Hi,
The OpenWrt community is proud to announce the second release candidate
of the OpenWrt 25.12 stable series.
Download firmware images using the OpenWrt Firmware Selector:
* https://firmware-selector.openwrt.org?version=25.12.0-rc2
Download firmware images directly from our download servers:
* https://downloads.openwrt.org/releases/25.12.0-rc2/targets/
Please test this version
========================
This is not the final version, this is a test version. Please report
problems and bugs in our issue tracker.
https://github.com/openwrt/openwrt/issues
Highlights in OpenWrt 25.12
===========================
OpenWrt 25.12.0-rc2 incorporates over 4300 commits since branching the
previous OpenWrt 24.10 release and has been under development for over
one year.
Only the main changes are listed below.
General changes
===============
The hardware requirements did not change significantly, most devices
supported by OpenWrt 24.10 should also work with OpenWrt 25.12.
Switch package manager from opkg to apk
=======================================
OpenWrt has transitioned from the traditional **opkg** package manager
to **apk** (Alpine Package Keeper).
This change brings several advantages:
* apk is still maintained, the OpenWrt opkg fork was not maintained
any more.
apk supports most features of opkg. Only very few package names changed.
The command line arguments of apk are different from the command line
arguments of opkg.
For users migrating existing systems, an official opkg to apk cheatsheet
is available to ease the transition and map common workflows.
https://openwrt.org/docs/guide-user/additional-software/opkg-to-apk-cheatsheet
Integration of attended sysupgrade
==================================
The attended sysupgrade LuCI application is now installed by default.
ASU allows devices to:
* Upgrade to new OpenWrt firmware versions
* Automatically rebuild firmware images with all currently installed
packages
* Preserve system configuration during upgrades
This dramatically simplifies upgrades: with just a few clicks in LuCI
and a short wait, a custom firmware image is built and installed without
manual intervention.
Shell history is preserved
==========================
Shell command history is now preserved across sessions by storing it in
a **RAM-backed filesystem**.
Benefits:
* Command history is no longer lost between logins
* No unnecessary writes to flash storage by default
For users who prefer persistent history storage, this behavior can be
changed by editing: `/etc/profile.d/busybox-history-file.sh`
⚠️ **Note:** Storing history on flash will increase write cycles and may
impact flash endurance over time.
Integration of video feed
==========================
The OpenWrt video feed with Qt5 and UI applications is integrated by
default.
Wi-Fi scripts in ucode
======================
The wifi scripts were rewritten in ucode.
Target changes
==============
* Extend realtek target with support for more switch SoCs like 10G
Ethernet switches.
* Extend qualcommax target with support for ipq50xx and ipq60xx SoCs.
* Added siflower target for Siflower SF21A6826/SF21H8898 SoCs
* Added sunxi/arm926ejs subtarget for Allwinner F1C100/200s SoCs
Many new devices added
======================
OpenWrt 25.12 supports over 2180 devices. Support for over 160 new
devices was added in addition to the device support by OpenWrt 24.10.
Core components update
===================
Core components have the following versions in 25.12.0-rc1:
* Updated toolchain:
* musl libc 1.2.5
* glibc 2.41
* gcc 14.3.0
* binutils 2.44
* Updated Linux kernel
* 6.12.63 for all targets
* main packages:
* cfg80211/mac80211 from kernel 6.18.0
* hostapd master snapshot from August 2025
* dnsmasq 2.91
* dropbear 2025.89
* busybox 1.37.0
In addition to the listed applications, many others were also updated.
Upgrading to 25.12
===================
Upgrading from 24.10 to 25.12 should be transparent on most devices, as
most configuration data has either remained the same or will be
translated correctly on first boot by the package init scripts.
* Sysupgrade from 23.05 to 25.12 is not officially supported.
* Cron log level was fixed in busybox.
`system.@system[0].cronloglevel` should be set to `7` for normal
logging. `7` is the default now. If this option is not set, the default
is used and no manual action is needed.
* Bananapi BPI-R4: Interfaces `eth1` was renamed to `sfp-lan` or
`lan4` and the interface `eth2` was renamed to `sfp-wan` to match the
labels. You have to upgrade without saving the configuration.
Scratch installs/upgrades
=========================
If you wish to start from scratch (always the safest, but also the most
work), simply download the pre-built image from the [downloads
site](https://downloads.openwrt.org/releases/25.12.0-rc2/targets/) or
from the [Firmware
Selector](https://openwrt.github.io/firmware-selector-openwrt-org?version=25.12.0-rc2)
to your device. Make sure to create and save a backup, then install the
image using `sysupgrade -n /tmp/firmware.bin` or the LuCI Backup/Flash
Firmware, being sure to set "Keep settings and retain the current
configuration" to its off position. Restore or reconstruct your
configuration using the contents of the backup as a template.
