V5.5+ Testing Channel Changelog

Announcements
1

5.5.0-0

Release in testing channel updates on 20th March 2026.
Leap 15.6 (multi-arch) & Tumbleweed (multi-arch) & Slowroll (x86_64).
Our International Day of Happiness release.

Overview

This is the first release of a renewed testing phase denoted in our RPM change-log via the following entry:

This one has been a long time in development, primarily due to the extensive updates in the back-end - but we are not quite there just yet. The next milestone, as yet unpublished, focuses on getting this work, and just a few similar improvements, into our Stable updates; dictating field testing. Ergo this release. So as this development progresses - and within the scope defined by the change-logs, do consider dabbling as we are eager to push what we have to where we are going. Ultimately to assist with more rapid development as we adopt more modern back-end. With the mid-term goal of modernising our front-end.

Please note that in almost every issue below, @Flox co-maintainer & openQA backend dev, @Hooverdan Rock-ons maintainer/core-developer & forum admin, and myself have played some part. Thanks to all who have played any part. I am happy to present what we have to-date.

Watch this thread if what you see here thus-far is still a little ‘Edgy’ for you.

What’s Changed

New Contributors

@delboy711 made their first contribution in #2998
@hberntsen made their first contribution in #3006
@tsx4k made their first contribution in #3051
@tjkirch made their first contribution in #3076

Test away and report rapidly as we work against the forces of kipple.

9 Likes
4

5.5.1-0

Released in edge & testing channel updates on 22nd April 2026
Leap 15.6 (multi-arch) & Tumbleweed/Slowroll (aarch/x86_64).

1st Stable Release Candidate (RC1)

This is a little early for an RC, but we are shortening our testing phases, and have, in this release, introduced a new Edge repo for early package proofing. Plus we have a pressing need to update our Stable channel soon. Once more releases follow, the intention with edge is to help avoid the more severe breaking changes we often see in early testing.

Alas we can only move on; and at this point that is to thank @simon-77 & @mzyy94 for reporting, diagnosing, and fixing a quotes enablement loop that has bugged us for a while now. We also have our own @Hooverdan (core-contributor) to thank for seeing to some Python/Django make-work I missed during our whirlwind of updates that got us to 5.5.0-0 previously. Again we have a forum report by @sanderweel this time to thank for highlighting that one: broken scheduled tasks in 5.5.0-0. And of course, as always, I would like to thank @Flox (co-maintainer) for some intrepid backend progress that has yet to surface but will be worth the wait QA wise, and for assisting in a number development tasks. I’ll just leave it there.

Oh, and did I mention our Stable repo access is now open, no I don’t think I did. We have yet to achieve financial sustainability, even after having moved to a non-profit now for a number of years. So lets see if this final or first of many moves helps in that regard, or if we are sounding our own death knell. I for one hope not, but we have now been limping financially for over 13 years and we should be leaping not limping. Which leads me to the following:

The “Stable Updates subscription” tier is retained, but is now requested, not required.

What’s Changed

New Contributors

@mzyy94 made their first contribution in #3099

Test away and report rapidly as we work against the forces of kipple.

4 Likes
6

5.5.2-1

Release in edge and testing channel updates on 1st May 2026.
*Leap 16.0 & Leap 15.6 (multi-arch) & *Tumbleweed/Slowroll (aarch/x86_64).

2nd Stable Release Candidate (RC2)

We have our next installment in the RC move towards Stable. I’ll keep this brief as there has, frankly, been little feedback on the last testing release and its associated announcement for that matter. A big change that has likely been missed by some of our visitors here.

In this release we have, due to over a years preparation, now enabled Poetry managed standalone Python - and at the same time moved all, including the now EOL leap 15.6 target, over to using Python 3.13 to run our code - something that was not packaged at-all in Leap 15.6 - a severe constraint in our ability to enable this update. As such we conditionally still use Py3.11 to host our Poetry only on Leap 15.6, but now use the OS Py3.13 as Poetry host on all other build targets.

Speaking of build-targets, did you notice the Leap 16.0 reference above. We are experimenting with this OS as a future platform but due to having only just incorporated it we have little community feedback on capability as-yet. The name is shared with Leap 15.0 - 15.6, our entire openSUSE history there, but it is quite different in a number of ways. It is, for us, a little closer to Slowroll/Tumbleweed than it is to 15.6 - which was a long running variant to give the upstream folks time to assemble this much newer variant. Our capabilities on this OS are likely more akin to those on SR/TW so keep that in mind when testing - contributing fixes. Also note that we have yet to incorporate our own SELinux policy - something we would welcome assistance with, if you have working knowledge in that area. I would prefer a hand-crafted / though-out policy to one auto created without care however.

As always thanks to all here on the forum who have tried to help with our development, and of course to the core team of @Flox & @Hooverdan both of which have, as usual, contributed to this release - which is actually 2 releases as I forgot to bump the version number at the last minute and we are still tied to GitHub in this regard - more on that to come :slight_smile: .

