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The Debian project has included a new repository component non-free-firmware in Debian bookworm.

Is it the same as the non-free repository ?

Do I need to activate the new component alongside of the old non-free in my sources.list?

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No, non-free and non-free-firmware are not the same repositories and if you want both, you need to activate both.

The decision to create non-free-firmware was taken as firmware very often does not meet the Debian Free Software Guidelines. However, in many cases is quite cumbersome (if not impossible) to be replaced/avoided for having a usable system. Free software often cannot keep pace with whatever drivers etc. are needed.

It was also decided, that the option to exclude non-free software that is not a basic requirement to have a running PC should still be present. Thus the respective software packages remain in non-free.

Note that since Bookworm non-free-firmware is a default part of installation media, whereas non-free is not. This is also different from previous installation images, where non-free software was generally excluded.

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    See also the section descriptions.
    – Stephen Kitt
    Commented Oct 26, 2023 at 11:39
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    Maybe it's worth adding to the answer that non-free-firmware is added by default to the installation media since Bookworm. For previous versions there were alternative IM downloads for non free firmware.
    – schrodingerscatcuriosity
    Commented Oct 26, 2023 at 15:45

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