Tribblix November 2025 Milestones
Tribblix November 2025 Milestones
Table of contents:-
0m38.1: focused corrective release
After installation: upgrading to a newer release
After installation: storage and ZFS
After installation: desktop use
Milestone 38 arrives as a conventional Tribblix release in the “0m” series, made available as ISO images for 64‑bit x86 systems in both the vanilla and OmniTribblix (LX zones) variants. The distribution continues to focus on a compact live environment and straightforward installation, with overlays providing curated sets of packages rather than a monolithic default installation.
At a system level, Tribblix remains firmly 64‑bit only, having removed 32‑bit hardware support in earlier milestones and maintained that stance into the m38 line. The ISO set for 0m38 follows the recent pattern of offering both a regular and an LX‑enabled image, designed to support traditional illumos workloads as well as lightweight container‑style environments using Linux userlands.
Core changes in 0m38
The headline functional change in 0m38 is the introduction of the “emu” zone brand, adding another option to Tribblix’s collection of zone types. While prior releases already offered conventional non‑global zones and an appstack brand for application‑focused isolation, the new emu brand expands the ways in which users can separate workloads, particularly for specialised or experimental environments.
Package management also sees a quality‑of‑life improvement: the “zap install” command now installs dependencies automatically by default, reducing the need for users to manually chase down prerequisite packages when building up a system. This change fits neatly with Tribblix’s overlay‑centric approach, making it easier to combine overlays and individual packages without puzzling over missing libraries or utilities.
Security and privacy get a small but meaningful hardening tweak with “zap create-user” now restricting new home directories to mode 0700 by default, ensuring that fresh user accounts start with private home directories. For administrators who prefer different permissions, the tool accepts a flag to override this behaviour, preserving flexibility while nudging installations towards safer defaults.
Two older system components are explicitly retired in this milestone: the legacy in.rdisc daemon and support for UFS quotas are removed. In both cases, Tribblix continues the long‑term trend across illumos derivatives of focusing on modern network discovery and favouring ZFS over legacy UFS features, simplifying the overall platform and reducing the burden of maintaining ageing subsystems.
Toolchain and language platform updates
Tribblix 0m38 takes the opportunity to refresh its language runtimes and build tools across the board, keeping the distribution useful for contemporary development work. The default Go toolchain moves to the 1.25 series, with specific Go versions 1.23.12, 1.24.10 and a separate 1.25.4 package available, giving developers a small but practical range when building or testing software against multiple compiler levels.
Python is updated to version 3.12.12, continuing the distribution’s migration away from older Python 3.11 modules that had already been deprecated in recent milestones. The change is complemented by a broad sweep of Python module updates, ensuring that packages built around modern libraries can run without dragging in outdated dependencies.
On the Java side, Tribblix adds OpenJDK 25.0.1 to its collection and updates existing JDK families: the 8, 11, 17, 21 and 24 lines move to newer patch releases, giving users a consistent set of long‑term and current Java environments. In practice, that makes Tribblix 0m38 more comfortable as a host for mixed‑vintage Java workloads, from older enterprise applications to current frameworks.
Ruby reaches version 3.4.7, reflecting the broader default Ruby 3.4 baseline introduced around the milestone‑37 timeframe, and Common Lisp users benefit from a newer SBCL at 2.5.10. For numerical computing, NumPy 2.3.1 and SciPy 1.16.0 bring recent upstream developments into the illumos world, reinforcing Tribblix’s suitability for scientific or data‑heavy tasks on a Solaris‑style platform.
The C and C++ toolchain gets an upgrade through a newer CMake (3.31.8) and Meson (1.9.0), while core build ingredients such as Ninja, GNU bc, Texinfo and GNU Parallel are also refreshed. Together these moves keep the distribution aligned with current open‑source build practices, reducing surprises when porting modern projects that assume up‑to‑date tooling.
Networking, security and server stack
On the security and cryptography front, Tribblix 0m38 updates OpenSSL to the 3.0.18 series, continuing the multi‑release process of moving away from the older 1.1.1 branch that has gone out of support. The certificate authority bundle is refreshed to a November 2025 state, reducing friction when interacting with newer services that rely on recently issued root or intermediate certificates.
