debian testing.”
“use Debian testing over Ubuntu”
“it also scared me off Debian Testing initially as well”
“People who want to have more (most ?) recent software on Debian should go for Debian Testing.”
“The "testing" name is one of the worst decision of Debian community IMHO.”
“It can be as "unstable" as unstable, while being nearly as out-dated as a stable at points.”
“the one where updates broke the system most frequently”
“Even better is Debian testing”
“Debian testing is also stable”
“Debian Testing is for desktops.”
“Testing doesn't get timely security updates.”
“Debian testing is about as stable as it gets while also being a rolling distribution”
“Debian Testing hits nice mix between "new enough" and "someone actually tested stuff before publishing"”
“Debian Testing hits nice mix between new enough and someone actually tested stuff before publishing”
“never had any major issues that weren't my own fault, and packages are way more up-to-date”
“they're simply too buggy for daily use”
“Usually Debian testing will get you where you need to go with Steam and gaming.”
“specifically for recent-enough-packages-and-stable desktop, Debian Testing”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.