[News from Armbian] - Github Highlights

This week in Armbian development saw a broad range of updates spanning kernel enhancements, desktop improvements, and infrastructure refinements. Notable changes include new developer documentation for the desktop submodule, expanded GPU and multimedia support for vendor-kernel desktops, and several kernel version bumps for various platforms. The build system received fixes for filesystem resizing and improved dependency handling, while CI workflows were optimized with increased timeouts and better error handling. New hardware targets were added, including Radxa Dragon Q6A and Nio 12L, alongside updates to u-boot and kernel drivers for multiple devices. Additional improvements focused on patch maintenance, logo updates, and enhanced automation for VM provisioning. These collective efforts continue to strengthen Armbian’s reliability, performance, and hardware compatibility.

Changes

• Add developer guide for the desktop submodule. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/documentation#912
• armbian-kernel: btf: fixes + enable KPROBES. by @rpardini in armbian/build#9715
• armbian-resize-filesystem: fix typo $rootdev → $diskdev in do_expand_partition. by @iav in armbian/build#9702
• artifact-uboot: add UBOOT_GIT_CACHE_TTL (fixes #7710). by @iav in armbian/build#9699
• ci/unit-tests: bump job timeouts by +30 minutes. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/configng#890
• ci/unit-tests: cancel in-flight runs on supersede. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/configng#891
• cli: kernel-dtb: pass -@ to normalized dtc invocation. by @rpardini in armbian/build#9720
• config.system: add Bianbu to the desktop install menu. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/configng#893
• desktops: enable panthor-gpu DT overlay on rk3588 vendor-kernel desktops. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/configng#886
• desktops: install libv4l-0 before rockchip-multimedia packages. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/configng#887
• desktops: move mesa/GPU runtime + diagnostics to common mid tier. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/configng#885
• desktops: prune unused wallpaper assets (-15 MB). by @igorpecovnik in armbian/configng#882
• desktops: strip libreoffice on jammy/riscv64 (no upstream build). by @igorpecovnik in armbian/configng#883
• env_init: reconcile BRANCH from installed kernel on every startup. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/configng#892
• external: enable code (VSCode) pull for jammy. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/os#457
• generate-armbian-images-json: detect preinstalled app past kernel rc/beta tag. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/armbian.github.io#294
• genio: edge: bump to collabora's 6.19.8. by @rpardini in armbian/build#9721
• helios64: u-boot: bump to v2026.04 + diagnostics + CMD_FILEENV; v2026.04: generic btrfs zstd fix. by @iav in armbian/build#9675
• hetzner: validate GitHub runner token before provisioning any VM. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/actions#19
• Improve Radxa logo. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/armbian.github.io#293
• kernel: add dependency of initramfs-tools for linux-image package. by @amazingfate in armbian/build#9727
• libbpf: fix const correctness in resolve_full_path for gcc15. by @EvilOlaf in armbian/linux-rockchip#474
• meson64-6.12: oldlts: update meson-axg mmc phase configuration patch. by @rpardini in armbian/build#9712
• mvebu: edge → 6.18 LTS family-wide + restore 4 patches lost in #6135. by @iav in armbian/build#9709
• Odin2: Now we can switch back to upstream sdhci-msm driver. by @kasimling in armbian/build#9703
• odroidhc4: u-boot: bump 2026.01 -> 2026.04 (final) & add LWIP. by @rpardini in armbian/build#9714
• owncloud: fix CI install test + docker_operation_progress pull/error-handling bugs it exposed. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/configng#888
• owncloud: fix CI install test + docker_operation_progress pull/error-handling bugs it exposed. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/configng#889
• patch maintenance: some rewriting against recent patch versions. by @EvilOlaf in armbian/build#9711
• pkg: prevent interactive dpkg prompts in automated builds. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/configng#884
• qrb2210: switch edge kernel to mainline linux v7.0. by @SuperKali in armbian/build#9710
• radxa-aic8800: Use gcc-14 for Noble release. by @HeyMeco in armbian/build#9707
• refactor(api): normalize application='ufs' to storage='ufs'. by @HeyMeco in armbian/website#9
• release-targets: add radxa-dragon-q6a and radxa-nio-12l with ufs extension. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/armbian.github.io#292
• Revert "Disable Sk-am64b as its not compiling on Resolute". by @jonaswood01 in armbian/armbian.github.io#289
• SpacemiT: Enable additional audio support in legacy and current. by @pyavitz in armbian/build#9717
• targets: set DESKTOP_TIER per desktop block, keyed on DESKTOP_APPGROUPS_SELECTED. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/armbian.github.io#288
• thinkpad-x13s: bump to steev's 7.0.y. by @rpardini in armbian/build#9716
• u-boot: 2026.04: drop #warnings in fdt_fixup_ethernet logging patch. by @rpardini in armbian/build#9713
• Update odroidxu4-current to 6.6.135. by @belegdol in armbian/build#9705
• Update Radxa logo. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/armbian.github.io#290
• workflows/hetzner: expose machine_count and server_type as dispatch inputs. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/armbian.github.io#291

View the full article