The GnuPG ecosystem sees a coordinated refresh: GnuPG reaches 2.4.8, with related components pinentry and GPGME moved to newer releases, ensuring that encrypted email, signing and verification workflows remain reliable and secure. Underpinning libraries such as libgpg‑error and NSS/NSPR are likewise updated, reinforcing the stability of cryptographic consumers further up the stack.
For network diagnostics and traffic inspection, newer versions of Wireshark (3.6.24), iperf (3.19.1), mtr (0.96) and testssl.sh (3.2.1) are shipped. These bring improved protocol support and expanded checks, which are particularly helpful when using Tribblix as a troubleshooting appliance on complex or modern networks.
On the server side, the web layer benefits from Apache HTTPD 2.4.65 and curl 8.17.0, while HAProxy 2.6.23 offers a modern load‑balancing and proxying solution. For message queue and streaming workloads, RabbitMQ 3.13.7 and etcd 3.6.4 provide robust building blocks, and Consul 1.21.5 covers service discovery and configuration scenarios.
Database support is thoroughly modernised: PostgreSQL gains versions 17.6 and 18.0 alongside PostGIS 3.5.3, while PostgreSQL 15 is removed from the distribution to streamline maintenance. MariaDB moves to 10.11.14, and Pgpool‑II 4.6.3 rounds out the high‑availability story for Postgres deployments on Tribblix.
For caching and key‑value storage, Redis 6.2.20 is complemented by Valkey 7.2.11 and Memcached 1.6.39, matching the wider ecosystem’s move towards a more diverse set of cache and in‑memory data store options. The search and indexing layer benefits from updated Xapian 1.4.29 and libmicrohttpd 1.0.2, supporting custom search services and lightweight HTTP front‑ends.
Development, web and application runtimes
Developers targeting web applications and microservices find a refreshed PHP stack at versions 8.3.26 and 8.4.13, mirroring current upstream stable and cutting‑edge trends. Node.js is offered in the 20.19.5 and 22.21.1 series, giving JavaScript developers accessible long‑term and current branches for back‑end services and build tooling.
Java developers get more than just the upgraded JDK builds: NetBeans moves to version 27, Groovy advances to 4.0.29 and 5.0.2, and Maven reaches 3.9.11. This combination makes Tribblix 0m38 a capable environment for Java, Groovy and mixed‑language projects that expect relatively recent IDE and build stack support.
The distribution also caters for other ecosystem favourites: JRuby 9.4.14.0 supports Ruby on the JVM; Elixir 1.18.4 opens doors to functional, concurrent applications; and Maxima 5.48.1 adds a powerful computer algebra system for engineering or mathematical workloads. Data‑processing utilities such as Datamash 1.9 and Weechat 4.7.0 (for IRC‑style chat) round out the command‑line toolkit.
For version control and collaborative development, Git is updated to 2.51.2 and Mercurial to 7.1.1, while Forgejo 12.0.1 provides a self‑hosted forge for git repositories, issues and collaborative workflows. SeaweedFS 3.99 offers distributed object storage, complementing more traditional file‑ and database‑oriented workloads in larger deployments.
SpotBugs 4.9.8 and PMD 7.18.0 supply static analysis for Java and related languages, and the updated Geany 2.1 provides a lightweight graphical editor for coding. Combined with an upgraded Rust toolchain at 1.89.0, these tools make Tribblix a flexible environment for both classic and modern language ecosystems.
Desktop and user‑facing software
Although Tribblix favours a minimalist live environment, 0m38 invests in desktop and user‑facing applications for those who choose the relevant overlays. Graphics and imaging are well represented with updates to GraphicsMagick 1.3.46, OpenJPEG 2.5.4, jpegoptim 1.5.6, optipng 7.9.1 and zint 2.15.0. These tools cover general‑purpose image manipulation, optimisation and barcode generation, making Tribblix an effective utility box for media workflows.
