ChangeLog


ChangeLog

Here are the most important changes made in each SystemRescue release. It only shows changes in the versions of the Linux kernel and relevant utilities. The full list of packages provides more details about the exact versions of all other packages.

  • 11.00) 2024-01-28:

    • Updated the kernel to the Long-Term-Supported linux-6.6.14
    • Added option “ssh_known_hosts” in yaml config to trust SSH CAs signatures on host keys
    • Fix the “findroot” boot option when /sbin/init is an absolute symlink (#340)
    • Fix the “findroot” loop when the password to any encrypted device is unknown (#342)
    • Update XFCE Configuration (enabled screen saver, added battery icon)
    • Package “dstat” has been replaced with “dool” which is a fork of dstat
    • Added bcachefs-tools (file system utilities for bcachefs, no kernel module yet)
    • Added blocksync-fast (block device sync tool for block-based backups) (#361)
    • Added sleuthkit (tools for raw file system inspection) (#349)
    • Added timeshift (snapshot-based backup program) (#350)
  • 10.02) 2023-09-16:

    • Added nmon (Nigel’s Performance Monitoring tool for Linux) (#351)
    • Added libldm (Tools for managing Microsoft Windows Dynamic Disks) (#348)
  • 10.01) 2023-05-27:

    • Removed recent ext4 features from the defaults to improve compatibility (#330)
    • Added package: speedtest-cli (command for testing internet bandwidth)
    • Removed package which has been dropped by upstream: zile (emacs clone)
  • 10.00) 2023-03-19:

    • Updated the kernel to the Long-Term-Supported linux-6.1.20
    • Added grub loopback.cfg support (Daniel Richard G) (#326)
    • Add boot customization hooks for grub and syslinux
    • Add “gui_autostart” YAML config to run programs when X is started
    • Bring back xf86-video-qxl driver as its bugs have been fixed (#324)
    • Removed deprecated autorun features (autoruns=, scripts with \r\n, old paths) (#315)
    • Added pass and qtpass (simple password manager which supports GnuPG encryption)
    • Added packages: casync, stressapptest, stress-ng, tk
  • 9.06) 2022-12-18:

    • Added Memtest86+ memory tester v6.00 for UEFI in the Grub boot menu (#308)
    • sysrescueusbwriter to create USB media on Linux, creates writable FAT filesystem
    • Added pacman-faketime command to work around expired package signing keys (#313)
    • “dovnc” option now implies “dostartx” again (#310)
    • Added “bash_history” and “hosts” options to the “sysconfig” scope of the YAML config file
    • Reduced timeout until automatic boot with default options from 90 to 30 seconds
    • Support for using a serial console in bootloader and boot options (ttyS0,115200n8)
    • ISO images now have a checksum embedded against accidental corruption (isomd5sum)
    • Added packages: inxi, libfaketime
  • 9.05) 2022-10-21:

    • Split initialization of SystemRescue into parts done before and in parallel to networking (#304)
    • Add a new style for configuring autorun scripts (“autorun.exec”) (#287)
    • Change the default for ar_nowait to true: don’t wait at the end of autorun by default anymore
    • Deprecate storing autorun scripts in the root of the boot disk (#252)
    • Bind-mount /run/archios/bootmnt in case of copytoram to create a stable path for use in autorun
    • Add yay AUR helper (#139)
    • Allow https-URLs for the archiso_http_srv option by disabling certificate checks
    • Don’t waste ram when using the archiso_http_srv option (#56)
    • mountall: run udevadm settle to mount newly opened cryptodisks, improve messages
    • Add rclone option to the “sysconfig” scope of YAML config file, it writes a rclone.conf file
    • Add sysctl option to the “sysconfig” scope of YAML config file
    • Added packages: whois (mkpasswd)
  • 9.04) 2022-08-07:

    • Updated the kernel to the Long-Term-Supported linux-5.15.58
    • “cow_label” and “cow_directory” boot options can now also be set via the YAML config file
    • New “nomdlvm” boot option doesn’t activate md raid and lvm devices, preventing disk writes (#272)
    • Speed up boot process and fix pacman usage by using a preconfigured pacman trust database (#290)
    • Improve “mountall” script: detect more partitions, ignore swap, LUKS encryption support
    • Improve “mountall” script: add –readonly option, reuse empty mountpoints
    • Fix DNS name resolution during the initramfs boot phase
    • The “ca-trust” config option is applied to Firefox too
    • Add options to the “sysconfig” scope of YAML configs: timezone, authorized_keys, bookmarks
    • Fix configuration when there is no YAML file at all (e.g. when booting via PXE)
    • Added packages: rclone, qemu-img, multipath-tools, unrar
  • 9.03) 2022-05-28:

    • Updated the kernel to the Long-Term-Supported linux-5.15.43
    • Added “autoterminal” to run custom scripts in dedicated consoles for user interaction
    • Added “mountall” script which mounts all available disks and volumes
    • Updated “sysrescuecfg” boot option to merge given files after files in sysrescue.d
    • Changed YAML config file loading logic to fully merge multiple files (#254)
    • Added packages: acpi, fatresize, kexec-tools, moreutils, python-pythondialog
  • 9.02) 2022-04-09:

    • Updated the kernel to the Long-Term-Supported linux-5.15.32
    • Add script and config.yaml parameter for late-loading of SystemRescueModules (SRM) (Gerd v. Egidy)
    • Fix the type of the default definition of parameter “ar_attempts” (#266)
    • Added scripts and documentation to help build the ISO image in a docker container
    • Reduce compression ratio for initramfs on i686 to prevent a crash at build time (#261)
    • Updated disk utilities: GParted-1.4.0 and partclone-0.3.19
  • 9.01) 2022-02-10:

    • Updated the kernel to the Long-Term-Supported linux-5.15.22
    • Support for adding Certification Authorities (CAs) via YAML config (Gerd v. Egidy)
    • Uncompress kernel modules so the squashfs compression provides a better ratio (#247)
    • Optimized the initramfs compression to reduce the size of the ISO (Gerd v. Egidy)
    • Added development build option: faster build times but lower compression (Gerd v. Egidy)
    • Remove Q-Logic Fibrechannel/Infiniband HBA firmware to save space (#256)
    • Implemented a script to determine the effective configuration from yaml files (#251)
    • Added boot option ‘sysrescuecfg’ to control how the configuration is loaded (#254)
    • Added support for loading remote yaml configuration files over http/https (#254)
    • Allow all kinds of scripts to be used for autorun, not just /bin/sh (Gerd v. Egidy)
  • 9.00) 2022-01-16:

    • Updated the kernel to the Long-Term-Supported linux-5.15.14
    • The new kernel brings the ntfs3 module which provides better NTFS support
    • The system comes with a copy of the website as an offline manual (Gerd v. Egidy)
    • Added sysrescue-customize script to create custom ISO images (Gerd v. Egidy)
    • Initial support for configuring the system with YAML files (#170)
    • Support for configuring autorun with the new YAML configuration files
    • Replaced the mesa package with a minimal alternative to save 52MB (#241)
    • Converted the bash system initialisation script to python (#170)
    • Removed XOrg driver “xf86-video-qxl” as it is currently not stable (#235)
    • Bring back accidently removed package inetutils (telnet, ftp, hostname,…)
    • Added packages: aq, libisoburn, patch, python-llfuse, python-yaml, rdiff-backup
  • 8.07) 2021-12-19:

    • Updated kernel to the Long-Term-Supported linux-5.10.87
    • Pacman uses snapshot repository to ease installation of packages (Gerd v. Egidy)
    • Boot with “iomem=relaxed” by default as flashrom requires it (Gerd v. Egidy)
    • Added packages: net-tools, cronie, at, archinstall, wqy-microhei
  • 8.06) 2021-11-20:

    • Updated kernel to the Long-Term-Supported linux-5.10.79
    • Added noautologin boot option to restrict access to the console (Marcos Mello)
    • Added dostartx boot option to start the graphical environment (Marcos Mello)
    • Added dovnc and vncpass boot options to start the VNC server (Marcos Mello)
    • Added dump/restore utilities for ext2/ext3/ext4 file systems
  • 8.05) 2021-10-02:

    • Updated kernel to the Long-Term-Supported linux-5.10.70
    • Updated utilities: ntfs-3g-2021.8.22-1, e2fsprogs 1.46.4-1
  • 8.04) 2021-07-24:

