Can I use "Debian Testing/Bullseye" with LMDE4 Debbie?

[koesherbacon]

I really like LMDE4. The the combination of Linux Mint plus Debian instead of Ubuntu is a great combination. I also really like Sparky Linux, which uses the Testing/Bullseye branch of Debian.

Is there a way I could get the best of both worlds by using the Debian-based LMDE4 Debbie, and switching from the Debian Stable/Buster branch that comes with LMDE4 over to the Debian Testing/Bullseye branch that comes with Sparky Linux?

Would enabling Testing in the repos completely screw everything up? I'd like to hear what all your thoughts are about this idea.

Thanks a lot!

[superlinuxero]

Yes, you can, at least under Cinnamon. I have a testing machine with it and, as of now, it works perfectly. After installing LMDE4 just update your debian sources accordingly and upgrade. No need to change any apt-pinning settings.

It might happen in the future that things break. However, checking cinnamon under Debian Bullseye I realized its packages almost match the ones in LMDE4. That's why I decided to give it a try.

You could even use plain Debian Testing and install Cinnamon (no Mint here). Cinnamon under Debian is quite ugly and doesn't include all the goddies from Mint, like language installation checking, mintupdate, themes and icons, but those could be installed manually, even compiled if you wanted to.

I also have another machine to experiment with Debian Sid, Cinnamon and some mint packages. It works beautifully.

Cheers,

Ignacio

[koesherbacon]

Yeah, I really like the Cinnamon customization made by the Mint team, and want to use this version of Debian since Mint is the developer of Cinnamon in the first place. I really like the combination of Mint + Debian, and being able to use Mint + Debian (Testing) makes it even more appealing! Thanks for the advice, I'm off to partition and install! Wish me luck

[t42]

Can I use "Debian Testing/Bullseye" with LMDE4 Debbie?

To install Bullseye Cinnamon you can use the latest Debian Cinnamon Testing iso:
https://cdimage.debian.org/cdimage/unof ... onfree.iso
found in this directory
https://cdimage.debian.org/cdimage/unof ... so-hybrid/
here is my Debian Testing with Cinnamon 4.4.8

Compared to LMDE, this system has a newer package base and lacks the Mint Update module. In the long run its Cinnamon version will be the same or newer then that of the LMDE version. Debian Testing is fairly stable. The absence of Mint update module is negligible for a person who is good enough to mess up with software sources , such person should be very comfortable to update his OS a Debian way with terminal.
So, there is no practical reason to move LMDE4 to Debian Testing base except a love to experiment. If you need latest software, boot your Debian Cinnamon Testing, if you need as stable as Debian Buster and as comfortable as Mint OS, boot LMDE4.
The very first LMDE editions were based on Debian testing and were (semi-)rolling releases. Clem explained more than once why it was not practical and why LMDE moved to the Debian stable base. Here is one of his recent comments on the subject:
https://blog.linuxmint.com/?p=3860#comment-153629

[Karibou1312]

Hello,
It will be fantastic if I can have LMDE4 based on Debian Sid !
Please, I am beginner, and I don't want to have Linux Minty based on Ubntu.
So, please, how can do to have a LMDE4 base on Debian Sid ?
1) If I go from LMDE4 , which file I have to modify ? what are the different steps to do that ? How update the Debian sources ?
2) If I install Debian testing, and I transform it to Debian Sid, how can I installed manually (even compiled) goddies from Mint, like language installation checking, mintupdate, themes and icons.... ? What is the procedure to do that ?
3) For superlinuxero, is your experiment machine with Debian Sid, Cinnamon and some mint packages works beautifully untl now ? or you have problems ?
Many thanks for your help !
Karibou1312

[ne0h]

Yes, you can, at least under Cinnamon. I have a testing machine with it and, as of now, it works perfectly. After installing LMDE4 just update your debian sources accordingly and upgrade. No need to change any apt-pinning settings.

