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MX Linux Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MX_Linux

MX Linux
MX Linux desktop showing the MX Tools window.
DeveloperMX Dev Team
OS familyLinux (Unix-like)
Working stateCurrent
Source modelOpen source
Initial release24 March 2014; 11 years ago (2014-03-24)
Latest release23.6[1] / 13 April 2025; 2 months ago (2025-04-13)
Available inMultilingual
Update methodLong-term support LTS
Package managerApt
Platformsx86-64, i686
Kernel typeMonolithic (Linux)
Default
user interface		Xfce, Fluxbox & KDE
LicenseLinux Foundation Sublicense No. 20140605-0483
Official websitemxlinux.org

MX Linux is a Linux distribution based on Debian stable and using core antiX components, with additional software created or packaged by the MX community.[2] The development of MX Linux is a collaborative effort between the antiX and former MEPIS communities. The MX name comes from the "M" in MEPIS and the "X" in antiX — an acknowledgment of their roots. The community's stated goal is to produce "a family of operating systems that are designed to combine elegant and efficient desktops with high stability and solid performance".

Beginnings

[edit]

MX Linux began in a discussion about future options among members of the MEPIS community in December 2013.[3] Developers from antiX then joined them, bringing the ISO build system as well as Live-USB/DVD technology. To be listed on the Linux distribution clearinghouse Web site DistroWatch, MX Linux was initially presented as a version of antiX called MX “Fusion”.[4] It received its own DistroWatch page with the release of the first public beta of MX Linux 16 (Metamorphosis)[4] on 2 November 2016.[5]

Distribution

[edit]

MX Linux offers ISO images for installation that can be downloaded directly[6] or by using BitTorrent.[7] Physical discs can also be bought from retailers.[8] MX Xfce and MX Fluxbox are available in 32-bit variants of those releases.[9]

The MX Devs create Snapshots for ease of installation after a release. These begin a few months after a release. Snapshots include all upgrades & subsequent bug fixes. This greatly reduces the time spent and updating bandwidth usage during an installation.[10]

Releases

[edit]
  • The MX-14 series was based on Debian Stable "Wheezy", using Xfce 4.10 and then, with the 14.4 release, Xfce 4.12. The MX-14 versions were intended to fit onto a CD, which limited the number of applications that could be included. This series saw the gradual evolution of the MX Tools, a collection of utilities to help users with common tasks that are often complicated and obscure.[11]
  • MX-15 moved to the new Debian Stable "Jessie" using systemd-shim, meaning that systemd is installed but the default init is SysVinit.[3] The size limitation was lifted, enabling the developers to present a full turnkey product. There was a substantial expansion of MX Tools.
  • MX-16 was still based on Debian Stable "Jessie", but with many applications backported and added from other sources. There were further refinements to MX Tools, the import of advanced antiX developments, expanded support, and a completely new icon/theme/wallpaper collection.[12][13] MX-16.1 collected all bug fixes and improvements since MX-16, added a new kingfisher theme, upgraded and streamlined MX Tools, revised documentation, and added new translations.[14]
  • MX-17 changed its base to Debian 9 (Stretch) and brought upgraded artwork, new MX Tools, improved Live operation via antiX, and other changes.[15]
  • MX-18 continued the development of MX Tools, introduced a new kernel, enabled whole disk encryption, added grub themes, splash functionality through MX Boot options artwork, and improved localization.[16]
  • MX-19 upgraded its base to Debian 10 (Buster) and its default desktop to Xfce 4.14. It is characterized by new and revised Tools, artwork, documentation, localization, and technical features.[17]
  • MX-21 "Wildflower" was released on 21 October 2021. It is based on Debian 11.0 (Bullseye) and is available as Xfce, KDE or Fluxbox versions. Disk Manager returns and for share settings, MX Samba Config app (GUI) is included.[18] MX-21.1 was released on 9 April 2022.[19] MX-21.2 was released on 28 August 2022.[20] MX-21.2.1 was released on 18 September 2022.[21] MX-21.3 3rd refresh of MX-21, was released on 14 January 2023.[22]
  • MX-23 "Libretto" was released on 31 July 2023. Based on Debian 12 with bug fixes, new kernels, and many application updates. Available as Xfce (4.18), Xfce AHS, KDE, and Fluxbox versions. Further details are in the MX blog.[23] MX-23.1 "Libretto" was released on 15 October 2023. First ISO refresh of the initial MX-23 release.[24]
  • MX-23.2 "Libretto" was released on 21 January 2024. 2nd ISO refresh of MX-23, consisting of Debian 12.4, bug fixes, newer kernels, updated firmware & mesa libraries, Pipewire 1.0, and two new tools: MX Locale and Papirus Folder Colors.[25] MX-23.3 "Libretto" was released on 19 May 2024. 3rd ISO refresh of MX-23[26] MX-23.4 "Libretto" was released on 15 September 2024. 4th ISO refresh of MX-23[27]
  • MX-23.5 "Libretto" was released on 13 January 2025. 5th ISO refresh of MX-23, consisting of an update to Debian 12.9, kernel updates, MX Package Installer has UI improvements and better version display for packages, updated Xfce 4.20 core packages, bug fixes, language updates, and many new applications in the MX 'test' repository.[28]
  • MX-23.6 "Libretto" was released on 13 April 2025. 6th ISO refresh of MX-23, consisting of: update to Debian 12.10, kernel updates, bug fixes, and language updates. UEFI Manager, a new app for managing UEFI settings. Many new applications in the MX 'test' repository.[29]

