[Armbian newsletter] - Github Highlights

This week in Armbian development saw significant progress across board support, desktop environments, and infrastructure. Notably, NanoPC T6 LTS Plus was added as a reusable board, and support for Ubuntu 26.04 LTS ("Resolute") expanded to desktop package coverage and testing. Multiple improvements targeted desktop environments, including package updates, installation fixes, and branding enhancements for browsers. Kernel and bootloader updates were implemented for various boards, with mainline kernel bumped to 7.0 stable and u-boot upgrades for Rockchip devices. Infrastructure enhancements included new CI workflows, multi-arch unit tests, and migration to a REST API. Several bug fixes, optimizations, and cosmetic cleanups rounded out the release, ensuring greater stability and usability for Armbian users.

Changes

• Add Beaglebadge. by @Grippy98 in armbian/armbian.github.io#284
• Add few images. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/configng#858
• Add NanoPC T6 LTS Plus as reusable board. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/armbian.github.io#275
• Add NanoPC-T6 LTS Plus board support. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/build#9617
• arduino-uno-q: bump edge kernel to 7.0.0-unoq. by @SuperKali in armbian/build#9696
• base-files: symlink upstream distro logos to Armbian's. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/build#9688
• boot: stop emitting splash=verbose to the kernel cmdline. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/build#9653
• bsp: drop /etc/apt/preferences.d/armbian — desktop pin moves to armbian-config. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/build#9664
• bsp: ship Armbian distributor logo (svg + wordmark png variants). by @igorpecovnik in armbian/build#9674
• chore(deps): patch rustls-webpki and rand advisories. by @SuperKali in armbian/imager#132
• ci: add dependabot config (github-actions, daily). by @igorpecovnik in armbian/docker-armbian-build#16
• ci: build repository-update images for armhf. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/docker-armbian-build#22
• ci: build repository-update images for riscv64. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/docker-armbian-build#15
• ci: drop deprecated golint. by @SuperKali in armbian/armbian-router#41
• ci: multi-arch unit tests + JSON report published to armbian.github.io. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/configng#872
• ci: run unit tests under qemu-user for armhf + riscv64. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/configng#875
• ci: validate board config required fields on PR. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/build#9678
• copyright: match website footer. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/documentation#916
• cosmetic: clean up build warnings (locale, setfont, GPG, oras). by @igorpecovnik in armbian/build#9684
• desktops/common: strip armbian-imager on armhf/riscv64/loong64. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/configng#867
• desktops/common: use epiphany-browser on Ubuntu/riscv64. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/configng#870
• desktops/gnome: drop loong64 from sid. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/configng#877
• desktops/gnome: fix gnome-bluetooth-sendto install failure on jammy. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/configng#876
• desktops/mate: drop brisk-menu + mate-applet-trash from minimal. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/configng#866
• desktops/postinst: drop stray 'fi' from five scripts that fail bash -n. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/configng#879
• desktops/xfce: drop apport stack from packages_uninstall. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/configng#869
• desktops: add mode=build to skip user-dependent steps at image build time. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/configng#859
• desktops: availability + editorial-status filters, CSC menu. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/configng#863
• desktops: brand Chromium / Chrome / Firefox(-esr) first-run + homepage. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/configng#854
• desktops: disable DM in mode=build after install. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/configng#862
• desktops: drop libu2f-udev from resolute (no installation candidate). by @igorpecovnik in armbian/configng#853
• desktops: drop NetworkManager override from postinst scripts. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/configng#861
• desktops: drop plucky and questing release blocks. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/configng#849
• desktops: fix forky minimal installs (drop obsoleted/moved pkgs). by @igorpecovnik in armbian/configng#871
• desktops: flip netplan renderer to NetworkManager on live install. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/configng#880
• desktops: install runtime apt pin so apt.armbian.com .debs. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/configng#851
• desktops: route apt.armbian.com browsers + add code, armbian-imager, restore thunderbird. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/configng#848
• desktops: skip plymouth-theme install when mode=build. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/configng#865
• desktops: suppress dpkg conffile prompt on install (non-interactive). by @igorpecovnik in armbian/configng#856
