[News from Armbian] - Github Highlights

This week's work centers on expanded board and SoC support, build and repository infrastructure modernization, and refinements to user-facing tooling and documentation.

On the hardware side, mainline support arrived for the Radxa Rock 2A/2F and the Toradex Verdin iMX8M Mini, while the KickPi K2B V2.2 DDR3 gained a full board definition including a new Maxio MAE0621 PHY driver. The Allwinner sun60iw2 platform saw substantial advancement on the Orange Pi 4 Pro with GPU, desktop, and hardware video decode enablement, alongside kernel configuration refinements. The Amlogic C400-plus received U-Boot repacking and Mali-T820 stabilization, the Rockchip armhf edge kernel was bumped to 7.3, and smaller fixes landed for the BPI-M4-Zero, Allwinner D1 RISC-V, MangoPi MQ, and Anbernic handhelds.

The build framework received a significant repository management overhaul, adopting the production singlemode repo.sh into main and publishing with Acquire-By-Hash for integrity. OCI storage became configurable with a read-only OCI_PROXY, propagated through CI chunk workflows and runner cleanup. NXP and Trusted Firmware sources were migrated to Armbian-hosted GitHub mirrors, user patches can now override same-named core patches, and USERPATCHES_PATH was restored to working order.

For end users, armbianmonitor received a full refactor, armbian-firstlogin gained unattended-preset safety and broader username validation, and the APT lock handling was hardened against stale cache locks. The configng project introduced a read-only registry-cache for ghcr.io, fixed static IP cancellation handling, and corrected tuning-profile swappiness regressions. Documentation expanded to cover OCI storage, unattended first login, and application installation workflows.

