Release 24.09

Release 24.09

This is the first G3v6 release, introducing the images based on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (Noble Numbat). The previous version G3v5 will still be available in this repository as the branch archived-generation-g3v5.

• default base of the latest images is now Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (Noble Numbat)
  • there is no snap included
  • Firefox is the latest non-snap version from the Mozilla Team PPA
  • Chromium is the latest non-snap version from the Ubuntu 18.04 LTS distribution
  • latest images will be doubled by the tags with the prefix 24.04
• images based on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS will still be published
  • their tags will begin with the prefix 22.04
• images based on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS will still be published
  • their tags will begin with the prefix 20.04

Other changes:

• Default user headless:headless (1000:1000) has been changed to headless:headless (1001:1001).
  • This change has been required for the images based on Ubuntu 24.04 (Noble Numbat), because that already contains the user ubuntu:ubuntu (1000:1000).
  • The same change has been done also in the images based on Ubuntu 22.04 (Jammy Jellyfish) and Ubuntu 20.04 (Focal Fossa) to keep them uniform.
• The directive syntax=docker/dockerfile:experimental has been removed from all Dockerfiles.
• The noVNC starting page has been updated in all images.
  • If no noVNC Client is selected, then the Full Client will start automatically in 10 seconds.
• The hook script release_of has been updated with the intention to report more helpful building errors.

Updated versions:

• Ubuntu to version 24.04
• jq to version 1.7
• Mousepad to version 0.6.1
• nano to version 7.2
• Python to version 3.12.3

Release 24.03

Release 24.03

This is the first G3v5 release.

The updated script set_user_permissions.sh, which is part of Dockerfiles, skips the hidden files and directories now.
It generally should not have any unwanted side effects, but it may make a difference in some scenarios, hence the version increase.

Release 23.12

Release 23.12

This is a maintenance release.

• Updated Dockerfiles
  • file .bashrc is created earlier (stage merge_stage_vnc)
• Updated file example-secrets.rc
  • removed the initialization of the variables FORCE_BUILDING and FORCE_PUBLISHING_BUILDER_REPO (unset means 0)
  • the variables are still used as before, but now they can be set individually for each building/publishing run

Release 23.11

Release 23.11

• Added file $HOME/.bashrc to all images.
  It contains examples of custom aliases

  • ll - just ls -l
  • cls - clears the terminal window
  • ps1 - sets the command prompt text

• Added more 'die-fast' error handling into the building and publishing scripts.
  They exit immediately if the image building or pushing commands fail.

Release 23.08.1

Release 23.08.1

Main changes:

• hook scripts env.rc, push and post_push have been updated
• handling of multiple deployment tags per image has been improved and it covers also publishing into the builder repository now
  • also less image pollution by publishing
• file readme-local-building-example.md got a new section Tips and examples, containing
  • How to deploy all images into one repository
• fix in ci-builder.sh help mode
• readme files updated
• container screenshots replaced by animations

Release 23.08

Release 23.08

This release brings updated and significantly shortened README files, because most of the content has been moved into the new User guide.

Release 23.07.1

Release 23.07.1

This release brings some enhancements in the Dockerfiles and the script user_generator.rc with the aim to better support extending the images.

Release 23.07

Release 23.07

This release introduces a new feature FEATURES_OVERRIDING_ENVV, which controls the overriding or adding of environment variables at the container startup-time.
Meaning, after the container has already been created.

The feature is enabled by default.
It can be disabled by setting the variable FEATURES_OVERRIDING_ENVV to zero when the container is created or the image is built.
Be aware that any other value than zero, even if unset or empty, enables the feature.

If FEATURES_OVERRIDING_ENVV=1, then the container startup script will look for the file $HOME/.override/.override_envv.rc and source all the lines that begin with the string 'export ' at the first position and contain the '=' character.

The overriding file can be provided from outside the container using bind mounts or volumes.

The lines that have been actually sourced can be reported into the container's log if the startup parameter --verbose or --debug is provided.

This feature is an enhanced implementation of the previously available functionality known as Overriding VNC/noVNC parameters at the container startup-time.

Therefore this is a breaking change for the users that already use the VNC/noVNC overriding.
They need to move the content from the previous file $HOME"/.vnc_override.rc into the new file $HOME/.override/.override_envv.rc.

Release 23.03.2

Release 23.03.2

This release mitigates the problems with the edge use case, when users bind the whole $HOME directory to an external folder on the host computer.

Please note that I recommend to avoid doing that. If you really want to, then your best bet is using the Docker volumes. That is the only option I've found, which works across the environments. In the discussion thread #39 I've described the way, how to initialize a bound $HOME folder, if you really want to give it a try.

Main changes:

• file .initial_sudo_password has been moved from the $HOME to the $STARTUPDIR folder
• file .initial_sudo_password is not deleted, but cleared after the container user is created
• startup scripts have been adjusted and improved
• readme files have been updated

Release 23.03.1

Release 23.03.1

This is a maintenance release aiming to improve the scripts and documentation.