• Disable Sk-am64b as its not compiling on Resolute. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/armbian.github.io#280
• distributions: mark questing (Ubuntu 25.10) as eos. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/build#9693
• Drop anubis and aptly. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/os#447
• extension: fix importlib_resources detection for U-Boot v2024.x-v2025.04. by @iav in armbian/build#9692
• external: add resolute (Ubuntu 26.04 LTS) to desktop package coverage. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/os#444
• external: add resolute (Ubuntu 26.04 LTS) to desktop package coverage. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/os#446
• external: consolidate chromium configs + add armhf/amd64 coverage. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/os#448
• external: drop jammy from desktop multi-release RELEASE lists. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/os#445
• external: pull libwidevinecdm0 for noble from liujianfeng1994 rockchip-multimedia PPA. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/os#451
• feat(api): migrate to api.armbian.com REST v1. by @SuperKali in armbian/imager#129
• Feature Proposal - armbian-firstlogin add support for web setup fallback. by @Grippy98 in armbian/build#9639
• Fix. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/os#453
• Fix copyright formatting in mkdocs.yml. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/documentation#917
• fix recomputer rk35xx dts. by @ackPeng in armbian/linux-rockchip#470
• Fix USB Type-C port for Orangepi 5/5B. by @chaitan3 in armbian/build#9624
• fix(cache): switch to sort_by_key for LRU ordering. by @SuperKali in armbian/imager#131
• fix(download): use direct_url so filename keeps its extension. by @SuperKali in armbian/imager#130
• fix(kernel-config): append missing newline to .config before edits. by @iav in armbian/build#9681
• fix: armbian-resize-filesystem diskdevname fallback for /dev/sda* devices. by @mvanhorn in armbian/build#9595
• gateway-dk-ask: pin ASK with libxml2 2.12+ compat fix for fmc. by @tomazzaman in armbian/build#9677
• json-generation: handle .tar.xz image archives. by @SuperKali in armbian/armbian.github.io#283
• kernel-headers: add version to linux-headers virtual package. by @iav in armbian/build#9686
• mainline: bump to 7.0 stable. by @EvilOlaf in armbian/build#9661
• make-yaml-redirector: add more special extensions. by @SuperKali in armbian/actions#18
• map: accept .tar.xz and register boot-payload / hyperv.zip.xz specialExtensions. by @SuperKali in armbian/armbian-router#40
• Minor fixes and improvements. by @tomazzaman in armbian/build#9655
• module_devicetree_overlays: rewrite — atomic writes + subcommand interface + rename. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/configng#846
• mvebu: helios4 edge → 6.18 LTS, restore orphaned patches. by @iav in armbian/build#9694
• nanopi-r3s-lts: bump uboot to v2026.04. by @EvilOlaf in armbian/build#9671
• nightly: blacklist gateway-dk. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/armbian.github.io#281
• Optimized config. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/os#452
• Orangepi-5-max: Remove upstreamed patches and use mainline bluetooth.. by @fbernier in armbian/build#9673
• partitioning: fix #9201 /etc/fstab entry (double comma). by @iav in armbian/build#9488
• patch/misc: rtw88: fix patch rtw88 driver in 6.12.y, remove in 6.18. by @EvilOlaf in armbian/build#9652
• readme: add desktops bullet to the feature list. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/configng#857
• remove stray left-over patch. by @EvilOlaf in armbian/build#9670
• Rockchip family tweaks: add to group only if group doesn't exists yet. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/build#8479
• rockchip-rk3588: add Rock 5 ITX PWM fan control overlay. by @ccarpinteri in armbian/build#9695
• rockchip64: bump some boards u-boot to v2026.04. by @paolosabatino in armbian/build#9662
• rockchip: migrate xt-q8l-v10 uboot patches. by @paolosabatino in armbian/build#9669
• rockchip: upgrade u-boot to v2026.04. by @paolosabatino in armbian/build#9663
• software/jellyfin: gate udevadm reload on udevd presence. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/configng#873
• sunxi: remove old patchsets. by @EvilOlaf in armbian/build#9687
• targets: align with armbian/build desktop-to-armbian-config PR. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/os#449
• tests: enable resolute on every desktop test. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/configng#852
• ti: configs: family: k3: Update baseline to 12.00.00.07. by @jonaswood01 in armbian/build#9643
• Try with this. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/os#454
• u-boot: v2026.01: fix BTRFS zstd decompression failure (error 70). by @iav in armbian/build#9651
• Update board_slug and board_name for NanoPC T6. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/armbian.github.io#285
• Update RELEASE version in google-chrome.conf. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/os#450
• workflows: chunk external-download matrix across 4 parallel invocations. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/armbian.github.io#282
• workflows: run external-package purge once per workflow, not per chunk. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/armbian.github.io#286
• xt-q8l-v10: forward-port u-boot board patches to v2026.04. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/build#9666

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