It might happen in the future that things break. However, checking cinnamon under Debian Bullseye I realized its packages almost match the ones in LMDE4. That's why I decided to give it a try.

You could even use plain Debian Testing and install Cinnamon (no Mint here). Cinnamon under Debian is quite ugly and doesn't include all the goddies from Mint, like language installation checking, mintupdate, themes and icons, but those could be installed manually, even compiled if you wanted to.

I also have another machine to experiment with Debian Sid, Cinnamon and some mint packages. It works beautifully.

Cheers,

Ignacio

in debian 11 cinnamon is at version 4.8 but not 5. if I change the repo from buster to bullseye and leave mint's debbie repo, does cinnamon stay at version 5, or will it be upgraded to 4.8? Thank you.

[jwiz]

Cinnanom 5.0.5 has meanwhile arrived in the Debian 11 experimental repo.
You can install it from there, but no guarantees that things may break though.

[famouslastwords]

Lol ... there's like 3-4 people asking different things. Folks start your own threads (probably won't get many worthwhile answers but still.)

Have done this, LMDE4 or whichever to whatever was the next bump up compared to it in Debian. Dist-upgraded the thing, got it working but expect issues. If remember corrrectly had to sort out a bunch of issues just during the process of installing Lmde itself. Create a full backup for your working Lmde install beforehand and no matter what happens to you, if you can't figure it out(migrating it to xyz-Debian hybrid) and get it working, it's only a matter of minutes to restore that backup, worst case.

Mint is great nix, even as is, out of box condition etc. Of course being gnu/Nix someone can tweak, tune and customize all hades out of it, which of course I always do. I'll occasionally install a bunch of the LM releases, usually every 3-4yrs just to play around with them, see how Mint's coming along, they don't stay anything like out-of-box condition for very long though. Have been a Debian user for most the time I've been using Nix and will remain so ...

Anyway .. that's one of the many awesome things about Linux and tech, take some basic precautions and exercise the slightest bit of common sense (make a backup) and no matter what you do or how badly you mess most things up, a person can restore their OS and be back in business quickly. Break it, figure it out and fix, then find new and exciting ways to break it again.

[axisofevil]

Or use a VM.

[Aztaroth]

Would enabling Testing in the repos completely screw everything up? I'd like to hear what all your thoughts are about this idea.

The question should not be put in terms of possibility (Can I), but in terms of interest (Would it be interesting to) and frankly I don't see a good answer to the second question :
- Cinnamon is higher in normal repos (5 vs 4.
- if you know how to do it, kernel can be upgraded to higher versions than Bullseye (I run 5-11-15 without problems on many machines)
- if an app is really too old for your needs, you'll certainly have the latest release in flatpak.

and you won't mix apt with repos from everywhere.

So, if you really like LMDE4, keep away from maverick tries or at least, use Timeshift.

[famouslastwords]

Big +1 axisofevil and VM's. Are plenty of ways to CYB = cover ye butt when it comes to Nix.

Just some ramblings, Ubuntu/LM are not binary compatible with Debian, don't mix them. At least not without a clear idea of what's, what. Could very well get away with it sometimes. I mean outside of LMDE and never investigated the LM Debian releases in any detail. Debian testing imo and 1st-hand experience and that of many nixers I know, whom very much know their stuff, is the least stable of the 3 main Debian branches. Ran unstable/Sid many yrs without problems. Fixes make it into unstable faster than they do into testing. Bullseye (Debian 11) has replaced Buster as latest stable, as of a couple wks ago.

Am personally a big fan of Debian stable now, are plenty of ways to get newer software, backports, compiling from source, other 100% Debian compatible distro's repo's, apt-pinning from unstable or other branch (provided a person understands what they're doing), snaps, flatpaks potentially ... I never use those for whatever reason.

