Peppermint OS

Peppermint OS is a Linux distribution based on Debian and Devuan Stable, and formerly based on Ubuntu. It uses the Xfce desktop environment. It aims to provide a familiar environment for newcomers to Linux that requires relatively low hardware resources to run.

WWW Official Site

Design principles

Peppermint OS ships with few native applications and a traditional desktop interface. What originally made it unique was its approach to creating a hybrid desktop that integrated both cloud and local applications. In place of traditionally native applications for common tasks, it once shipped with the custom Ice application, which allows users to create site-specific browsers.
In Peppermint OS, the open-source Firefox browser is used to enable a site-specific browser for cloud applications. Instead of opening a browser and then visiting an application site, a dedicated browser window is integrated into the system for a specific application. Support for Firefox was added to the custom Ice application in 2015, allowing the creation of SSBs in a web browser window.
Peppermint OS is a project where you can marry the cloud to the desktop. As with any Ubuntu based operating system, applications can be installed natively from Ubuntu compatible repositories, allowing one to run cloud-based applications alongside desktop software. Like any other Linux distribution, it allows installing packages like LibreOffice, GIMP, VLC, Skype, etc. Peppermint is built from Ubuntu and supports whatever Ubuntu supports. Peppermint OS ships with mintInstall, Synaptic, and GDebi to facilitate this.
Around October 2024, Peppermint started shipping with Librewolf as the default browser.

Nomenclature

Peppermint's namesake is Linux Mint. The developers originally wanted to make use of configuration and utilities sourced from Linux Mint coupled with an environment that was less demanding on resources and more focused on web integration. They felt that the concept was a "spicier" version of Mint, so the name Peppermint was a natural fit.
While Linux Mint is known for its Cinnamon desktop, Peppermint originally used a default desktop that was a hybrid based mainly on selected components from it, LXDE, and XFCE that were significantly more lightweight. As of 2022, the hybrid desktop environment was phased out in favor of XFCE.
Peppermint has consistently released updates on a decent cadence since at least 2010, when it was first released.

History

Peppermint OS was initially conceived at the Black Rose Pub in Hendersonville, North Carolina, USA, during a night of drinking and discussion about the future of desktop Linux. It was originally designed to be a social media-centric distribution.
Pre-alpha development builds consisted of a wide array of potential directions before the decision to fork Lubuntu was made. There was quite a bit of experimentation with KDE, E17, Adobe Air, and several different code bases during January and February 2010. Alpha builds using the Lubuntu 10.04 code base started in March 2010. Peppermint was released to a small group of private beta testers in April 2010 until its first public release.

On May 9, 2010, Peppermint One was released. In less than a week, it received over 25,000 downloads. It soon outgrew its web host and switched to VPS.NET. VPS.NET became the project's first official sponsor.
On June 20, 2010, Peppermint Ice was released with Chromium as the default browser, and featuring a blue and black theme to distinguish it from Peppermint One.
On June 10, 2011, Peppermint Two was released. Combining aspects from the two previous editions, it packaged Chromium as its default browser alongside the Ice application for creating Site Specific Browsers. It was also the first edition of Peppermint to be available in both 32 and 64 bit versions.
On July 23, 2012, Peppermint Three was released. Chromium stable repository was enabled by default; very light theme and default artwork; fewer default web applications in the menu; it shipped with GWoffice; and GIMP 2.8 was added to the Peppermint repository.
On June 13, 2013, Peppermint Four was released. Peppermint Four was based on the Ubuntu 13.04 code base and used the LXDE desktop environment, but with Xfwm4 instead of Openbox as the window manager. Example games, Entanglement and First Person Tetris, were added. Also added were some metapackages for popular tasks such as graphic arts and photography to the Featured section of the Software Manager.
On June 23, 2014, Peppermint Five was released. "With this release we are getting ready for the future. The technology landscape is constantly changing, and we are always responding to meet our user's needs. We are 100% driven to deliver an OS that is fast, secure, and available everywhere. Peppermint Five is another step in that direction." - Shane Remington - COO of Peppermint OS, LLC
On May 31, 2015, Peppermint Six was released. "Peppermint is excited to announce the launch of our latest operating system, Peppermint Six. Lightweight and designed for speed, Peppermint Six delivers on that promise whether using software on your desktop, online, or using cloud based apps. I want to take this opportunity to thank Mark Greaves, who stepped up and produced most of what you see here in Peppermint Six. Mark is now playing a major role here at Peppermint by leading the development team. I think you will be impressed by what he and the others have put together in Peppermint Six." - Shane Remington - COO of Peppermint OS, LLC
On June 24, 2016, Peppermint Seven was released. "Team Peppermint are pleased to announce our latest operating system Peppermint 7, it comes in both 32bit and 64bit editions with the latter having full UEFI/GPT/Secure Boot support baked in, a new version of Ice is also included with full Firefox web browser support as well as Chromium / Chrome." - Mark Greaves - Development Team Leader & Support Admin

