How to Upgrade Debian Stable to Testing (and Get KDE Plasma 6)

If you’re using Debian 12 (Bookworm) and want access to the latest KDE Plasma 6 desktop, you’re in luck. Plasma 6 is now available in Debian Testing, which will eventually become Debian 13 (Trixie).

In this post, we’ll walk through:

• Upgrading from Debian Stable to Testing
• Installing KDE Plasma 6 (6.2.4)
• Verifying your system is running the latest versions
• A few important caveats to keep in mind

⚠️ Warning: Debian Testing is exactly that—testing. It may not be as polished or stable as the current Stable release. Back up your data before proceeding.

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🔧 Step 1: Make Sure You’re Fully Updated

Before doing anything else, make sure your system is fully up to date.

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade

After upgrading, it’s a good idea to reboot:

sudo reboot

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✏️ Step 2: Edit Your APT Sources to Point to Testing

Open your sources list:

sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list

Use Nano’s search and replace feature:

• Press Ctrl + \ (or Ctrl + W, then R)
• Search for: bookworm
• Replace with: trixie
• Press A to apply to all

📝 Note:
If you want to always track Testing, replace bookworm with testing.
If you want to always stay on Stable, replace it with stable.

Save and exit with:

Ctrl + X → Y → Enter

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🔄 Step 3: Update and Upgrade to Debian Testing

Now pull in the Testing packages:

sudo apt update

Then begin the full upgrade:

sudo apt full-upgrade

This may take some time. Plasma 6 and a newer kernel (6.12) are part of this upgrade, which can be over 1.5GB of downloads depending on your setup.

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🔁 Step 4: Reboot

Once the upgrade is complete, reboot into your updated system:

sudo reboot

You’ll now be running Debian Testing with KDE Plasma 6.2.4 and Linux kernel 6.12.

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🖥️ Step 5: Verify the Upgrade

You can verify your desktop version and kernel like this:

Open Info Center or use:

kinfocenter

Or in the terminal:

plasma-discover --version
uname -r

You should see:

• Plasma: 6.2.4
• Kernel: 6.12
• Qt: 6.4 or newer

💡 This kernel version includes better support for newer Intel GPUs like the A750/A770, which are not fully supported in Debian Stable’s older kernel.

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💡 Bonus Tip: Download Debian Testing Directly

If you want to install Debian Testing directly (without upgrading from Stable), you can download it from the Debian Testing images page. Look for the daily builds for Trixie.

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⚠️ A Word of Caution

Debian Testing is surprisingly stable for many users—myself included—but remember:

• It’s not officially stable
• Bugs can happen
• You’re responsible for maintaining it
• If you encounter issues, report bugs to help Debian improve

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💬 Have You Tried Plasma 6?

Let me know in the comments:

• Are you using Plasma 6 on Debian or another distro?
• Have you run Testing before?
• What’s your experience been like?