Desktop editions

[edit]

MX Linux uses Xfce as the main desktop environment, to which it adds a free-standing KDE Plasma version and, in 2021, a stand-alone Fluxbox implementation. Other environments can be added or are available as "spin-off" ISO images.

The four MX Linux editions:

  • Xfce is a fast and medium-low resource usage desktop environment of Xfce version 4.20 offered in 32-bit and 64-bit ISOs.[30]
  • Fluxbox is a window manager with very low resource usage. This edition was first released on 21 October 2021.[31] 32-bit and 64-bit versions are available.
  • KDE is available only as a 64-bit Advanced Hardware Support (AHS) version. It currently features version 5.27 of the KDE Plasma desktop and Linux kernel 6.0 (or later).[32] This edition was first released on 16 August 2020.[33]
  • AHS (Advanced Hardware Support), a 64-bit only version of Xfce with newer graphics drivers, currently with Linux kernel 6.0 (or newer) and firmware for very recent hardware (for example, AMD Ryzen and AMD Radeon RX graphics cards or 9th/10th/11th/12th/13th generation Intel CPUs).[34] Starting with MX 21.3 a KDE version of AHS was made available.[35]

The MX Linux editions differ from each other in the following:

Software Xfce KDE Fluxbox
Kernel Debian Linux kernel Liquorix[36] Debian Linux kernel
Display server X.Org Server Wayland X.Org Server
Sound server PipeWire
Multimedia VLC and Strawberry MPV and DeaDBeeF
Window Manager Xfwm4 KWin Fluxbox
Desktop Environment Xfce Plasma Desktop none
Primary toolkit GTK Qt C++
Primary Package Manager MX Package Installer[37] Discover[38] MX Package Installer
Browser Firefox
Office suite LibreOffice qpdfview[39]
Email and PIM Thunderbird none

Recent releases

[edit]

A table of current MX Linux Development Team supported releases and how long Debian will provide Long Term Support.[40]

Version Code Name Release Kernel[41] Kernel (AHS) [42] Notes
Latest version: MX-23.6 all DE's[29] Libretto 13 April 2025 6.1.133 6.14 Liquorix 6th refresh of MX 23 with many bugfixes. Debian 12.10 “bookworm” base. New MX Tool - UEFI Manager for managing UEFI settings. Updates to: kernel, applications, and firmware.
Latest version: MX-23.5 all DE's[28] 13 January 2025 6.1.123 6.12.8 Liquorix 5th refresh of MX 23 with many bugfixes. Updates to: kernel, applications, firmware, and updated Xfce 4.20 core packages.
Latest version: MX-23.4 all DE's[27] 15 September 2024 6.1.106 6.10.10 Liquorix 4th refresh of MX 23. Bugfixes, kernel updates, application updates, updated firmware packages and updated Xfce 4.18 core packages.
Latest version: MX-23.3 all DE's[26] 19 May 2024 6.1.90 6.8.9 3rd refresh of MX 23. AHS now has the 6.8.9 Liquorix Kernel.
Latest version: MX-23.2 all DE's[25] 21 January 2024 6.1.x 6.6 2nd refresh of MX 23. AHS now has the 6.6 Liquorix Kernel.
Latest version: MX-23.1 all DE's[24] 15 October 2023 6.1.x 6.5 First refresh of MX 23. All ISOs have been updated to the newest 6.1 Kernel, and AHS now has the 6.5 Kernel.
Latest version: MX-23 all DE's[23] 31 July 2023 6.1.0[43] 6.4.0 Xfce Desktop Environment upgraded to 4.18

Debian Main Support to June 2026.
Long Term Support to June 30, 2028.[44]

Supported: MX-21[45] Wildflower 21 October 2021 5.10 6.0 Debian Main Support to August 2024.
Long Term Support to August 31, 2026.[44]
Unsupported: MX-19 patio feo 21 October 2019[46] 4.19

Debian Long Term Support to June 30, 2024.[44]

Legend:
Unsupported
Supported
Latest version

Features

[edit]

MX Linux has basic tools like a graphic installer that handles UEFI computers, a GUI-based method to change a Linux kernel and other core programs.