    • Updated kernel to the Long-Term-Supported linux-5.10.52
    • Implemented ar_attempts option in autorun to retry multiple times (pfeilmann)
    • Updated utilities: grub-2.06, gnupg 2.2.29, nwipe-0.31
    • Updated gparted to version 1.3.1
  • 8.03) 2021-05-08:

    • Updated kernel to the Long-Term-Supported linux-5.10.34
    • Fixed boot from NTFS file systems (#194) (Marcos Mello)
    • Fixed package repositories configuration on i686 (#188) (Marcos Mello)
    • Fixed services order to make option “nofirewall” reliable (Gerd v. Egidy)
    • Added gsmartcontrol (hard disk drive and SSD health inspection tool)
    • Added xfburn (a simple CD, DVD and Blu-ray burning utility)
    • Dropped joe (package removed upstream)
    • Updated gparted to version 1.3.0
  • 8.02) 2021-04-17:

    • Updated kernel to the Long-Term-Supported linux-5.10.31
    • Added ext4magic (recover deleted or overwritten files on ext3 and ext4)
  • 8.01) 2021-03-10:

    • Updated kernel to the Long-Term-Supported linux-5.10.22
    • Fixed boot from FAT file systems (#187)
  • 8.00) 2021-03-06:

    • Updated kernel to the Long-Term-Supported linux-5.10.20
    • Updated partitioning tools: parted-3.4, gparted-1.2.0
    • Updated file systems: btrfs-progs 5.10.1, xfsprogs 5.10.0, e2fsprogs 1.46.2
    • Updated utilities: nwipe-0.30, dislocker-0.7.3, fsarchiver-0.8.6
    • Updated XFCE graphical environment to version 4.16
    • Updated Python to version 3.9.2 and added python-pip
    • Added paperkey (to print private keys on paper)
    • Replaced exfat-utils with exfatprogs
  • 7.01) 2020-11-22:

    • Updated kernel to Long-Term-Supported linux-5.4.78
    • Added edk2-shell and a corresponding boot entry in UEFI boot menu (#159)
    • Added entries to enter firmware setup, reboot, shutdown in the UEFI boot menu
    • Added cowpacman2srm to create modules with additional packages (Gerd v. Egidy)
    • Added reverse_ssh to get a remote ssh access behind a firewall (Gerd v. Egidy)
  • 7.00) 2020-10-17:

    • Renamed project: SystemRescueCd => SystemRescue
    • New website address: https://www.system-rescue.org/
    • Updated kernel to Long-Term-Supported linux-5.4.71
    • Added dislocker to access disks encrypted using bitlocker (#46)
  • 6.1.8) 2020-09-12:

    • Updated kernel to Long-Term-Supported linux-5.4.64
    • Added support for getting autorun scripts from HTTPS sources (Richard Dumais)
    • Added an entry in the boot menus to use the nomodeset option (#131)
    • Make BIOS and UEFI boot menus consistent (descriptions, resolution, colors)
    • Added hexedit and ghex hexadecimal text editors (#135)
  • 6.1.7) 2020-08-01:

    • Updated kernel to Long-Term-Supported linux-5.4.54
    • Copy autorun scripts on boot device to memory when copytoram is used (#128)
    • Increase default value for cow_spacesize from 256M to 25% of the RAM
    • Reintroduced SystemRescue Modules (SRM) support (Marcos Mello)
  • 6.1.6) 2020-07-04:

    • Updated kernel to Long-Term-Supported linux-5.4.50
    • Improved PXE boot when multiple network interfaces are available
    • Autorun will only run after the network is fully configured (#120)
    • Added minicom and picocom serial communication programs
  • 6.1.5) 2020-06-07:

    • Updated kernel to Long-Term-Supported linux-5.4.44
    • Fixed issue causing DHCP not to be run after a PXE boot (#19)
    • Remove large unneeded firmware files from the initramfs (#109)
    • Added encrypt hook to allow to boot from an encrypted device (#108)
    • Enable serial console autologin (Marcos Mello) (#113)
  • 6.1.4) 2020-05-22:

    • Updated kernel to Long-Term-Supported linux-5.4.42
    • Added an entry in the boot menu to start from a Linux OS installed on the disk
  • 6.1.3) 2020-04-18:

    • Updated kernel to Long-Term-Supported linux-5.4.32
    • Added offline HTML page to list the most useful available programs
    • Added entry in the boot menus to boot and verify the checksum
    • Added gpart, hwinfo, udftools, ipmitool, wimlib, cabextract
    • Replaced tigervnc with remmina and libvncserver
    • Various optimisations and general cleanup
  • 6.1.2) 2020-03-29:

    • Updated kernel to Long-Term-Supported linux-5.4.28
    • Added sound support based on pulseaudio (Marcos Mello)
    • Added command line tools for burning CD/DVD medias
    • Disk space optimisations to reduce the size of the ISO image
  • 6.1.1) 2020-03-13:

    • Updated kernel to Long-Term-Supported linux-5.4.24
    • Autologin rework and fixes for interactive autorun scripts (Marcos Mello)
    • Added “rootshell” boot option to setup an alternative shell (Marcos Mello)
    • Cleanup and disk space optimisations to reduce the size of the ISO image
  • 6.1.0) 2020-02-29:

    • Updated kernel to Long-Term-Supported linux-5.4.22
    • Updated filesystem tools: btrfs-progs 5.4.1, xfsprogs 5.4.0, xfsdump 3.1.9
    • Fixes for keyboard mapping configuration (contributions from Marcos Mello)
    • Added wireguard packages (kernel module and tools)
  • 6.0.7) 2020-01-26:

    • Optimized compression used to create the squashfs image (saves 47MB)
    • Removed most locale files using localepurge to save disk space (saves 55MB)
  • 6.0.6) 2020-01-25:

    • Updated kernel to Long-Term-Supported linux-4.19.98
    • Added strings and ar commands using busybox
    • Disk space optimisations to reduce the size of the ISO image
    • Updated gparted to 1.1.0
  • 6.0.5) 2020-01-12:

    • Updated kernel to Long-Term-Supported linux-4.19.94
    • Disk space optimisations to reduce the size of the ISO image
    • Added flashrom + par2cmdline + whdd
  • 6.0.4) 2019-12-29:

    • Updated kernel to Long-Term-Supported linux-4.19.91
    • Updated XFCE graphical environment to version 4.14
    • Updated parted to 3.3 and gparted to 1.0.0
    • Updated Grub boot loader to version 2.04
    • Enabled the iptables service to block incoming traffic by default
    • Added boot option “nofirewall” to disable the iptables services
    • Removed dhcpcd to avoid conflict with network-manager/dhclient
  • 6.0.3) 2019-04-14:

    • Updated kernel to Long-Term-Supported linux-4.19.34
    • Updated firefox to the ESR (Extended Support Release) version
    • Added packages: growpart, grsync
  • 6.0.2) 2019-02-21:

    • Updated kernel to Long-Term-Supported linux-4.19.24
    • Added packages: borg, nwipe, lshw, zerofree, joe, rkhunter, strace
    • Replaced Notepadqq graphical editor with FeatherPad to save space
  • 6.0.1) 2019-02-09:

    • Updated kernel to Long-Term-Supported linux-4.19.20
    • Reintroduced autorun service to run scripts automatically at boot time
    • Changed filesystem label so it fits in FAT filesystem labels for UEFI booting
    • Enabled sshd service and re-introduced support for option rootpass=xxxx
    • Added support for rootcryptpass=xxxx boot option to set encrypted root passwords
  • 6.0.0) 2019-02-02:

    • System is now based on ArchLinux and built using archiso and its dependencies
    • Kernel and user space programs are now fully 64 bit (dropped 32bit support)
    • Boot options are the ones provided by new upstream rather than old version
    • Graphical environment based on xorg-1.20.3 and xfce-4.12
    • Implemented “setkmap=xx” option on the boot command line to setup keyboard
    • Updated kernel to Long-Term-Supported linux-4.19.19
    • Updated filesystem tools: e2fsprogs-1.44.5, xfsprogs-4.19.0, btrfs-progs-4.19.1
    • Updated disk tools: gparted-0.33.0, lvm2-2.02.183