Also note that, while moving to the newer Poetry and having it manage our now standalone python, we have also added robustness to how we install/update our Poetry. I.e. we now uninstall Poetry and reinstall on each rpm update. This allows for smoother upgrades and host venv arrangements managed by pipx in this case. As it was found that prior installs were gathering ‘dust’ of sorts - and as a result could not support the standalone python move.

5.5.2-0 (no rpm)

What’s Changed

5.5.2-1 (rpm)

What’s Changed

Test away and report rapidly as we work against the forces of kipple.

3 Likes
7

5.5.3-0

Release in edge and testing channel updates on 9th May 2026.
*Leap 16.0 & Leap 15.6 (multi-arch) & *Tumbleweed/Slowroll (aarch/x86_64).

3rd Stable Release Candidate (RC3)

Another installment arrives. Here we address at least one rockstor-pre.service failure related
to our recent move to Py3.13 when the OS had no such version (Leap 15.6). Thanks to @Flox , @Hooverdan, @Mark93 for helping to track this testing rpm failure down. Each fix of this type particularly edges us closer to our next Stable release; and of course onto the next testing phase developments.

There remains some issues with pgp key expiration, we have an issue (with workaround) open for this, and a pgp lock issue, again we have an open issue (with workaround), and a newly discovered issue on TW & SR re rockstor.log ending in failure (initrock / rockstor-pre) with a line ending in:

Our TW & SR targets are still considered experimental but there are a few folks testing these releases - so if you are one of them - take a look at that failure to see if you can make any lemonad from it. As it would be good to have those targets working as they has done for a while now. @Hooverdan you may want to take a look at that one as I know you run some TW instances.

Obviously thanks to all for this ongoing effort, we are definitely homing in on the next stable now, we just need to weed our the surprising number and variety of bugs that are simultaneously affecting our rockstor-pre service!! And, in addition, we have just one more Django update to boot :slight_smile: .

What’s Changed

Test away and report rapidly as we work against the forces of kipple.

3 Likes
8

5.5.4-0

Released in edge and testing channel updates on 26th June 2026.
*Leap 16.0 & Leap 15.6 (multi-arch) & *Tumbleweed/Slowroll (aarch/x86_64).

4th Stable Release Candidate (RC4)

We have now a few more fixes, with two assisting with initrock.py and its associated systemd service. One improve our logging - as it proved difficult to diagnose what was previously a silent failure (initrock.py fails at “–DB-- Running - migrate_default”) and the other fixing a cause of that failure. We have also now moved to Django 6 ready to help modernise our UI code in the next testing phase hopefully; and a provisional work-around for another tricky gpg issue. Though we have still outstanding an open issue (with workaround) on pgp key expiration affecting older installs:

We are likely now only one or two RC releases away from our final in-testing Stable RC. And have already begun working again on our installer. Thanks to @Hooverdan particularly on that front for our very own grub theme and for kicking off a Leap 16.0 profile set. Also thanks to forum member @riceru in concert with core-developer @Hooverdan for tracked down at least one replication bug to date. But alas that didn’t quite make this release.

Obviously thanks to all concerned for this ongoing effort, both here on the forum, and in the background where @Flox has significantly contributed to our buildbot production maintenance setup. A massive help to us all - enabling our small team to do big things.

Oh and did I mention @Hooverdan also added an installer Pi5 profile — no I don’t think I did.
Gone and proved it working too! What do you know. TW only for now thought - due to upstream requriements.

On a side note, via the rockstor-rpmbuild repo changes, we have begun our adaptation to libalternatives - thanks to @Flox for pushing me in the right direction (read informing me) on that one. We plan soon to integrate this oft-forgotten repo with our more well-known rockstor-core one.

Also there are plans afoot, and begun, to drop closed source infrastructure dependencies - more on that soon as well, as we progressively approach a self hosting capability in the interests of digital sovereignty for all. A critical factor in sustainability.

What’s Changed

Test away and report rapidly as we work against the forces of kipple.

4 Likes
10

5.5.5-0

Released in edge and testing channel updates on 6th July 2026.
*Leap 16.0 & Leap 15.6 (both multi-arch) & *Tumbleweed/Slowroll (aarch/x86_64).

5th Stable Release Candidate (RC5)

A smaller set of changes this time, in part to help with ongoing developments in the installer builds ready for an across-the-board rebuild on that front. We still have outstanding our:

which would be good to get sorted before we have to move to our last RC - but alas as-yet no takers on that one. But we do have @Hooverdan’s long planned, well researched, and most welcome mount options update. And with yet more heads-up from @Flox we have also updated our Huey task scheduler: which most conveniently has just added Django.tasks compatibility. Greatly smoothing our way forward re scheduled background tasks (I’m looking to you zypper) as Django.tasks itself has, as-yet, no production ready task-runner. Which is basically Huey’s bag.

N.B. We have had to bid fair-well in this release to our long serving Shellinabox. Alas it has suffered from a lack of attention, with basically only myself and @Flox propping up its package config - and little else in the way of activity. @Flox has prompted an update in a dropped dependency within Leap 16.0 but we now think this is the time to put this poorly horse out to pasture.

Regarding the following from our 5.5.4-0 release:

But it did make it into this one.

What’s Changed

Test away and report rapidly as we work against the forces of kipple.

2 Likes