The Debian project has just released a new snapshot of its alternative operating system, Debian GNU/Hurd 2025, which now includes a working 64-bit edition. This is a massive update for a project that many people forget exists, but you need to know right away that this is not a Linux distribution.
This latest release is based on Debian Trixie, or more specifically, the testing branch known as Sid. The Hurd is the original kernel that the GNU project was developing before Linus Torvalds announced his “hobby” project back in 1991. Instead of using the monolithic kernel design that Linux eventually adopted, the GNU project chose to build its OS on top of the Mach 3.0 microkernel. Today, Mach is perhaps best known because it forms the foundation of the XNU kernel used in macOS and iOS.
The developer announcement from Samuel Thibault details some truly significant progress for the 2025 edition. The most important feature is the complete 64-bit support for x86-64 architecture. The team managed this by adding NetBSD disk drivers through a Rump layer.
This lets the system use USB disks and CD-ROM drives, which is a huge step forward for hardware compatibility. The project also has a port of the Rust language and includes packages for SMP support, which is said to be “quite working.” The team reports that the Hurd can now run about 72% of the entire Debian archive.
It is absolutely vital to understand that while this is a Debian release, it is not a general-purpose OS you can easily install on your desktop. The project’s README file is called YES_REALLY_README, and it immediately warns you that GNU/Hurd is not Linux. This is an experimental operating system for people who are interested in studying OS design and implementation.
The situation is similar to niche research operating systems like Plan 9. Unlike consumer distributions, this isn’t designed to be a daily driver or a Windows alternative. You won’t be playing games or browsing the modern web here. This is a fascinating release for OS researchers, but it is not intended for the average person.
Debian is well-known for GNU/Linux, but it has always supported running its userland on top of different kernels. Unfortunately, previous attempts to pair Debian with other kernels haven’t stuck; the FreeBSD-based variant was discontinued in 2023 because there weren’t enough developers to maintain it. Debian GNU/Hurd is the one remaining project that carries this tradition of running Debian without Linux, and it continues to move forward.
The real power of the Hurd comes from a feature called “Translators,” which are user-space servers that provide file system functionality. This lets users set up dynamic file systems and network access in a unique way. For example, you can use a translator to access public FTP sites transparently through the file system, treating the remote directory as if it were a local folder.
You can even mount a remote ISO file and only have the system fetch the tiny parts of the file that the ISO 9660 file system requests, rather than downloading the entire thing. This design lets users mount any file system as a normal user, not just as the root administrator.
As the Linux kernel grows ever larger and more complex, having a viable, entirely free and open-source microkernel for modern 64-bit hardware is a great achievement. If you’re interested, you can download it from the official site.
Source: Debian via The Register
Source: www.howtogeek.com