Mostly cause I like the way it's done now, binaries-etc are packaged by responsible parties and stored in trusted software repo's. Pointless 2 cents, can see the pros as well as cons with snaps or other similar approaches though, just prefer software repo's.

Doing what the OP wants is possible but almost surely not easy or straightforward. A person will have to put in time/effort and have a bit of nix know-how under their belt. Only vaguely recall the brief experience with Lmde to I think it was Debian Stretch, ... went off without a hitch. But by that point had already gotten rid of whichever desktop LM has on it out-of-box (as well as much else Mint specific) and installed Openbox ... for one thing. Don't remember much of what happened.

Oops edit: OR it could be simple/smooth, people can do what axisofevil suggested and play with the project in a VM with no real worries.

[squiggles3]

Hello,
It will be fantastic if I can have LMDE4 based on Debian Sid !
Please, I am beginner, and I don't want to have Linux Minty based on Ubntu.
So, please, how can do to have a LMDE4 base on Debian Sid ?
1) If I go from LMDE4 , which file I have to modify ? what are the different steps to do that ? How update the Debian sources ?
2) If I install Debian testing, and I transform it to Debian Sid, how can I installed manually (even compiled) goddies from Mint, like language installation checking, mintupdate, themes and icons.... ? What is the procedure to do that ?
3) For superlinuxero, is your experiment machine with Debian Sid, Cinnamon and some mint packages works beautifully untl now ? or you have problems ?
Many thanks for your help !
Karibou1312

I tried this a few months ago. Sid will upgrade Python to version 3.9. The current Mint tools, Update Manager, System Report etc. all broke because they require Python3.8. You can have `apt` hold back Python from upgrades though. Other than that it seemed to work for the short time I tried it.

[cpedretti]

Hello,
It will be fantastic if I can have LMDE4 based on Debian Sid !
Please, I am beginner, and I don't want to have Linux Minty based on Ubntu.
So, please, how can do to have a LMDE4 base on Debian Sid ?
1) If I go from LMDE4 , which file I have to modify ? what are the different steps to do that ? How update the Debian sources ?
2) If I install Debian testing, and I transform it to Debian Sid, how can I installed manually (even compiled) goddies from Mint, like language installation checking, mintupdate, themes and icons.... ? What is the procedure to do that ?
3) For superlinuxero, is your experiment machine with Debian Sid, Cinnamon and some mint packages works beautifully untl now ? or you have problems ?
Many thanks for your help !
Karibou1312

I tried this a few months ago. Sid will upgrade Python to version 3.9. The current Mint tools, Update Manager, System Report etc. all broke because they require Python3.8. You can have `apt` hold back Python from upgrades though. Other than that it seemed to work for the short time I tried it.

I made an upgrade from debian 10 to 11, i'm on Cinnamon 5.0.5, many minor bugs in Mint apps because the Python version doesnt match.

Just waiting LMDE5 to have an stable environment.

[ne0h]

is there some news about LMDE5?
i'll try time ago to install the 5.10 too, but i come back in 4.19, it's really stable.
and...too high risk to update to bullseye from Debbie. I try in virtual machine and and everything broke:-)

[Fossy]

is there some news about LMDE5?
.....

I don’t think so but it’s official now , Debian 12 “ Bookworm “ the very last new Debian Sid is released …
I would get my hands on it , if I were You
https://www.linux.org/threads/its-offic ... orm.36247/
( “ And already received a few hundred updates in a few days !!! working like a charm for the moment... dixit Oldhabbits “ ) .

[ne0h]

if i change "buster" to "bullseye" on my sources.list and then i update the list, the repo bullseye security give me always an error.
who did this for, which repo did bullseye put in source.list?

[Monsta]

if i change "buster" to "bullseye" on my sources.list and then i update the list, the repo bullseye security give me always an error.
who did this for, which repo did bullseye put in source.list?

As mentioned in the release notes, it should be "bullseye-security".

[ne0h]

ok, thanks you!!!
has anyone had any problems following this operation?