--- title: The docker.io Debian package is back to life | daily.dev description: The docker.io package in Debian has been revived after two years of stagnation, jumping from version 1.13.1 (early 2017) to 18.03 (March 2018). The post... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/the-docker-io-debian-package-is-back-to-life-q4b8t69ts twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: The docker.io Debian package is back to life | daily.dev og:description: The docker.io package in Debian has been revived after two years of stagnation, jumping from version 1.13.1 (early 2017) to 18.03 (March 2018). The post... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/the-docker-io-debian-package-is-back-to-life-q4b8t69ts og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/Q4b8T69TS.png og:image:alt: The docker.io Debian package is back to life og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # The docker.io Debian package is back to life **[Collabora Blog](https://daily.dev/sources/collabora)** · 10 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary The docker.io package in Debian has been revived after two years of stagnation, jumping from version 1.13.1 (early 2017) to 18.03 (March 2018). The post explains the key difference between docker-ce (Docker's official package using vendored dependencies) and docker.io (Debian's package built against individually packaged Debian libraries). It details the packaging challenges overcome: circular dependencies solved via Multiple Upstream Tarball (MUT), and avoiding 'micro-packaging' of small Go repositories that are really just parts of Docker's codebase. The effort required ~40 uploads of related packages and three weeks of full-time work by Dmitry Smirnov. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### What is the difference between docker-ce and docker.io packages on Debian? docker-ce is built using vendored dependencies bundled in Docker's source tree, making it easy to release frequently but impossible to patch individual libraries for security. docker.io is built against individually packaged Debian libraries, requiring 100+ separate package dependencies. This means docker.io benefits from Debian's security support and tested components, but is much harder to maintain and update. _Teams choosing between docker-ce and docker.io for production Debian systems track these trade-offs on daily.dev._ ### Why did the docker.io Debian package get stuck and how was the circular dependency problem solved? The docker.io package was stuck at version 1.13.1 for over a year because top-level Docker dependencies like docker/swarmkit, docker/libnetwork, and containerd all depend on Docker itself to build, creating circular dependencies. The solution was using Multiple Upstream Tarball (MUT) to download and build these components together in a single package rather than packaging them separately. _Debian packagers dealing with Go dependency cycles find relevant discussions and updates on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Make zero CVEs your new default](https://daily.dev/posts/make-zero-cves-your-new-default-dk7ir7jif) · Docker · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Debian -- News -- Updated Debian 12: 12.15 released](https://daily.dev/posts/debian----news----updated-debian-12-12-15-released-xivogx583) · Debian · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Debian's tag2upload Reaches GA For Improving Packaging Workflow](https://daily.dev/posts/debian-s-tag2upload-reaches-ga-for-improving-packaging-workflow-bowfa8k9y) · Phoronix · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [The hunt for truly zero-CVE container images](https://daily.dev/posts/the-hunt-for-truly-zero-cve-container-images-4k2hxsncf) · The New Stack · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#linux](https://daily.dev/tags/linux), [#golang](https://daily.dev/tags/golang), [#docker](https://daily.dev/tags/docker) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/the-docker-io-debian-package-is-back-to-life-q4b8t69ts) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"The docker.io Debian package is back to life","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/the-docker-io-debian-package-is-back-to-life-q4b8t69ts","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/the-docker-io-debian-package-is-back-to-life-q4b8t69ts"},"datePublished":"2026-08-11T08:55:13.418Z","dateModified":"2026-08-11T09:23:29.956Z","description":"The docker.io package in Debian has been revived after two years of stagnation, jumping from version 1.13.1 (early 2017) to 18.03 (March 2018). 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