SparkyLinux 2026.09 "Tiamat" (Rolling)
The Debian testing based rolling SparkyLinux snapshot ships Linux 7.2 and adds a new MinimalGUI edition built on Labwc, the Openbox-style Wayland compositor.
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SparkyLinux 2026.09 “Tiamat” is a new snapshot of Sparky’s rolling line, built on Debian “Forky” testing and Sparky’s own testing repositories as of September 21, 2026. It is separate from the stable line, whose latest release is SparkyLinux 8.4. We covered it in the news.
The new Labwc edition
The notable addition is a Labwc edition. Labwc is a wlroots-based stacking compositor for Wayland that deliberately imitates Openbox, so it is the natural Wayland counterpart to Sparky’s long-running Openbox image. Both are MinimalGUI images: a small graphical base from which you install a bigger desktop if you want one.
The Labwc image leaves out the administration apps and the Calamares installer. Install from a terminal with:
sudo sparky-installerEditions
| Edition | Version |
|---|---|
| KDE Plasma | 6.7.4 |
| Xfce | 4.20.1 |
| LXQt | 2.4 |
| MATE | 1.26.1 |
| Openbox (MinimalGUI) | 3.6.1 |
| Labwc (MinimalGUI) | 0.20.2 |
| MinimalCLI | text mode |
All editions ship Linux 7.2, LibreOffice 26.8, Firefox 140.16.0 ESR, Thunderbird 140.14.0 ESR, and Calamares 3.4.3. Images are 64-bit only.
Upgrading
Existing Sparky rolling installs do not need these ISOs. A normal upgrade brings them to the same state:
sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgradeAs with any Debian testing based system, read what full-upgrade proposes to remove before confirming. Our LTS vs rolling release guide covers the trade-offs of running testing.
Verify Your Download
Checksums for each image are published alongside the ISOs on the SparkyLinux download page.