Debian 13.3 Trixie

Porfirio Páiz — Mon, 02 Feb 2026 00:50:00 -0600

Previously, I have upgraded from Debian 11.11 to Debian 12.12. On this post I will be upgrading from Debian 12.12 to Debian 13.3.

Pre-upgrade Process

Confirm the installed Debian version just to make sure where we are starting from:

cat /etc/debian_version

Which returns:

12.12

Gather System Information

This command gives us more information about the current version installed on our device:

lsb_release -a

Which returns:

Distributor ID:      Debian
Description:         Debian GNU/Linux 12 (bookworm)
Release:             12
Codename:            bookworm

This is another alternative to get even more information about the installed system version:

cat /etc/os-release

Which returns:

PRETTY_NAME="Debian GNU/Linux 12 (bookworm)"
NAME="Debian GNU/Linux"
VERSION_ID="12"
VERSION="12 (bookworm)"
VERSION_CODENAME=bookworm
ID=debian
HOME_URL="https://www.debian.org/"
SUPPORT_URL="https://www.debian.org/support"
BUG_REPORT_URL="https://bugs.debian.org/"

Storage Analysis

Before upgrading, I wanted to know how much storage space I have used since Debian 11 was installed on my T440p.

Analyze APT Cache

First, I moved to the directory where apt stores the packages before they are installed on the system:

cd /var/cache/apt

Once there, I ran this command to measure the total storage space used:

sudo du -sh .

Which returned the following:

31G  /var/cache/apt/

Meaning that in 4 years, I have downloaded 31 GB either as new packages or updates for existing packages.

Package Inventory

Something important to me before upgrading is to make a list of all the packages currently installed.

Methods to List Packages

Selection List: Saves a basic list to packagesInstalled.
```
dpkg --get-selections > packagesInstalled
```
Detailed Query: Includes status, version, and architecture.
```
dpkg-query -l > dpkgQuery-l
```

Binary Names Only: Useful for clean, one-per-line lists.

dpkg-query -f '${binary:Package}\n' -W > dpkgQuery-f_binPac

Manual Selections: Lists packages specifically requested by the user.
```
apt-mark showmanual > manuallyInstalled
```

The Upgrade Process

OK... enough nostalgia for the moment; this is where the fun begins!

Update Current System

As it is, I need to make sure that my system is fully up to date:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

Modify Package Sources

First, make a backup of your current configuration:

sudo cp /etc/apt/sources.list /etc/apt/sources.list.orig

Then, update the file to switch the codename to Trixie:

cd /etc/apt/
sudo sed -i.bak '/^deb-src\|^deb/ s/bookworm/trixie/g' /etc/apt/sources.list

Perform the Full Upgrade

Update the repository data:

sudo apt update

Check for upgradable packages:

sudo apt list --upgradable

We will upgrade first without installing new packages:

sudo apt upgrade --without-new-pkgs

Once this is completed, we can fully upgrade our system:

sudo apt full-upgrade

Conclusion

Once this process was completed, I was able to reboot my system and run Debian 13.3 on my Lenovo ThinkPad T440p without having to reinstall from scratch.

porfirio's blog - trixie

Debian 13.3 Trixie

Pre-upgrade Process

Gather System Information

Storage Analysis

Analyze APT Cache

Package Inventory

Methods to List Packages

The Upgrade Process

Update Current System

Modify Package Sources

Perform the Full Upgrade

Conclusion