#Armbian #EmbeddedLinux #SBC #Rockchip #Allwinner #UBoot

Changes

• Actions: Fix noble dkms, add to test matrix. by @vidplace7 in armbian/MorseMicro-DKMS#18
• Actions: Use numbered distro release in deb version. by @vidplace7 in armbian/MorseMicro-DKMS#19
• aml-c400-plus: repack blob; u-boot: env-in-mmc; +fancy-ish (<1MiB bl33). by @rpardini in armbian/build#10907
• aml-c400-plus: u-boot: fix u-boot.ext (bare bl33 for chainloading/toothpick). by @rpardini in armbian/build#10918
• anbernic-rg-ds: MBR image, fix battery charging, rumble at power-on. by @crackerjacques in armbian/build#10900
• anbernic-rg-vita-pro: MBR image, rumble at power-on. by @crackerjacques in armbian/build#10901
• apt: wait on lock + clear stale cache lock (fix "held by process 0"). by @igorpecovnik in armbian/build#10893
• armbian-firstlogin: allow underscore and hyphen in usernames. by @xsalaices in armbian/build#10844
• armbian-firstlogin: don't block an unattended preset run on questions. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/build#10840
• armbian-kernel: enable SMB/CIFS client and ksmbd on all kernels. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/build#10885
• Armbianmonitor refactor. by @EvilOlaf in armbian/build#9327
• autoconfig: document unattended first login and static IP scope. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/documentation#1419
• ayn-odin3: Migrate kernel to Linux 7.2. by @kasimling in armbian/build#10690
• bcm2711: always use official raspberrypi/firmware for start4.elf (and co). by @rpardini in armbian/build#10855
• bcm2711: don't enable a second serial getty on the Raspberry Pi UART. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/build#10848
• board-images: add KickPi K2B V2.2 board image. by @Novice-PG in armbian/armbian.github.io#478
• board-vendor-logos: add 9tripod logo. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/armbian.github.io#477
• board: add Toradex Verdin iMX8M Mini (board+vendor). by @lucshl in armbian/armbian.github.io#475
• board: bananapicm4io: blacklist out-of-tree 88x2cs wifi driver. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/build#10872
• board: mixtile-blade3: use rk3588-mixtile-blade3.dtb on the vendor branch. by @evtest-hash in armbian/build#10774
• boards: add Toradex Verdin iMX8M Mini support. by @lucshl in armbian/build#10867
• boards: aml-c400-plus: stabilize Mali-T820 by pinning runtime-PM on probe and reset. by @jomadeto in armbian/build#10797
• BPI-M4-Zero: Adjust LPDDR4 timings and AXP313 regulators. by @pyavitz in armbian/build#10873
• BPI-M4-Zero: Optimize mmc1 DT properties for fast SDIO initialization. by @pyavitz in armbian/build#10880
• BPI-M4-Zero: U-Boot: Drop HACK: sunxi: gpu enable. by @pyavitz in armbian/build#10881
• bring USERPATCHES_PATH back into working state and fix inconsistencies. by @EvilOlaf in armbian/build#10776
• bsp: refresh the release checksum after version changes. by @khaliforce in armbian/build#10909
• build-framework: document OCI storage and OCI_PROXY. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/documentation#1445
• bump rockchip armhf edge kernel to 7.3. by @paolosabatino in armbian/build#10864
• cache services: publish on the host and local containers only by default. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/configng#1043
• chunk workflows: export the runner's oci_cache as OCI_PROXY. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/ci#83
• ci: expand kernel defconfigs before the security check. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/build#10897
• contribute/datacenter: add infra repo screenshot to gallery. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/documentation#1507
• contribute/datacenter: add rack photo gallery. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/documentation#1503
• contribute/datacenter: correct console server port count. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/documentation#1508
• create AGENTS.md. by @EvilOlaf in armbian/build#10843
• d1: backport the RISC-V clocksource rating fix. by @khaliforce in armbian/build#10886
• d1: enable RTL8723DS Wi-Fi and fix regulatory database support. by @khaliforce in armbian/build#10887
• data: fail closed when a mirror is unreachable, not silently short. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/armbian.github.io#447
• docker_publish_local: use the default when BIND_ADDRESS has no address. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/configng#1045
• docs: link app pages to the install steps. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/configng#1049
• extension: add interactive shell. by @EvilOlaf in armbian/build#10879
• extensions: arm64-compat-vdso: fix the riscv64 host handling. by @iav in armbian/build#10869
• feat: Add Seeed Studio reComputer RK3576 Module devkit dts. by @Lesords in armbian/linux-rockchip#570
• fix customize-image and config-example . by @EvilOlaf in armbian/build#10878
• generate-servers-jsons: include VMs tagged "github runner". by @igorpecovnik in armbian/armbian.github.io#476
• getting-started: document armbian-debug; fix armbian-upgrade wording. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/documentation#1428
• git: don't hard-abort when the global safe.directory write fails. by @xsalaices in armbian/build#10845
• git: fetch trustedfirmware.org shared submodules from GitHub mirrors. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/build#10877
• gl-mt2500: use lowercase vendor slug gl.inet. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/build#10895
• helios4: u-boot: drop obsolete patches. by @iav in armbian/build#10883