Office and productivity software gets a lift through Gnumeric 1.12.59 and GOffice 0.10.59, while LibreCAD 2.2.1.2 supports 2D CAD work and ProjectLibre 1.9.8 offers project‑management capabilities. For viewing and organising content, qiv 3.0.1 and w3m 0.5.4 expand the choices among lightweight viewers and text‑mode web browsing.
On the desktop environment side, Tribblix continues to position Pale Moon as the default web browser in its general desktop stack, with 0m38 shipping Pale Moon 33.9.1. The Helix editor moves to version 25.07.1, giving modal‑editing enthusiasts a modern alternative to vi‑style tools, while Flameshot 13.1.0 offers a convenient graphical screenshot and annotation utility.
Remote desktop capabilities improve thanks to the addition of xorgxrdp and an updated xrdp 0.10.4.1, allowing the system to accept RDP connections that integrate neatly with Xorg. This combination makes Tribblix more comfortable in mixed environments where administrators or users need to connect from standard RDP clients without running a full local X server.
Printing and office infrastructure also receive attention: Gutenprint 5.3.5 and CUPS 2.4.14 update printer drivers and spooler support, helping the distribution keep pace with newer devices and protocols. Combined with an updated Wine 5.0.5 for running selected Windows applications and games, Tribblix 0m38 remains surprisingly versatile as a workstation for a variety of tasks.
Command‑line utilities and admin tools
Tribblix 0m38 refreshes many everyday command‑line tools that administrators and power users rely on. Coreutils advances to 9.7, GNU Grep to 3.12 and Less to build 685, providing familiar behaviour with bug fixes and performance improvements from upstream. Disk and file tools such as Ncdu 1.22 and 7‑Zip 25.00 (replacing the older p7zip) make it easier to understand disk usage and handle compressed archives.
Modern productivity‑oriented command‑line tools are also upgraded: fd 10.3.0, ripgrep 15.1.0 and bat 0.26.0 speed up searching and file inspection, while Rclone 1.71.2 helps synchronise or back up data to a variety of cloud storage providers. Pipe Viewer 1.9.34 improves visibility of long‑running data transfers, and Mbuffer 20251025 provides flexible buffering for pipelines and backups.
On the security and auditing side, Aide 0.19.2 offers file‑integrity monitoring, Lynis 3.1.6 and 3.1.4 appear in the package set as security auditing tools, Graudit 3.9 and Gitleaks 8.28.0 scan for sensitive patterns and secrets in code repositories. Snac 2.83 extends the selection of social‑oriented or network‑service tooling, while Testssl.sh 3.2.1 allows quick checking of TLS configurations for sites and services.
Administrative helpers such as Sudo 1.9.17p2, Rsync alternatives like Snappy 1.2.2 and backup‑oriented tools such as Sanoid (for ZFS snapshot management) all contribute to a capable system‑administration toolkit. Rsyslog 8.2508.0 modernises logging, and Pipe Viewer plus Mbuffer make it easier to design robust data‑movement pipelines.
Small but useful additions include Procmail for mail filtering, W3M as a text‑mode browser and Xapian 1.4.29 for search features embedded in other applications. Even classic terminal diversions, like xeyes and xgc, receive version bumps, echoing Tribblix’s commitment to maintaining both the practical and the pleasantly nostalgic elements of a Unix‑like environment.
Networking, DNS and support services
Tribblix 0m38 pays attention to the crucial but often invisible infrastructure packages as well. DNS servers NSD 4.13.0 and Unbound are updated, with Unbound appearing both at 1.24.1 in the change list and 1.23.1 in another part of the package set, reflecting a staged update path that aims to keep resolver services secure and standards‑compliant.
BIND is updated to the 9.18.41 series, ensuring compatibility with modern DNS features and security practices. At the same time, libssh 0.11.3 and Expat 2.7.3 underpin many higher‑level tools and services, so the refresh of these libraries helps keep the wider ecosystem robust.
Web and messaging utilities such as Weechat 4.7.0, Gopher 3.0.19 and Curl 8.17.0 expand Tribblix’s usefulness as a platform for both retro and contemporary network protocols. Whether operating as a small IRC server, a gopher hub or just a flexible web client, the system is well supplied with up‑to‑date tools.
