The Alpine Linux team has unveiled version 3.23, a major update to its security-focused distribution. This release features the Linux kernel 6.18 LTS and support for recent desktop environments like GNOME 49 and KDE Plasma 6.5. It aims to provide lightweight, customizable options for users across various architectures.
Alpine Linux, known for its emphasis on security and minimalism, relies on the musl C library and BusyBox utilities. The distribution uses OpenRC as its init system, allowing full customization without a default graphical interface.
Announced recently, Alpine Linux 3.23 incorporates the Linux kernel 6.18 LTS for core operations. It now supports GNOME 49, KDE Plasma 6.5, and LXQt 2.3 as desktop environments. Additionally, users can access the Sway 1.11 Wayland compositor, serving as a replacement for the i3 window manager on X11.
A notable change involves kernel management: the linux-edge variant has been swapped for linux-stable, which mirrors the linux-lts configuration but tracks stable series updates. The apk package manager, now at version 3, handles this transition automatically for affected systems. While the upgrade from version 2 remains straightforward, those relying on the libapk library may encounter adjustments. The new apk version retains compatibility with prior index and package formats.
This edition includes refreshed software components, such as GCC 15, LLVM 21, Node.js 24.11 LTS, Rust 1.91, Valkey 9.0, OpenZFS 2.4.0-rc4, Crystal 1.18, Docker 29, .NET 10.0, Go 1.25, ISC Kea 3.0, OpenJDK 25, Perl 5.42, PHP 8.5, PostgreSQL 18, and Qt 6.10.
Downloads are available in formats including Standard, Extended, Netboot, Raspberry Pi, Generic ARM, and Mini Root Filesystem. Supported architectures encompass x86_64, AArch64, ARMv7, x86 (32-bit), ppc64le, s390x, and LoongArch64. Current users can update via the command 'apk upgrade --available' in a terminal. Further release notes appear on the official wiki.