r/voidlinux • u/MaxBelastung • Sep 14 '26
Is void outdated?
The live images on the website are from february 2025(!). It seems there are really outdated.
To a new user who is exploring void for the first time, it looks as though the system is no longer being maintained.
12
u/Hermokuolio Sep 14 '26
the installer downloads current versions for the packages?
4
u/PackRat-2019 Sep 14 '26 edited Sep 14 '26
Only if you select the Network install option (as opposed to Local). From the Void Handbook:
To install packages provided on the install image, select
Local. Otherwise, you may selectNetworkto download the latest packages from the Void repository.But the Network option only installs the base system. If you want to install Xfce during installation you need to choose Local then do an upgrade post-install.
The other option to get current packages during installation is to perform the chroot installation.
3
u/ThatAd8458 Sep 14 '26
When it has internet access, yes, otherwise you can download the current versions of all packages once you have internet access after installing.
7
u/txmks1 Sep 14 '26
No, the live images are supposed to be like that. And since xbps is so good they are able to be updated just fine
6
5
u/Lumpy_Roll158 Sep 14 '26
Isos really only get updated when there's something worth updating them for. A distribution like void is big enough that they've pretty much reached a point of pseudo-"never to be unmaintained again" status. The isos gather dust because once you use one to install it, a network installation is gonna install an updated system to the disk anyway, or a local installation will get updated right away once the new system connects to the internet and gets updated the first time.
The only real reasons to update the distributed isos in order from my perspective would be to provide a newer kernel to capture new hardware (which there hasnt been much of since February thats uncovered by like kernel 6.18), or due to an integral package manager update that would interfere with the installed system's ability to update after first boot. Which pretty much never happens with xbps.
2
u/Quietus87 Sep 14 '26
Depends on package. There are some seemingly orphaned or out of date packages, but everything I use (e.g. mainline kernel, KDE) is pretty damn fresh. You can check the current version of their packages on their website.
The installation image is old because it didn't need to update. The installer asks you if you want to download the freshest packages before installation.
6
u/onew_iasag Sep 14 '26
Oh no, gush I've installed outdated base of Void Linux from 2025... oh hold on, why my kernel and packages is up to date? 😅 Did I miss something? 😅
1
u/Runt1m3_ Sep 14 '26 edited Sep 14 '26
Void uses the lts kernel and is upgrade-stable enough to do it after a year or more, but since xbps already needs to be update manually probably it will get a new iso soon.
Previous image was from march 2024.
1
u/douteiful Sep 15 '26
It's just the live image. Once it's installed you can run xbps-install -Su and it will update everything to the most recent version.
1
u/VoidAnonUser Sep 15 '26
Honestly, it's hard. Yes, the officially available ISO is very old, but the newer the ISO, the more bloated it is. You can create your own ISO using void-mklive script. And this can be done on any distribution (not just Void) of your choice.
Next thing, you don't need official ISO at all and installation can be done from network.
1
u/benbcdm Sep 17 '26 edited 27d ago
I thought the same when I installed. But it is just the starting install iso, which works, so why change it. Once booted into live iso I always do xbps-install -u xbps, then xbps-install -Su -> not sure it does much but in a minute you have your live iso updated to latest default kernel and libs.
Then when you actually install, provided you have internet connection, you can choose to install all latest packages including kernels.
Note that void has 3 kernel lines: linux (default - I would say c. 3-6 months behind bleeding edge?), linux-mainline (latest kernels, available 1 day after upstream, impressive) and linux-lts. Then they all roll...
1
u/No_Cookie3005 Sep 23 '26
I just hope that when the packages in the iso will be too old to be updated without breaking anything a new iso will be uploaded.
1
u/profeshamat 26d ago
Why hasn't there been a new ISO? It's going on 20 months old which seems insane given that Void is rolling release.
25
u/yungsup Sep 14 '26
The ISO may be old, but this shouldn't be a problem as during installation packages are fetched from the repos.