MX Tools

[edit]

MX Tools[47] is a suite of user-oriented utilities, many of which were developed specifically for MX, while some were forked from existing antiX applications or are existing antiX applications; a couple were imported with permission from outside sources. These tools are also available in Debian Stable-based Linux distributions.

The MX Tools are as follows:

  • Live - Live USB maker and Snapshot.
  • Maintenance - Chroot Rescue Scan, Boot Options, Boot Repair, Cleanup, Disk Manager, Job Scheduler, User Manager and Samba Config.
  • Setup - About MX Linux, Bash Config, Nvidia driver installer, Conky, Date & Time, Locale, Network Assistant, Select Sound, System Sounds, Tour, Brightness Systray, Tweak, Welcome, Papirus Folder Colors, System Keyboard, System Locales and User Installed Packages.

Software - MX Updater, Deb Installer, Fix GPG keys, Package Installer, Repo Manager and UEFI Manager.

Utilities - Quick System Info and Format USB.

A few tools exist in special cases. Live-USB Kernel Updater and Remaster Control Center are standalone tools. Eject USB is a standalone tool in Fluxbox.

A particularly popular one is MX-snapshot,[48] a GUI tool to remaster a live session or installation into a single .ISO file.[49] The "cloned" image is bootable from a disk or USB flash drive, maintaining all settings, allowing an installation to be completely backed up, and/or distributed with minimal administrative effort, since an advanced method of copying the file system developed by antiX Linux uses bind-mounts to perform the "heavy lifting".[50]

Live vs installed

[edit]

MX Linux can be installed or run live (running from USB), unlike a Windows boot USB. Windows can only be installed (no live option). When booted from a USB, you can continue running 'live' without being prompted to install MX. This live environment gives you a fully functional desktop experience. MX Linux accomplishes this by way of a runtime inherited from antiX[51] to give a fast read-write live boot media.[52] This can be coupled with a persistent live USB setup[53] to save any changes to settings and new program additions.[54]

As of April 13, 2025, there are a total of 106 MX Linux repository download mirrors worldwide in operation.[55]

GDebi replaced by Deb Installer

[edit]

GDebi was an APT tool that was used to install .deb files from earlier versions of Debian. The Deb Installer is a new MX Tool (GUI) that can install local .deb files like the dpkg command, but with access to repositories to resolve dependencies.

Package management

[edit]

Included: MX Package Installer,[56] Synaptic, Deb Installer, Aptitude,[57] APT and Nala.[58] Discover[59] is used on the KDE edition as Synaptic is not installed by default. Flatpaks are managed via the MX Package Installer. AppImage and Snaps are currently user-managed.

System requirements

[edit]

Minimum

  • 8.5 GB hard disk space for installation.
  • 1 GB RAM for i686 and AMD64 architectures.
  • Bootable CD/DVD drive or capability of booting from USB Flash memory.
  • A modern i686 Intel or AMD processor.

Recommended

  • 20 GB of hard disk space, SSD for faster performance.
  • 2 GB of RAM.
  • Multi-core processor for good performance.
  • 3D-capable graphics card for 3D desktop support.
  • SoundBlaster, AC'97 or HDA-compatible sound card.
  • For use as a LiveUSB, 8 GB free if using persistence.

Derivatives

[edit]

The developers of MX Linux have also been releasing their own "Community Re-spins", which are treated as unofficial releases.[60] They currently are:

  • MX-Workbench - meant to be a "Swiss Army knife" type of Linux running live mostly.
  • MX_Minimal - contains only the Xfce environment, Firefox and pretty much nothing else.
  • MX_CLI - boots to CLI (Command line Interface) with no Xorg (GUI), no applications, pretty much nothing.