• imx8m, imx93, imx8ulp: fetch NXP firmware from armbian/nxp-firmware. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/build#10868
• kernel-debs: headers: depend on python3-minimal. by @iav in armbian/build#10846
• kickpi-k2b-v2: add KickPi K2B V2.2 DDR3 board (DDR3 u-boot defconfig, DTS, WiFi watchdog). by @Novice-PG in armbian/build#10902
• main-config: cause error when lib.config is present. by @EvilOlaf in armbian/build#10876
• mainline: bump to 7.3-rc6. by @EvilOlaf in armbian/build#10914
• mangopi-mq: fix board configuration and clock handling. by @khaliforce in armbian/build#10908
• mangopi-mq: replace bundled boot firmware with source builds. by @khaliforce in armbian/build#10888
• meson-gxm-c400-plus: enable front panel display. by @jomadeto in armbian/build#10903
• meson64-6.12: rebase the old aiu HDMI codec patch onto 6.12.111+. by @iav in armbian/build#10898
• meson64-7.2: fix due to upstream changes broken patch. by @EvilOlaf in armbian/build#10890
• mkdocs: cache-bust extra_css with a version query. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/documentation#1506
• module_redis: opt-in cache mode (REDIS_MAXMEMORY). by @igorpecovnik in armbian/configng#1038
• module_tuning_profile: apply was undoing its own swappiness. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/configng#1039
• mvebu64: fetch TF-A from its GitHub mirror. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/build#10866
• network: abort static IP setup on dialog cancel instead of crashing netplan. by @xsalaices in armbian/configng#1040
• oci: configurable OCI storage and read-only OCI_PROXY. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/build#10860
• Odroidxu4 wifi adjustment. by @EvilOlaf in armbian/build#10875
• orangePi CM5 USB3 enhancement + exprimental mode. by @ECO1AI in armbian/build#10904
• pack-debian: publish the repository with Acquire-By-Hash. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/scripts#94
• patching: let a userpatch override the same-named core patch. by @iav in armbian/build#10884
• pkg_remove: use purge instead of autopurge to stop cascade removal. by @xsalaices in armbian/configng#1037
• Radxa Rock 2A/2F mainline. by @lukaszsobala in armbian/build#10852
• redirector: torrent check needs proof before reporting in sync. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/armbian.github.io#474
• redirector: verify mirror sync by file-probe, not directory mirroring. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/armbian.github.io#471
• repo management: adopt the production (singlemode) repo.sh into main. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/build#10304
• repo: publish with Acquire-By-Hash. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/build#10911
• repository update: publish stable only every STABLE_REPOSITORY_UPDATE days. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/armbian.github.io#472
• repository update: use repo.sh from build main. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/armbian.github.io#473
• rockchip64-7.2: media: rkvdec: Add VP9 support for VDPU381 variant (v1). by @rpardini in armbian/build#10874
• rockchip64: 7.3: helios64: Wake-on-LAN through the PHY. by @iav in armbian/build#10865
• rockchip64: copy the RK3562 patch set from 7.2 to 7.3. by @retro98boy in armbian/build#10863
• rockchip: rk3506: fix RockUSB full-speed enumeration data abort. by @stevenjoezhang in armbian/build#10833
• runner-clean: export the runner's oci_cache as OCI_PROXY. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/actions#43
• runner-cleanup: keep build-cache service images. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/configng#1048
• runner-cleanup: never wipe _work of a runner with a live job. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/configng#1050
• software: add registry-cache, a read-only cache of ghcr.io. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/configng#1044
• software: explain how to install an app. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/documentation#1504
• software: stop offering Watchtower install, keep Disable. by @xsalaices in armbian/configng#1041
• sophgo-sg200x-aic8800: fetch the driver only when the kernel builds. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/build#10847
• sophgo-sg200x-aic8800: keep the 7.3 RoC cookie in the RoC element. by @lukaszsobala in armbian/build#10854
• sun60iw2: fix GPU userspace install ELOOP on headless builds. by @ijiki16 in armbian/build#10882
• sun60iw2: GPU, desktop and hardware video decode for Orange Pi 4 Pro. by @ijiki16 in armbian/build#10835
• sun60iw2: keep the Dirty Frag mitigation over the Armbian default. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/build#10912
• sun60iw2: kernel config: modulize drivers, add wireguard, mitigate dirty frag. by @EvilOlaf in armbian/build#10871
• sunxi-7.2: drop patch upstreamed with v7.2.9. by @EvilOlaf in armbian/build#10889
• sunxi: add Maxio MAE0621 PHY driver (KickPi K2B V2.2 DDR3 ethernet fix). by @Novice-PG in armbian/build#10894
• sunxi: recore: add device trees for Recore A5-A8. by @eliasbakken in armbian/build#10850
• sunxi: recore: update U-Boot and put BL31 in DRAM. by @eliasbakken in armbian/build#10853
• tests: skip stable switch on forky, disable redis and portainer tests. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/configng#1051
• u-boot: report SPL/TPL size against CONFIG_*_MAX_SIZE. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/build#10858
• uefi-x86-6.18: rebase i915 4-lane quirk patch for 6.18.55. by @igorpecovnik in armbian/build#10891

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