On January 14, 2020, Peppermint CEO Mark Greaves died in hospital. After taking over Peppermint from Shane Remington and Kendall Weaver shortly after Peppermint 5, Mark devoted his life to Peppermint with his family's support and went on to release more versions of Peppermint up to Peppermint 10 and a respin of Peppermint 10. The official announcement was made on the Peppermint forum and a memorial fund has been set up by his family to honour Mark's legacy.
On February 2, 2022, PeppermintOS released a new version for the first time in two years. Its main new features and changes include:

Peppermint is now based on Debian Stable 64-bit, instead of Ubuntu or its derivatives,
Dropped LXDE components in favor of Xfce,
Nemo is side by side with Thunar and Nemo as the default file manager,
No web browser is installed, a browser can be installed using Welcome to Peppermint application,
Ubiquity has been replaced by Calamares for the system installer

On July 1, 2023 PeppermintOS released a new version based on Debian and Devuan

During this year there was ARM and mini releases as well

On July 1, 2024 Peppermint released updated ISOs for their Flagship and Loaded builds.
On October 14, 2025 Peppermint released updated ISOs for their Flagship Re-based on Debian Trixie.

Packaged software

Native applications

Release history

Peppermint OS uses a hybrid release schedule. Updates are rolled out as needed in a rolling release fashion, but it is not a "true rolling release".
Essentially, Peppermint is a system that has rolling application updates and some system updates. Periodically, a Respin is released which incorporates minor bug fixes and recent updates.

Releases

Peppermint One

Initial Release May 9, 2010
Respin 05222010 - Released May 22, 2010
Respin 06172010 - Released June 23, 2010
Respin 08042010 - Released August 9, 2010
Respin 01042011 - Released January 4, 2011

Peppermint Ice

Initial Release July 20, 2010
Respin 10012010 - Released October 2, 2010
Respin 20110302 - Released March 7, 2011

Peppermint Two

Initial Release June 10, 2011

Peppermint Three

Initial Release July 23, 2012

Peppermint Four

Initial Release June 13, 2013
Respin 20131113 - Released November 28, 2013

Peppermint Five

Initial Release June 23, 2014

Peppermint Six

Initial Release May 31, 2015
Respin 20150904 - Released September 6, 2015

Peppermint Seven

Initial Release June 24, 2016

Peppermint Eight

Initial Release May 28, 2017

Peppermint 9

Initial Release: June 22, 2018

Peppermint 10

Initial Release: May 17, 2019
Respin 20191210 - Released December 18, 2019

Peppermint 10 is based on the 18.04 LTS version of Ubuntu.

Peppermint OS (Bullseye / Chimaera)

Initial Release: Feb 2, 2022 - Peppermint switched from Ubuntu to Debian
Update Release: October 2, 2022 - Peppermint adds Devuan variant
Update Release: November 6 & 7, 2022 - ICE replaced with Kumo

Peppermint OS (Bookworm / Daedalus)

Initial Release: July 1, 2023 - New branding
Updated Release: July 7, 2023 - ARM Releases
Update Release: October 1, 2023 - Devuan Release
Update Release: October 15, 2023 - Mini Releases Debian / Devuan
Update Release: Jul 1 2024 - Mainline updated and Peppermint Loaded released

Peppermint OS (Trixie )

Update Release: October 14 2025 - Mainline updated and Peppermint Flagship released.