Some community members exchange posts at the MX Forum and distribute their own custom respins.[61]

  • AV Linux is a Linux distribution based on MX Linux, focusing on multimedia content creation.[62][63]
  • iDeal OS - a custom & enhanced "respin" of MX Linux with privacy and security settings enhancements.[64]
  • MX-Moksha 23.6 - MX Linux+Bodhi Linux/Moksha with a Liquorix Kernel, extra system tweaks, and custom utilities WITH NO Audio and Video production applications or Plugins.[65]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Dolphin Oracle. "MX 23.6 isos now available". mxlinux.org. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  2. ^ Smith, Jesse (1 January 2018). "MX Linux 17". DistroWatch.com: Put the fun back into computing. Use Linux, BSD. Copenhagen: distrowatch.com. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  3. ^ a b "About Us – MX Linux". mxlinux.org. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
  4. ^ a b "antiX A Fast And Lightweight Linux Distribution". LinuxAndUbuntu. 3 February 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
  5. ^ Smith, Jesse (2 November 2016). "Development Release: MX Linux 16 Beta 1 (DistroWatch.com News)". DistroWatch.com. Atea Ataroa Limited. Retrieved 18 March 2025.
  6. ^ "Download Links – MX Linux". mxlinux.org. MXLinux. 2025. Retrieved 21 June 2025.
  7. ^ "Torrent Files – MX Linux". mxlinux.org. MXLinux. 2025. Retrieved 21 June 2025.
  8. ^ "Shop Linux Online - Linux Distros on CDs, DVDs, USB Flash Drives and Manuals". www.shoplinuxonline.com. The Galactic Studio. 2024. Retrieved 21 June 2025.
  9. ^ Dolphin Oracle. "Download Links – MX Linux". mxlinux.org. MXLinux. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
  10. ^ "MX-Linux - Browse /Snapshots at SourceForge.net". sourceforge.net. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
  11. ^ Igor Ljubuncic (16 January 2015). "AntiX MX-14.3 review". www.dedoimedo.com. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
  12. ^ Igor Ljubuncic (14 January 2017). "MX Linux MX-16 Metamorphosis - Winds of change". dedoimedo.com. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
  13. ^ Jesse Smith (9 January 2017). "DistroWatch.com: Put the fun back into computing. Use Linux, BSD". distrowatch.com. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
  14. ^ Dolphin Oracle (8 June 2017). "MX-16.1 now available – MX Linux". mxlinux.org. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
  15. ^ Dolphin Oracle (15 December 2017). "MX-17 released December 15, 2017 – MX Linux". mxlinux.org. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
  16. ^ Dolphin Oracle (20 December 2018). "MX-18 Continuum Now Available – MX Linux". mxlinux.org. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
  17. ^ Dolphin Oracle (22 October 2019). "MX-19 "patito feo" released! – MX Linux". mxlinux.org. Retrieved 7 April 2025.
  18. ^ Dolphin Oracle (21 October 2021). "MX-21 "Wildflower" released! – MX Linux". mxlinux.org. MX Linux. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  19. ^ Dolphin Oracle (9 April 2022). "MX-21.1 "Wildflower" released! – MX Linux". mxlinux.org. MX Linux. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  20. ^ Dolphin Oracle (28 August 2022). "MX-21.2 "Wildflower" released! – MX Linux". mxlinux.org. MX Linux. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  21. ^ Dolphin Oracle (18 September 2022). "MX-21.2.1 "Wildflower" released!". MX Linux. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
  22. ^ Dolphin Oracle. "MX-21.3 "Wildflower" released! – MX Linux". mxlinux.org. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  23. ^ a b Dolphin Oracle. "MX-23 "Libretto" now available – MX Linux". mxlinux.org. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  24. ^ a b Dolphin Oracle (15 October 2023). "MX-23.1 "Libretto" released! – MX Linux". mxlinux.org. MXLinux. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  25. ^ a b Dolphin Oracle (21 January 2024). "MX-23.2 "Libretto" released! – MX Linux". mxlinux.org. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  26. ^ a b Dolphin Oracle (19 May 2024). "MX 23.3 now available - MX Linux New". mxlinux.org. MXLinux. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  27. ^ a b Dolphin Oracle (15 September 2024). "MX-23.4 "Libretto" now available! – MX Linux". mxlinux.org. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  28. ^ a b Dolphin Oracle (13 January 2025). "MX 23.5 Now Available! – MX Linux". mxlinux.org. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
  29. ^ a b Dolphin Oracle (13 April 2025). "MX-23.6 now available!". mxlinux.org. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
  30. ^ Xfce development team (15 December 2024). "News – Xfce 4.20 released – Xfce". xfce.org. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
