Slackware 15.0 is no longer a beta: the x86_64 stable release was announced on February 2, 2022. You can download its installation ISO from an official Slackware mirror and boot it from a USB drive or DVD. Before installing, check the release notes and current updates—15.0 has UEFI support, but the standard release does not include official Secure Boot support.
What happened to the Slackware 15.0 beta?
The beta wording is historical. Slackware’s official x86_64 15.0 release announcement declared the stable release on February 2, 2022. The announcement and release notes are available from the Slackware project and its 15.0 release announcement.
There is also a separate Slackware ARM 15.0 beta announcement dated May 12, 2021, followed by an ARM stable release on February 9, 2022. Because the original headline does not specify an architecture, those ARM dates should not be assumed to explain its beta wording. See the Slackware ARM archive for the ARM project’s release information.
Where to download Slackware 15.0
Choose an official mirror from the Slackware 15.0 mirror index. Select the ISO for the architecture appropriate to your computer, and consult the release notes before proceeding. The mirror index still lists the 15.0 release tree; that does not guarantee that every mirror is equally current.
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Do not assume an older ISO includes later fixes. Slackware 15.0 had package and security update activity in 2026: the project published a kernel security advisory on May 8 and a libarchive advisory on June 23. Check the official security advisories and mirror updates when preparing installation media.
Choose how to test Slackware
| Option | What it does | Important distinction |
|---|---|---|
| Standard Slackware 15.0 installation ISO | Boots the installer; you can install Slackware to a system or use the media to explore the installation environment. | The standard release does not include official Secure Boot support. |
| Slackware Live Edition 15.0 | Runs Slackware from a USB device without first installing it to the hard disk. | Eric Hameleers’s release overview describes Secure Boot support for this Live Edition after enrolling its certificate. This is separate from the standard installer’s Secure Boot status. |
| slackware-current | Provides the development branch for testers who want changes beyond the stable release. | It receives active changes and may occasionally break; stable releases instead receive security updates without functionality changes, according to the release overview. |
For a straightforward first trial, use the stable 15.0 ISO. Choose Live Edition if your goal is to run a desktop from USB without installing. Use -current only if you specifically want to test the development branch and can tolerate breakage.
Make bootable media and start the test
Slackware’s ISO images use an isohybrid format, so you can write the image to a USB flash drive or burn it to DVD, then boot from that media on BIOS or UEFI systems. A USB drive is optional; the release documentation also supports DVD installation media. Writing an ISO erases data on the selected USB device, so back up anything you need and verify the target before starting.
- Download the appropriate 15.0 ISO from an official mirror.
- Read the Slackware 15.0 release notes and the upgrade documentation if moving an existing system from 14.2.
- Write the ISO to a USB drive or burn it to DVD using your preferred image-writing method.
- Boot the computer from that media. If it does not start, check the firmware’s boot-device selection and whether the machine is configured for BIOS or UEFI boot.
- For an actual installation, follow the installer prompts and consult Slackware’s top-level installation documentation. Review CHANGES_AND_HINTS and UPGRADE.TXT before upgrading an existing 14.2 installation.
Kernel, initrd, UEFI, and Secure Boot considerations
Kernel and initrd
The stable release notes identify Linux kernel 5.15.19 as Slackware 15.0’s release kernel. The huge kernel includes enough built-in drivers that an initrd is often unnecessary. The generic kernel instead needs an initrd to load modules required to access the root filesystem. The installer can create an initrd, and geninitrd can rebuild one after kernel package updates. Follow the release notes for the configuration that matches your chosen kernel.
Slackware’s release lead, Patrick Volkerding, wrote that the x86_64 edition supports systems running UEFI firmware. UEFI support is not the same as Secure Boot support: the standard Slackware 15.0 release did not include official Secure Boot support. Its release notes describe a manual route for dedicated users and say official support was being considered for a subsequent release.
Testing without installing
If you want to try a running Slackware system without installing to the hard disk, the Slackware Live Edition 15.0 described in Eric Hameleers’s release overview runs from USB. That overview says Live Edition can support Secure Boot after certificate enrollment. Do not transfer that distinction to the standard Slackware 15.0 installation ISO.
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Read the release notes before upgrading
Slackware’s 15.0 release notes provide the technical details for the release. If you are upgrading from 14.2, the stable-release overview specifically recommends reading CHANGES_AND_HINTS and UPGRADE.TXT first. That advice matters because an upgrade is not the same task as booting installation media for a trial.
The release notes also put the long development effort in context: Slackware says it built more than 400 Linux kernel versions during the years leading to 15.0 stable, compared with 34 tested for Slackware 14.2. Those are project-reported development counts, not performance or reliability benchmarks.
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Is Slackware 15.0 still being updated?
The official mirror index continues to list the 15.0 release tree, and the Slackware package database records a 15.0 change on September 30, 2026. Together with the 2026 security advisories, this is evidence of activity on the stable branch as of those dates—not a guarantee about future support or release timing. Check current official updates before and after installation.
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