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.
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 What originally made it unique was its approach to creating a hybrid desktop that integrated both web and native applications. In place of traditionally native applications for common tasks (word processing, image editing), it once shipped with the custom Ice application, which allows users to create site-specific browsers (SSBs).
In Peppermint OS, the open-source Firefox browser is used to enable a site-specific browser (SSB) for web 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 (alongside Chromium and Chrome web browsers) 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 at 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 (our in house Site Specific Browser framework) is also included with full Firefox web browser support as well as Chromium / Chrome." - Mark Greaves (PCNetSpec) - Development Team Leader & Support Admin On January 14, 2020, Peppermint CEO Mark Greaves (PCNetSpec) 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 (Bookworm) and Devuan (Daedalus)
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 GDebi (package installer) Nemo (file manager) Peppermint Hub (configuration application) Synaptic (package manager) Transmission (BitTorrent client)
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 Version Date Last respin One 9 May 2010 01042011 Ice 20 July 2010 20110302 Two 10 June 2011 Three 23 July 2012 Four 13 June 2013 20131113 Five 23 June 2014 Six 31 May 2015 Seven 24 June 2016 Eight 28 May 2017 9 22 June 2018 10 14 May 2019 20191210 Peppermint (Bullseye / Chimaera) 2 Feb 2022 Peppermint OS (Bookworm / Daedalus)1 July 20231 July 2024 Peppermint (Trixie) 14 Oct 2025 Peppermint (Excalibur) 12 Jun 2026
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 Kernel updated to 2.6.35, HAL completely removed, Screenshot app replaced with PyShot, some low level utilities and user level apps updated (GNU Coreutils, Samba, PCManFM, LXTerminal, Firefox, and others).Peppermint OS - Uninspiring, DedoimedoDistroWatch Weekly, Issue 359, 21 June 2010
Peppermint Ice Initial Release July 20, 2010 Respin 10012010 - Released October 2, 2010 Respin 20110302 - Released March 7, 2011 The LFFL repository was added. Some region specific SSBs, such as Hulu and Pandora, were removed from the default installation. Some space saving optimizations were made to the ISO.
Peppermint Two Initial Release June 10, 2011 Chromium is the default web browser, Ice SSB framework was written to work with Chromium, the Ice SSB application can remove SSBs as well as create them, added some additional example SSBs to the default install, entire look and feel has been revamped, Dropbox integration has been improved, Guayadeque music player is now the system default, LXKeymap has been included in the default install, Gedit replaces Leafpad as the default text editor.
Peppermint Three Initial Release July 23, 2012 Chromium Stable repository is now enabled by default, decided to go with a very light theme and default artwork, fewer default web applications in the menu, first distribution to ship with GWoffice (lightweight Google Docs client that runs independent of Chromium), GIMP 2.8 is in the Peppermint repo, moved back to Linux Mint's update manager, and a handful of minor things.Peppermint LINUX 3 – The mint with no holes , Everyday Linux UserDistroWatch Weekly, Issue 469, 13 August 2012
Peppermint Four Initial Release June 13, 2013 Respin 20131113 - Released November 28, 2013 Better file system support, mtpfs is now supported, the typo on the shutting down screen is no longer present, the file manager is notably less buggy, and most system updates available from the upstream Ubuntu 13.04 code base have been installed.Peppermint 4 – Turns a netbook into a Chromebook , Everyday Linux Userhttps://www.infoworld.com/article/2829510/peppermint-os-four-review-the-distro-in-the-clouds.htmlDistroWatch Weekly, Issue 514, 1 July 2013
Peppermint Five Initial Release June 23, 2014 Peppermint Five is based on the recent Ubuntu 14.04 Long Term Support (LTS) Linux release that debuted on April 17. The upstream code base will receive updates for five years. Peppermint Ice has been rewritten from scratch and is now significantly more stable and is more feature rich than past versions. The key new feature is that it now supports both Chrome and Chromium as a backend. Peppermint Control Center is our new settings app which provides an intuitive interface to customize and manage your workspaces, window behavior, keyboard and pointer settings, keyboard shortcuts and more. Peppermint Five delivers with PulseAudio now.Peppermint OS 5: Light, Refreshing Linux | Reviews | LinuxInsiderLinuxed - Exploring Linux distros: Peppermint OS Five Review: Move over Lubuntu - Peppermint with 5 years of support is here!
Peppermint Six Initial Release May 31, 2015