  31. ^ "MX-21 "Wildflower" released!". mxlinux.org. 21 October 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  32. ^ "MX-21.3 "Wildflower" released! – MX Linux". 15 January 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
  33. ^ "MX-19.4 now available! – MX Linux". mxlinux.org. April 2021. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
  34. ^ "Download Links – MX Linux". mxlinux.org. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
  35. ^ Dolphin Oracle. "MX-21.3 "Wildflower" released! – MX Linux". mxlinux.org. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  36. ^ Steven Barrett (29 March 2023). "Liquorix Kernel". liquorix.net. Retrieved 21 June 2025.
  37. ^ Jerry3904 (14 July 2020). "HELP: MX Package Installer – MX Linux". mxlinux.org. MXLinux. Retrieved 21 June 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  38. ^ "Discover - KDE UserBase Wiki". userbase.kde.org. KDE. 7 June 2021.
  39. ^ m-holger (28 September 2024). "Welcome to the qpdf wiki!". GitHub. Retrieved 21 June 2025.
  40. ^ Wiki Staff (2 February 2025). "LTS - Debian Wiki". wiki.debian.org. Debian.Org. Retrieved 25 June 2025. Debian Long Term Support (LTS) is a project to extend the lifetime of all Debian stable releases to (at least) 5 years.
  41. ^ Jesse Smith. "DistroWatch.com: MX Linux". distrowatch.com. Atea Ataroa Limited. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  42. ^ "New "Advanced Hardware Support" Repo (ahs for short) – MX Linux". mxlinux.org. 29 November 2019. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  43. ^ Nestor, Marius (11 December 2022). "Linux Kernel 6.1 LTS Released with Initial Support for the Rust Programming Language". 9to5Linux. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  44. ^ a b c wiki staff (5 May 2025). "Debian Releases - Debian Wiki". wiki.debian.org. Debian.Org. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
  45. ^ Dolphin Oracle (21 October 2021). "MX-21 "Wildflower" released! – MX Linux". mxlinux.org. MXLinux. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  46. ^ Dolphin Oracle. "Previous Releases – MX Linux". mxlinux.org. MXLinux. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
  47. ^ MX Linux Developers (10 October 2021). "Tools To Make Common Tasks Easier". Current Release Features – MX Linux. mxlinux.org. Retrieved 23 October 2021.
  48. ^ Bond, Jerry (13 June 2015). "HELP: MX Save system to ISO (Snapshot)". MX Wiki. MXLinux. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  49. ^ Ljubuncic, Igor. "MX Snapshot - Superb system imaging and backup tool". www.dedoimedo.com. Dedoimedo. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  50. ^ Jaskiran Kaur; Mathew Rooney; Shahryar Raz (2023). bin Uzayr, Sufyan (ed.). Mastering KDE: A Beginner’s Guide. CRC Press. p. 221. ISBN 9781032313665.
  51. ^ Peregrine. "MX Linux – Midweight Simple Stable Desktop OS". mxlinux.org. MXLinux. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
  52. ^ "The Most Extensive Live-usb on the Planet! – antiX Linux". antixlinux.com. Retrieved 18 May 2025.
  53. ^ Dolphin Oracle (14 October 2018). "Create a Live usb w/Persist from a Windows Desktop – MX Linux". mxlinux.org. Retrieved 10 April 2025.
  54. ^ Dolphin Oracle (8 January 2022). "Do cool stuff with live-usbs – MX Linux". mxlinux.org. Retrieved 10 April 2025.
  55. ^ Perigrine (13 April 2025). "the status of MX Linux mirrors". rsync-mxlinux.org. MXLinux.Org. Retrieved 13 April 2025.
  56. ^ Jerry3904 (14 July 2020). "HELP: MX Package Installer – MX Linux". mxlinux.org. MXLinux. Retrieved 21 June 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  57. ^ "aptitude". www.debian.org. Debian. 17 February 2025. Retrieved 21 June 2025.
  58. ^ Sneddon, Joey (6 January 2023). "Nala is a Neat Alternative to Apt on Ubuntu". OMG! Ubuntu. Retrieved 21 June 2025.
  59. ^ "Discover - KDE UserBase Wiki". userbase.kde.org. KDE. 7 June 2021.
  60. ^ "MX-Linux - Browse /Community_Respins at SourceForge.net". sourceforge.net. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  61. ^ "MX Respins - MX Linux Forum". forum.mxlinux.org. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  62. ^ MacArthur, Glenn (22 January 2016). "AV Linux MX Edition". bandshed.net. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
  63. ^ "DistroWatch.com:". distrowatch.com. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  64. ^ Smith, Jesse (5 May 2025). "DistroWatch.com: iDeal OS". distrowatch.com. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
  65. ^ MacArthur, Glenn (16 May 2025). "Change of Plan: MX Moksha 23.6 Released! - MX Linux Forum". forum.mxlinux.org. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
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