Gnoppix Linux 26.6 Release Notes

Announcements
1

Gnoppix Linux 26.6 Release Notes

We are excited to announce the release of Gnoppix Linux 26.6! This release focuses heavily on stabilizing our underlying build system, securing repository pipelines, cleaning up the desktop user experience, and introducing highly requested live boot capabilities.

:floppy_disk: Availability & Download

The latest download is now available for Gnoppix members! Please visit the member portal at landing.gnoppix.com.

For the wider community, the public release will be arriving in the next few days on our official Sourceforge mirror. Download gnoppix_26_6_xfce.iso (GnoppixNG)

MD5: 55c3124eaf890eaf2ee461b3a664c5e7

:rocket: Core System & Build Architecture

The Build System Fix

  • Root Cause Resolved: The root cause of previous build failures was identified and fixed. auto/config and auto/build were not marked as executable, causing lb config to silently skip core configurations. They are now fully executable (chmod +x), ensuring all configuration flags apply cleanly.

  • Debian Installer Removal: The legacy Debian installer has been completely removed from the build system (config/includes.installer/, installer.list.binary, and related variables in auto/config) to prioritize a streamlined, modern live environment.

  • Per-Distribution Build Targets: Added dedicated package list directories for stable, testing, unstable, agent, pro, and kde targets. The system now automatically handles custom security updates, backports, and mirrors per distribution, and features automated cache cleaning when switching targets.

  • ISO Volume Tagging: The final generated image .disk/info is now explicitly set to Gnoppix Linux 26 - amd64 LIVE.

:locked_with_key: Secure HTTPS Repository Infrastructure & APT Injection

To improve digital sovereignty and package integrity, we have transitioned our package infrastructure to secure HTTPS endpoints.

  • New Repository URL: Replaced all legacy [http://archive.gnoppix.com/](http://archive.gnoppix.com/) references with secure [https://pro.gnoppix.org/](https://pro.gnoppix.org/) endpoints across all desktop flavors (XFCE and KDE) and build manifests.

  • Early SSL Certificate Injection: Because lb chroot runs apt-get update before standard user directories are copied, we implemented an early injection system. auto/build now copies SSL client certificates and custom APT configurations directly into the chroot immediately after the bootstrap phase. This ensures seamless, encrypted connections to our repositories from the very start of the build process.

  • Local Package Fallback: A new caching mechanism (scripts/fetch-gnoppix-packages.sh) downloads and caches .deb packages to /var/cache/gnoppix-packages/ on the host machine, serving as a reliable offline or local fallback during compilations.

  • Strict Anti-Leak Verification: To ensure maximum user privacy, a new late-stage cleanup hook (8300-remove-apt-auth-credentials.hook.chroot) strips all private SSL development certificates and internal APT repository authentication keys from the filesystem before compiling the final SquashFS image.

  • Permission Corrections: Resolved an issue where APT failed to read local cryptographic material by loosening restrictive file permissions (directories updated to 755, certificates and .gpg keys updated to 644).

:control_knobs: Boot Options & Multilingual Support

Copy2RAM (toram) Support

We have introduced official copy2ram boot entries to both the GRUB and ISOLINUX bootloaders. Utilizing the toram kernel parameter, users with sufficient memory can now cache the entire operating system into RAM. This allows you to safely remove the live USB/boot medium after startup and enjoy blistering-fast system performance.

Improved Bootloader Logic

  • Multi-Language Support: Added missing French (fr_FR) and Spanish (es_ES) localized boot entries to the GRUB configuration alongside existing German and English options.

  • Default Language Enforcement: English is now properly asserted as the uniform default boot option across both GRUB and ISOLINUX boot menus. Stray menu default flags have been cleared from non-English ISOLINUX targets.

  • Persistence Fixes: Resolved a critical typo (persistance → persistence) in the ISOLINUX kernel parameters that previously broke live data saving. A functional persistence boot option has also been added to the GRUB menu.

:artist_palette: Desktop Environment & Experience Enhancements

Wallpaper & Display Corrections

  • Fixed an issue where default wallpapers failed to scale across multi-monitor setups.

  • The default desktop-base alternative has been switched to gnoppix_games.jpg.

  • XFCE configurations now map accurately to monitor0 instead of using invalid monitorscreen fields.

  • Rather than applying changes solely to the root user via xfconf-query, desktop configurations are cleanly written directly to /etc/skel/xfce4-desktop.xml to cover all new user profiles. A dynamic autostart script (gnoppix-set-wallpaper.sh) handles multi-display wallpaper rendering on login.

Default Application & Behavior Adjustments

  • Privacy by Default: LibreWolf is configured system-wide with [https://search.gnoppix.org](https://search.gnoppix.org) as its mandatory home page. First-run and post-update splash pages have been completely bypassed to prioritize speed and data control.

  • MIME Alignment: Cleaned up system-wide defaults using update-alternatives and skeletal configurations. LibreWolf is established as the default web browser (x-www-browser) and Betterbird as the default mail handling agent (x-mail-reader).

  • Lockscreen Disabled: To provide a seamless live-user testing environment, light-locker has been commented out across all five per-distribution base package lists.

  • Resilient Hooks: Adjusted internal system hooks (like 0470-update-dconf-db.hook.chroot) to exit gracefully (exit 0) if non-essential tools like dconf are absent during minimal or alternative spins.

:hammer_and_wrench: Summary for Developers & Testers

For contributors building from source code as detailed in changes.md, the standardized build pipeline flows as follows:

Bash

make fetch_gnoppix_packages   # One-time host cache retrieval
make testing                  # Triggers auto/config and safe APT injection

The resulting image will automatically be structured and exported with explicit target tags: gnoppix_<version>_<desktop>_<distro>_<timestamp>.iso