Attended Sysupgrade options
===========================
Attended Sysupgrade (ASU) allows you to build a custom image that
retains all of your installed packages and their configuration
transparently. You need to use one of the three ASU clients that
interface with the ASU server to produce this custom image:
- [Firmware
Selector](https://openwrt.github.io/firmware-selector-openwrt-org?version=25.12.0-rc2)
- an online builder that requires you to manually supply it with the
packages you wish to have installed. This package list is sent to the
ASU server, and a new custom device image is created containing those
packages. You may then download and install the image in LuCI
Backup/Flash Firmware, but for this you would enable "Keep settings..."
- [Luci Attended
Sysupgrade](https://openwrt.org/docs/guide-user/installation/attended.sysupgrade#from_luci_web_page)
- the web interface to the ASU server. This tool allows you to choose a
new OpenWrt version, then collects the names of the packages on your
device and sends them up to the ASU server. LuCI ASU then downloads the
created image directly to your device and allows you to install it,
without having to do any of the bookkeeping tasks involved with using
the Firmware Selector.
-
[owut](https://openwrt.org/docs/guide-user/installation/sysupgrade.owut)
- a command line package that does the same job as LuCI ASU, but
provides more diagnostics and better visibility into what's happening at
the various steps before and during the build process.
Both the LuCI ASU app and `owut` are optional packages in 24.10, so if
you have not installed them, they won't be there by default. Use either
the LuCI Package Manager to install them, or you can do it from the
command line with `opkg`:
```
$ opkg update
$ opkg install luci-app-attendedsysupgrade
$ opkg install owut
```
Note that you can install one or the other, or both together, they are
completely independent packages.
Upgrades with Firmware Selector
===============================
The Firmware Selector does an excellent job of searching through the
thousands of available device configurations and getting you to the
right place. But, some devices have several variants and possibly
different image formats, so if you're unsure about which one you need or
which device you're dealing with or anything else, go to the [|Firmware
Selector support
thread](https://forum.openwrt.org/t/the-openwrt-firmware-selector/81721)
and ask away.
Upgrades with LuCI Attended Sysupgrade
======================================
The LuCI web interface should be fairly self explanatory. Since you
have fairly limited options there that should be pretty obvious, but if
anything is unclear or you're unsure about something, go to the [LuCI
Attended Sysupgrade support
thread](https://forum.openwrt.org/t/luci-attended-sysupgrade-support-thread/230552)
and ask.
Upgrades with owut
==================
If you choose to use `owut`, the fact that it's a command line program
means you'll need a little more explanation regarding best practices.
In any situation, it's always safe to do a `check` to see what's going on.
```
$ owut check --verbose --version-to 25.10
... a lot of output ...
```
This check should show you all the details of what this upgrade entails
with regards to the packages available, and will point out any issues
with package versions and so on.
Assuming the results of the `check` look good, you can simply do an
`upgrade` next.
```
$ owut upgrade --verbose --version-to 25.10
... even more output ...
```
If you are unsure of anything you see in the `check`, during the
`upgrade`, or simply have questions, jump on over to the [owut support
thread](https://forum.openwrt.org/t/owut-openwrt-upgrade-tool/200035) on
the forum and ask.
Known issues
============
* Users of Zyxel EX5601-T0 devices need to check their WAN interfaces
as port was renamed from `eth1` to `wan`.
-----------------
Full release notes and upgrade instructions are available at
https://openwrt.org/releases/25.12/notes-25.12.0-rc2
In particular, make sure to read the regressions and known issues before
upgrading:
https://openwrt.org/releases/25.12/notes-25.12.0-rc2#known_issues
For a detailed list of all changes since 25.12.0-rc1, refer to
https://openwrt.org/releases/25.12/changelog-25.12.0-rc2
To download the 25.12.0-rc2 images, navigate to:
https://downloads.openwrt.org/releases/25.12.0-rc2/targets/
Use OpenWrt Firmware Selector to download:
https://firmware-selector.openwrt.org?version=25.12.0-rc2
As always, a big thank you goes to all our active package maintainers,
testers, documenters and supporters.
Have fun!
The OpenWrt Community
---
To stay informed of new OpenWrt releases and security advisories, there
are new channels available:
* a low-volume mailing list for important announcements:
https://lists.openwrt.org/mailman/listinfo/openwrt-announce
* a dedicated "announcements" section in the forum:
https://forum.openwrt.org/c/announcements/14
* other announcement channels (such as RSS feeds) might be added in the
future, they will be listed at https://openwrt.org/contact
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