0m38.1: focused corrective release
Milestone 0m38.1 is explicitly described in the official release notes as a corrective update rather than a feature‑bearing release. It exists to fix a specific issue discovered after 0m38 shipped, and users are strongly encouraged to use 0m38.1 in preference to staying on plain 0m38.
A key detail is that there is no separate ISO image for 0m38.1; installations and upgrades proceed from the 0m38 media and then bring in the 0m38.1 state via the normal update process. From the running system’s perspective, uname continues to report the version as “m38”, underlining that 0m38.1 is a micro‑adjustment within the same milestone rather than a full new release.
The official Tribblix site notes in its news and download information that users running 0m38 should upgrade to 0m38.1, and that users upgrading from 0m37 ought to bypass 0m38 and target 0m38.1 directly. This guidance neatly summarises 0m38.1’s role: it is the practical target for any current m38‑series deployment, ensuring users avoid the corner‑case defect corrected by the micro‑release.
After installation: upgrading to a newer release
Tribblix installation is intentionally minimal, encouraging users to shape the system into exactly what they need and to keep it up to date using overlays and the zap package manager. Once 0m38 or 0m38.1 is installed, upgrading to a newer milestone follows the familiar pattern of refreshing the package catalogue and applying updates for the selected overlays.
Historically, Tribblix has cautioned against upgrading systems with complex zone configurations without carefully planning how those zones will be recreated after an upgrade, and that general philosophy still applies. While the exact steps vary with each milestone and are described in the release notes and accompanying articles, the underlying message remains consistent: back up data, refresh the package view, then update overlays in a controlled way so the system’s application baseline aligns with the newer milestone.
After installation: storage and ZFS
Tribblix is designed around ZFS for its primary storage, reflecting illumos’ long‑standing strength in this area. Installing 0m38 onto a bare disk typically uses scripts like live_install.sh, which create a ZFS root pool with sensible defaults and, in earlier milestones, always enable compression on the root pool to balance performance with space efficiency.
Once installed, ZFS becomes a key part of system administration, underpinning snapshots, clones and data protection strategies. Tools such as Sanoid, which is added in 0m38, complement ZFS by automating the creation and pruning of snapshots, making it easier to keep regular, space‑efficient recovery points without manual intervention.
After installation: desktop use
Tribblix treats the desktop as an optional, layered feature set rather than a compulsory part of the core system. After installing 0m38 or 0m38.1, users who want a graphical environment typically add overlays such as x11 or desktop, which pull in Xorg, window managers, desktop environments and common tools.
The official desktop‑use documentation explains that several desktop environments and window managers are available, and that users can choose which one to enable. Tribblix has historically favoured Xfce as a default full desktop in its “desktop” overlay, but it also provides lighter alternatives and additional components so users can mix and match as they see fit.
Concluding word
Tribblix 0m38 and 0m38.1 together epitomise the project’s steady, craftsman‑like approach: new capabilities like the emu zone brand and automated dependency handling arrive alongside a long list of refreshed packages, while a micro‑update quietly tidies away a discovered flaw. For users who appreciate a clean, Unix‑like system with a retro spirit and modern components, these November 2025 milestones provide a solid and thoughtfully constructed base for servers, workstations and experiments alike.
All product names, logos, and brands mentioned are property of their respective owners, and their use here is for identification purposes only; every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this article, but readers should always verify details against official sources and use open‑source software in a responsible and lawful manner.
References:
Tribblix homepage – http://www.tribblix.org/tribblix
Tribblix 0m38 downloads – http://www.tribblix.org/download.htmltribblix
Tribblix installation guide – http://www.tribblix.org/install.htmltribblix
Tribblix managing software – http://www.tribblix.org/Use/4.software.htmltribblix
Tribblix desktop use – http://www.tribblix.org/Use/5.desktop.htmltribblix
Tribblix 0m38 change log – http://www.tribblix.org/Changes/changes-in-0m38.htmltribblix
Tribblix release notes (m38 series) – http://www.tribblix.org/relnotes.html#m38-x86 and http://www.tribblix.org/relnotes.html#m38.1-x86tribblix
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