SparkyLinux has rolled out version 8.0, nicknamed “The Seven Sisters,” and it’s now fully aligned with Debian 13.0 “Trixie.” The codename references the famous Pleiades star cluster in Taurus, visible to the naked eye and roughly 444 light-years away. This release brings updated software across the board, with ISO images built as of August 13, 2025.
The new default kernel is Linux 6.12.41-LTS, with optional versions 6.16.0 and 6.6.99-LTS in the repos. Key package updates include LibreOffice 25.2.3, KDE Plasma 6.3.6, LXQt 2.1.0, MATE 1.26, Xfce 4.20, Openbox 3.6.1, Firefox 128.13.0esr (141.0.3 in the repo), and Thunderbird 128.13.0esr.
GIMP is now bundled in all ISO images, and a new command-line package management tool, sparky-package-tool (spt), has been introduced. The CLI installer gains support for home partition encryption and automatic full-disk partitioning. Openbox users will notice that Thunar replaces PCManFM, and Sparky APTus AppCenter has been cleaned up to remove packages dropped from Debian “Trixie.”
There are some caveats. Disk encryption during installation via Calamares is currently unreliable, and older third-party KDE Plasma 6 themes will not work. Raspberry Pi images are planned but not yet available. x86/i686 ISO images have been discontinued, although i386 packages remain in the repo. UEFI installs require an active internet connection.
SparkyLinux 7.x users can upgrade directly to 8.x following the official guide. Fresh ISOs can be downloaded from the SparkyLinux website.
