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[Solved] source.list points to testing question

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shogun1234
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[Solved] source.list points to testing question

#1 Post by shogun1234 »

I just installed a new debian 11 from netinstall. But actually I want to use testing env (I thought I download netinstall testing version, but it turns out I am wrong). Now the source.list in /etc/apt folder is as below. My question - how can I switch to use testing version? I heard that it's not good to mix up normal e.g. debian 11 with testing or unstable version. So I am wondering what is a good way to switch to use testing version.

The reason I want to switch to testing is because this is just my desktop env. So I am not worried about bug, but have more concern about software version. And in the past I always use testing version, but mix up stable with testing version (by changing the key word from e.g. bullseye to testing).

Thanks

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deb http://deb.debian.org/debian/ bullseye main non-free contrib
deb-src http://deb.debian.org/debian/ bullseye main non-free contrib

deb http://security.debian.org/debian-security bullseye-security main contrib non-free
deb-src http://security.debian.org/debian-security bullseye-security main contrib non-free

deb http://deb.debian.org/debian/ bullseye-updates main contrib non-free
deb-src http://deb.debian.org/debian/ bullseye-updates main contrib non-free

Last edited by shogun1234 on 2021-09-26 05:01, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: source.list points to testing question

#2 Post by craigevil »

Use nano or whatever editor you prefer and open /etc/apt/sources.list

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sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list
delete what you have and paste this:

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# Testing (Bookworm) See: https://wiki.debian.org/DebianTesting
deb https://deb.debian.org/debian testing main contrib non-free
# deb-src https://deb.debian.org/debian testing main contrib non-free

# Testing Security (Bookworm) See: https://www.debian.org/security/faq#testing
# https://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/securing-debian-manual/ch10.en.html#security-support-testing
# deb https://security.debian.org/ testing-security main contrib non-free
# deb-src https://security.debian.org/ testing-security main contrib non-free
Then do this:

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sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade
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Re: source.list points to testing question

#3 Post by Bloom »

Stable and Testing are currently very close together, so yes you can.
First, remove or comment-out the lines starting with deb-src: downloading the sources for every package is only needed if you're a programmer and take up useless space if you're not.
Make sure your packages are up to date first:

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sudo apt update
sudo apt -y upgrade && sudo apt -y dist-upgrade && sudo apt -y autoremove && sudo apt -y clean
Then edit the sources file and replace all the words "bullseye" with "testing".
A command that will do it for you:

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sudo sed -i 's/bullseye/testing/g' /etc/apt/sources.list
Then run the update-upgrade commands again:

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sudo apt update
sudo apt -y upgrade && sudo apt -y dist-upgrade && sudo apt -y autoremove && sudo apt -y clean

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Re: source.list points to testing question

#4 Post by este.el.paz »

@shogun1234

I just went through this install process myself, where a fresh download of what was listed as "Debian Testing" turned out to be "bullseye." That's just how they do it at Debian, inc . . . figuring that folks know how to edit the sources.list. I saw on other posts where setting them to "testing" will result in some problems between releases, like the past few weeks were Bullseye release to stable, so "testing" apparently gets wonky; the advice was to edit to the latest testing, now "bookworm." So I had to comment out the "cdrom" line, and then change the "bullseye" in nano to "bookworm" . . . ctrl +o to write, hit return and then cntrl + x to exit and should be good to go for the apt update && upgrade.

I did the install on a Sys76 laptop and edited to "bookworm," got "357 packages" to update to bookworm . . . not radically different. And then I did the same move on my bullseye install in a MacPro . . . got "697" packages to upgrade.

Only problem I have in the laptop with MATE is . . . my wifi network isn't showing up in network manager . . . back for that issue later on.

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Re: source.list points to testing question

#5 Post by Bloom »

If you use "testing" instead of "bookworm", you get essentially a rolling release.

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Re: source.list points to testing question

#6 Post by este.el.paz »

And that "works" up until there is a freeze and release cycle . . . . The only "rolling" distro in Deb is to set the sources to "unstable" . . . "sid" is "rolling" but "unstable" . . . .

I have a thread on this forum or another deb forum asking the difference between "bullseye" and "sid" . . . well covered. Folks weren't recommending to set "testing" . . . . I have had some sid-based distros rip through **other** partitions and erase data . . . it wasn't pure debian, but it was based on "unstable" . . . which it was.

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Re: source.list points to testing question

#7 Post by Bloom »

If you use 'testing' in sources.list, you effectively get a rolling release. Yes, there's a freeze but the rollover to the new testing will happen automatically after that.
Sid has the same freeze, but I can't recommend using that for novices. Don't run Sid if you don't know what to do if a damaged or incomplete package comes in.
You could use something like Siduction, which has a delay before Sid packages are added. That makes me wonder, however, why you can't run Testing then.
The only true rolling release out there is probably Arch Linux. And from what I'm reading, users have as many problems running that as when they wouid have used Sid.

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Re: source.list points to testing question

#8 Post by sunrat »

Bloom wrote: 2021-09-04 09:28You could use something like Siduction, which has a delay before Sid packages are added.
siduction uses the default Debian unstable repos, no delay.
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Re: source.list points to testing question

#9 Post by este.el.paz »

Bloom wrote: 2021-09-04 09:28
The only true rolling release out there is probably Arch Linux. And from what I'm reading, users have as many problems running that as when they wouid have used Sid.
OpenSUSE has "tumbleweed" . . . which is true rolling . . . Gecko has a "rolling" line based on TW . . . . Every once in awhile they will have a "1400 package update" but most of the time maybe 200+ a week . . . .

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Re: source.list points to testing question

#10 Post by riveravaldez »

In fact, just for the sake of information, I guess mother distros (non-derivatives) with a rolling-release model would be:

Debian Sid/Unstable (debatable)
https://wiki.debian.org/DebianUnstable

Guix
https://guix.gnu.org/

Gentoo
https://www.gentoo.org/

Arch
https://archlinux.org/

openSUSE (Tumbleweed)
https://www.opensuse.org/

SliTaz
https://slitaz.org/en/

Hope this results useful.
Kind regards!

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Re: source.list points to testing question

#11 Post by craigevil »

riveravaldez wrote: 2021-09-06 06:11 In fact, just for the sake of information, I guess mother distros (non-derivatives) with a rolling-release model would be:

Debian Sid/Unstable (debatable)
https://wiki.debian.org/DebianUnstable

Guix
https://guix.gnu.org/

Gentoo
https://www.gentoo.org/

Arch
https://archlinux.org/

openSUSE (Tumbleweed)
https://www.opensuse.org/

SliTaz
https://slitaz.org/en/

Hope this results useful.
Kind regards!
Nice long list on distrowatch.com
https://distrowatch.com/search.php?osty ... ive#simple

Debian is still the best. :)
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Re: [Solved] source.list points to testing question

#12 Post by shogun1234 »

Thanks for all your reply. Those are very helpful information. And as usual I switched to testing simply by changing the keyword in source.list. It's been several weeks past, and it's working without any issues at all; so mark this thread as solved. Really appreciate all your suggestions and comments!

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