Preview the Testing Version of Raspberry Pi OS (2026)

Update: You no longer need this article to preview Trixie since Raspberry Pi OS Trixie has been officially released. It’s now the stable branch and readily available. Just use the default installation method with Raspberry Pi Imager.

Check back here later for instructions on how to preview the next testing version: “Forky.”

Raspberry Pi OS is based on Debian and follows its releases, usually with some lag time in between the two. The latest stable version of Raspberry Pi OS version available is currently “Bookworm”, based on Debian 12, but it’s now possible to preview the one based on Debian 13 (“Trixie”). If you want to try out the beta version of Raspberry Pi OS, let me show you how to get it.

To preview the beta version of Raspberry Pi OS in advance, the list of repositories for APT (the package manager) should be edited. Once done, run the APT commands “update” and “upgrade” to install the new versions of all packages.

In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to upgrade your system by editing the APT configuration file and installing all the new packages.

Note: If you’re just looking for how to update Raspberry Pi OS to the latest stable version, we have a separate guide on how to upgrade RPI OS Bullseye to Bookworm.

If you’re new to Raspberry Pi or Linux, I’ve got something that can help you right away!
Download my free Linux commands cheat sheet – it’s a quick reference guide with all the essential commands you’ll need to get things done on your Raspberry Pi. Click here to get it for free!

Raspberry Pi OS Versions

Before going further, you need to know which version you are currently using, and the new versions available.

As previously mentioned, Raspberry Pi OS is based on Debian’s releases:

Debian version	Code name	Release date
Debian 8	Jessie	September 2015
Debian 9	Stretch	August 2017
Debian 10	Buster	June 2019
Debian 11	Bullseye	November 2021
Debian 12	Bookworm	June 2023
Debian 13	Trixie	Oct 2025
Debian 14	Forky	TBA

Yes, all of the code names are named after Toy Story characters :).
You can check this guide to determine which version you currently have, and this introduction article to Raspberry Pi OS if you are not yet confident with it.

If you have a recent Raspberry Pi model, you also need to use a recent Raspberry Pi OS version. For example, Raspberry Pi 4 won’t boot on Stretch and Raspberry Pi 3B+ doesn’t work on Jessie.

At the time of publication, the current stable version is Raspberry Pi OS Bookworm.
If you are using something older, it’s a good time to update it.

The upcoming release, Raspberry Pi OS Trixie, is not yet out as of this writing! It’s not considered stable by the Raspberry Pi Foundation, so it’s not included in Raspberry Pi Imager or on their website.

But the release date is coming soon, and repositories for Raspberry Pi OS are already up and running. If you want, you can now upgrade to test it out!

Note: This method is to install a beta version. It is for testing only!
I don’t recommend doing this in production or with essential services.

Upgrade to Raspberry Pi OS (Testing) From the Terminal

As mentioned in the introduction, we use APT to update all the packages on the system (either directly or with a graphical tool intermediate). APT checks for new updates available on the repositories and suggests installation.

The easiest way to upgrade your system to the testing version is to change the repositories used by APT.

I’ll show you how to do it from the command line first, but after that, I’ll also give you an alternative to upgrading without using commands :).

Warning: Before going further, creating a backup of your SD card is probably a good idea. If anything breaks after the installation, you’ll still have a way to easily come back to the current state of your system.

So, start by opening a terminal.
You can do this via a GUI (Graphical User Interface), on Raspberry Pi OS Lite or even via an SSH connection, it doesn’t matter.

Begin by updating your system with the current repositories, you want the latest packages available for the current version before upgrading everything to the latest one:
sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade -y

Reboot the Raspberry Pi if there were many updates installed:
sudo reboot

Next, we’ll change the repositories used to upgrade to the latest Raspberry Pi OS (beta) version:

• Open the sources.list file:
  sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list
  If you’re new to this editor, you can find my complete Nano guide with the commands and shortcuts here.
• You’ll see one or more lines like this:
  deb http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm main contrib non-free
  
• Replace the Debian code name with the one you want to install, for example:
  deb http://deb.debian.org/debian trixie main contrib non-free
  If there are several lines, change all of them the same way (trixie-security, trixie-updates, etc.).
  
• Save and exit (CTRL+O, CTRL+X).
• Repeat the same thing for any config files found in the /etc/apt/sources.list.d folder.
  For example:
  sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list.d/raspi.list
  

Then, it’s time to make a complete upgrade of your system:

• Update the package lists:
  sudo apt update
  
  As you can see, all the URLs are now including “trixie” instead of “bookworm”.
• Then upgrade everything with:
  sudo apt upgrade
• Press “Y” to confirm the installation.
  It will start downloading all the packages now. It might take a while, especially if you have a slow connection.
• Press “q” to exit the list of changes when it shows up.
• Depending on the packages you have, you might have to answer a few questions during the installation (overwrite configuration, restart services, etc.).
  
