How to install Debian 13 step by step

Debian 13 is a stable and popular Linux dis­tri­bu­tion that works well for both beginners and advanced users. You can install Debian 13 in just a few steps, even without prior ex­per­i­ence. Follow our step-by-step guide to install Debian 13 smoothly and ef­fi­ciently.

Step 1: Pre­par­a­tions for in­stalling Debian 13

Before you install the Linux dis­tri­bu­tion Debian 13, it’s important to make a few pre­par­a­tions to ensure a smooth setup.

Start by checking whether your computer meets the minimum system re­quire­ments for Debian 13. For the desktop version, Debian re­com­mends the following spe­cific­a­tions for new in­stall­a­tions as well as for Debian 13 upgrades:

• Processor: at least 1 GHz
• Memory (RAM): at least 1 GB (re­com­men­ded: 2 GB)
• Hard drive space: at least 10 GB

A stable internet con­nec­tion is es­pe­cially useful if you want to install ad­di­tion­al software packages during or after the Debian 13 in­stall­a­tion.

Step 2: Back up data

If your computer already contains data, be sure to create a backup before you install Debian 13. You can save your files on an external hard drive, a USB stick, or in the cloud. Keep in mind that in­stalling Debian may reformat your hard drive and erase all existing data. A proper backup ensures that important files are not lost.

Step 3: Create in­stall­a­tion media

To install Debian 13, you will need a bootable medium, such as a bootable USB stick with Debian 13. Follow these steps to create one:

• Download the Debian 13 ISO image from the official website.
• Prepare the USB stick and make sure it is properly formatted and bootable so that your computer can start from it.
• On Windows: Use tools like Rufus.
• On macOS: Use the Terminal or ap­plic­a­tions like balen­aEtch­er.
• On Linux: Use dd or tools such as Etcher.

Step 4: Boot from USB stick

After preparing your in­stall­a­tion media, configure your computer to boot from it. This step, called booting, is required to start the Debian 13 in­stall­a­tion. Insert the prepared USB stick into an available USB port on your computer, and make sure no other external drives are connected to avoid confusion.

Restart your computer and press the key that opens the boot menu during startup. The exact key depends on the man­u­fac­turer and is usually shown briefly on the screen; common options are F12, F10, Esc, or Del. In the boot menu, select the USB stick as the startup medium and confirm with Enter. After a short moment, the in­stall­a­tion menu will appear, and you can continue with the Debian 13 in­stall­a­tion.

Step 5: Select language and region

Once the Debian in­stall­a­tion menu appears, the first step is to choose the in­stall­a­tion language. This language will also be applied to the system’s user interface after in­stall­a­tion.

Next, select your country and region. Debian uses this in­form­a­tion to set the correct time zone and recommend suitable default settings for your system. After making these se­lec­tions, you can continue to the next step.

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Step 6: Select keyboard layout

In the next step, you will be asked to choose your computer’s keyboard layout. The layout defines which char­ac­ters appear when you press specific keys, so select the one that matches your physical keyboard.

You can test the layout directly by typing a few char­ac­ters in the test field. Make sure that special char­ac­ters such as ‘@’ or ‘£’ are displayed correctly. This way, you can be confident that typing will work smoothly once the system is installed.

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Step 7: Set up network

After setting the keyboard layout, the Debian install process will guide you through con­fig­ur­ing the network con­nec­tion. While an internet con­nec­tion is optional, it makes in­stalling updates and ad­di­tion­al programs much easier.

If you are using a wired con­nec­tion (LAN), it is usually detected auto­mat­ic­ally and requires no further action. For a wireless con­nec­tion (Wi-Fi), all available networks will be shown. Select your Wi-Fi from the list and enter the password to connect.

If no internet con­nec­tion is available, you can skip this step and configure the network manually after the Debian 13 in­stall­a­tion is finished.

Step 8: Create user and password

At this stage, you will be asked to create a root password and set up a regular user. The root account serves as the system’s ad­min­is­trat­or and has full access to configure settings and install software. It is therefore essential to choose a secure password. Be sure to remember it, as you will need it for ad­min­is­trat­ive tasks.

After that, Debian will guide you through creating a regular user for everyday use. Start by entering the full name of the user (for example, your own name). Then, define a username that you will use to log in later.

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In the next step, assign a password for this user.

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With this step, you have created the essential accounts for your system. The regular user is re­com­men­ded for daily tasks, while the root account is spe­cific­ally used for ad­min­is­trat­ive tasks.

Step 9: Partition the hard drive

Next, you need to prepare the hard drive for in­stalling Debian 13. Debian provides several options for par­ti­tion­ing the drive. For beginners, the option ‘Guided – use the largest con­tinu­ous free space’ is re­com­men­ded, as it auto­mat­ic­ally creates all required par­ti­tions without manual setup.

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In the next step, choose the hard drive on which Debian will be installed and select a par­ti­tion­ing scheme. Debian will then auto­mat­ic­ally create the necessary par­ti­tions. After con­firm­ing your choice, the hard drive will be formatted and prepared for in­stall­a­tion. This process may take a few minutes.

Step 10: Choose software

In the next step, you will decide which software to install with Debian 13. Here you can choose the com­pon­ents and desktop en­vir­on­ments you want. For beginners, it is re­com­men­ded to keep the default settings, as they already provide all the essential programs and tools.

You can also select a desktop en­vir­on­ment such as GNOME, Xfce, KDE, or LXDE. GNOME is the default for Debian and offers a modern, user-friendly interface. The standard system tools should stay enabled since they provide important features like file man­age­ment, network con­fig­ur­a­tion, and terminal access.

Op­tion­ally, you may include ad­di­tion­al software packages, such as office ap­plic­a­tions or server tools. If you are uncertain, you can skip these for now, as more software can always be installed later via the package manager. Once you’ve made your se­lec­tions, Debian continues with the in­stall­a­tion process.

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Step 11: Install boot­load­er

After the software in­stall­a­tion, you need to configure the boot­load­er GRUB. The boot­load­er is a critical program that enables your computer to start Debian 13. Without GRUB, the system would not know which hard drive or partition to use for booting the operating system.

Debian will ask whether you want to install GRUB. Confirm with ‘Yes’, as the boot­load­er is required for a func­tion­ing system. You will then be prompted to choose the hard drive where GRUB should be installed—usually, this is the primary hard drive.

Once confirmed, Debian installs and con­fig­ures GRUB auto­mat­ic­ally, ensuring that your computer boots directly into Debian at the next startup. After this step, the in­stall­a­tion can be completed.

Step 12: Complete the in­stall­a­tion of Debian 13

After the boot­load­er is installed, Debian finalises the setup by con­fig­ur­ing all selected software packages and com­plet­ing the system in­stall­a­tion. This step may take a few minutes, depending on your computer’s speed. When the Debian 13 in­stall­a­tion is finished, a message will appear in­dic­at­ing that the system can be restarted. Remove the USB stick to prevent booting again from the in­stall­a­tion media, then press Enter to restart the computer.

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After re­start­ing, Debian 13 will display the login screen. Sign in with the user account you created earlier. You will then see the desktop en­vir­on­ment you selected during in­stall­a­tion, such as GNOME. At this point, your system is fully op­er­a­tion­al and ready to use.

As a final step, update your system to the latest version. Open a terminal and run the following commands:

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade

These commands will download the current package list and install all available updates. Your Debian 13 system is now fully installed, up to date, and ready to use. From here, you can start working with the operating system and add ad­di­tion­al tools and programs, such as in­stalling Post­gr­eSQL on Debian 13.