  So, you can’t even leave your screen for too long, it won’t do everything automatically :-).
• After that, I recommend running this other command to install the latest version of everything:
  sudo apt dist-upgrade
It’s not mandatory, but it’s generally recommended for a major upgrade like that, to make sure all dependencies are up-to-date and linked correctly to the latest version.
  It’s the same process, confirm the downloads with “Y”, press “q” to close the changes list, and wait a few more minutes to complete the installation.

It will take a while to download and install all the new packages (over 1000 in my case).
Once done, it’s a good idea to reboot your system to apply all changes directly:
sudo reboot

That’s it, I’m now running the testing version of Trixie on my Raspberry Pi 5!

Quick note: If you find it hard to remember all these commands, I’ve put them all on a one-page cheat sheet. You can download it for free here so you have it handy whenever you're working on a project.

Upgrade to Raspberry Pi OS (Testing) With the GUI

As promised, here is how to do this if you want to avoid the command line.
By default, I don’t think there is a way to do it easily. The Add / Remove package tool can’t edit the sources file, you can also see the current repositories.

Synaptic is an alternative to the “Add / Remove package” tool included with Raspberry Pi OS, that can be used to upgrade Raspberry Pi OS to the latest version by using only the GUI.

Here is how to install it on your Raspberry Pi:

• In the main menu, go to Preferences > Add/Remove Software.
• Type “synaptic” in the search box.
• Install the Synaptic package.
  
• Once done, open it from the same location in the main menu.
• In the top menu, you’ll find an entry under Settings > Repositories:
  
• Then in the new window, you can see and edit the repositories addresses.
  
• Click on each enabled repository and replace the distribution name with the one you want to upgrade to (‘trixie’, in this case.)
• Click OK to save your changes.

Once done, you can use Synaptic to update all the packages (use the icons in the top bar), or go back to the “Add / remove software” tool if you prefer.

Either way, your system is now up-to-date.
If you are trying Trixie out before the official release date, you might have a few bugs, but in general, Debian is pretty stable, even as a development release.

Cleaning Up

After the upgrade, you can generally save some disk space by running these commands:
sudo apt autoremove
sudo apt autoclean

This will uninstall the dependencies that are no longer required, and clean the packages cache.

FAQ

How to update the Raspberry Pi firmware?

The Raspberry Pi firmware is installed as a Debian package and is updated automatically with APT. If you use “sudo apt upgrade” regularly, your firmware is already up-to-date.

As a reminder, the firmware and the OS are two different things. The firmware tells the hardware how to start up, while the system controls everything once the device is up and running.

Tutorial: How To Safely Upgrade your Raspberry Pi Firmware (and when).

What is the latest Raspberry Pi OS version?

The current stable version of Raspberry Pi OS is Bookworm. The next release will be Trixie which is available in testing, while Bullseye is still supported, as a legacy version (not all applications are yet compatible with Bookworm).

How long does the upgrade process typically take?

Upgrade durations vary, ranging from 30 minutes to 2 hours, depending on the Internet speed, the Raspberry Pi model and hardware (SD card vs SSD), and the number and size of packages to upgrade.

I would schedule at least one hour for a typical upgrade on a Raspberry Pi 5. Maybe 2 hours if you have plenty of applications or an older model.

How do I roll back to a previous version if I encounter issues?

Rolling back to a prior version of Raspberry Pi OS requires restoring from a pre-upgrade backup. That’s why it’s highly recommended to do a full backup of the SD card before major updates.

If you don’t have a backup and experience issues, the second-best option is then to reinstall the system from scratch, and copy your data from the previous installation.

When will Raspberry Pi OS Trixie be released officially?

The release date for Raspberry Pi OS Trixie is currently unknown. However, Debian Trixie will be released in 2025, so the Raspberry Pi version should be available soon (in a few months probably).

As mentioned here, there are generally a few months between the Debian release and the Raspberry Pi OS released. The longer it took for the previous versions was 3 months (between Debian Bookworm and RPI OS), so we can expect it to be available really soon.

What new features can I expect in Raspberry Pi OS Trixie?

Raspberry Pi OS Trixie will offer enhanced performance, security, and broader hardware support, mirroring many Debian Trixie updates.

Whenever you’re ready, here are other ways I can help you:

Test Your Raspberry Pi Level (Free): Not sure why everything takes so long on your Raspberry Pi? Take this free 3-minute assessment and see what’s causing the problems.

The RaspberryTips Community: Need help or want to discuss your Raspberry Pi projects with others who actually get it? Join the RaspberryTips Community and get access to private forums, exclusive lessons, and direct help.

Master your Raspberry Pi in 30 days: If you are looking for the best tips to become an expert on Raspberry Pi, this book is for you. Learn useful Linux skills and practice multiple projects with step-by-step guides.

Master Python on Raspberry Pi: Create, understand, and improve any Python script for your Raspberry Pi. Learn the essentials step-by-step without losing time understanding useless concepts.

You can also find all my recommendations for tools and hardware on this page.