You might have been wondering lately what’s up with Ubuntu mainline builds [1] and why a lot of the recent 6.x builds failed. Well, in the 6.0 time frame we moved some checker scripts around [2] and changed how we handle kernel configs. Away from split config files towards a single annotations file [3]. This is still work in progress and we’ll keep making changes as we go along.
An unexpected side-effect of this is that it broke mainline builds Some kernels still built properly - by sheer luck - but the majority failed due to config errors.
To give some context: When building kernel packages, there are a couple of checks that make sure we don’t release potentially broken kernels. Amongst other things, we check that kernel configs are as expected and that we don’t accidentally break the kernel ABI. This is not relevant for mainline builds, so these checks are disabled - theoretically. The code that generates mainline builds as well as the packaging bits have obviously changed over time and so have these checks. The build scripts disable the checks in two ways: 1) replace the checker scripts with empty shell scripts and 2) set a do_mainline_build build flag that is honored by the build scripts/rules to ignore some checks. With the above mentioned changes, we moved the checker scripts so they didn’t get stubbed out by the mainline build scripts and we introduced new config handling tools that ignored the do_mainline_build flag…
Long story short, it’s all fixed and hopefully in a more robust way than before. Be aware though that we don’t actively monitor mainline builds so might not notice immediately when builds fail. In that case, don’t hesitate to notify us on IRC [4] or via email [5]. Or do so for any kernel related question/comment/suggestion/…
$ mainline --install-latest
mainline 1.1.9
Distribution: Linux Mint 21.1
Architecture: amd64
Running kernel: 6.2.8-060208-generic
Updating from: ‘https://kernel.ubuntu.com/~kernel-ppa/mainline/’
OK
Found installed : 6.2-6ubuntu1~jammy
Found installed : 6.2.5-060205.202303110831
Found installed : 6.2.8-060208.202303220943
Latest point update: 6.2.9
Hello, is the processing new tags issue still what keeps new builds from showing? Or is it something else as I see 6.3.10, 6.3.11 and 6.4.1 are missing?
I see that the newer builds are now available, all up to 6.3.12 and 6.4.2, but they (6.3.10-6.3.12, 6.4.1 and 6.4.2) appear as invalid in the Ubuntu Mainline Kernel Installer.
They should be all there by now. I don’t know what Ubuntu Mainline Kernel Installer is nor how it works but note that the existence of the main directory (for example ~kernel-ppa/mainline/v6.4.1/) is only the first step of the build process which will then trigger the actual builds of the binary packages.
I should probably add an overall build status that indicates the build status/progress of the whole operation. And also some PASS/FAIL logic to better detect missing/bad builds.
Hey @juergh, thank you for the clarifications. When I first checked, the tests were not yet ran for the builds, but after the tests finished (successfully) the builds were also available in the kernel installer app I’m using. It’s nice to have a bit more context on what is going on. It would be great to have the build status easily available as well.
Half the time, if the amd64 builds are actually there, they don’t have Nvidia driver support until at least a month later.
Sometimes, you can upgrade to a later Nvidia driver release to find Nvidia driver support.
I had to move from Nvidia 535 drivers to the 555 drivers to get the 6.10-rc2 kernel to build properly.
And sometimes, that is all for naught because the mainline ppa maintainers move to the next GLIBC version meaning that you are never going to get LTS release support for the later kernels.
Ubuntu mainline builds are unsupported. They don’t receive security updates. They’re unsupported. You should only use them for testing/debugging. They’re unsupported.
6.2 is very, very old. You should upgrade.
You should report this problem against whatever tool you’re using to install/upgrade Ubuntu mainline builds. 6.2.9 does not exist, it failed to build: Index of /mainline/v6.2.9
For a very, very long time, I have wished we could make this unsupportedmuch more obvious to users.
Maybe we should create a separate ‘Mainline Kernel Support’ category here and block the entire Ubuntu Kernel team from accessing it so they don’t get distracted. I honestly think this idea has legs Maybe add a Chatty Jeeps bot in there for “fun.”
Here are my not-at-all serious and increasingly deranged suggestions to inform and discourage the use of the mainline kernel; don’t @ me.
While running mainline, your machine shows an enormous [-U-N-S-U-P-P-O-R-T-E-D-] banner on every other line of the system journal
Also, the system only boots in French (gonna be honest, that will be fine for many of our lovely French amis (Bonsoir @jibel@seb128@didrocks - Vive la révolution!)
Mainline kernel builds will only be made available to paying Ubuntu Pro subscribers (not gonna lie; this one isn’t a completely terrible idea, and I am 42% certain someone at Canonical has probably already suggested it at a Product Sprint gotta pay those kernel developer salaries somehow!)
Alternatively, the mainline is only available under a new free-tier “Ubuntu Amateur” account that expires after 30 daysa year a random period. Once it expires, you get thrown back to Linux Kernel 2.6.8, which (fact fans) shipped with Ubuntu 4.10 (Warty Warthog)
Mainline kernel users can install any font they like, but if they take a screenshot, the font gets in-line replaced with MS Comic Sans. Beautiful
The kernel introduces an exponentially larger boot delay every day. It’s an almost imperceptible one Millisecond on the first day. But like a grain of rice on a chessboard, after 64 days, it will take an extra 9,223,372,036,854,775.808 seconds to boot
If you ask support questions in any official location, your avatar gets changed to a for a week
If you’re using anything other than Ubuntu (like Zorin, Mint, or PopOS) with a mainline kernel, in the background, slowly, non-interactively, a few packages a day are migrated back to Ubuntu, starting with snapd, and ending with linux-image-generic, getting you right back on track
While running the mainline kernel, the display is rotated slightly, maybe 3 degrees. Not 90, not 180, but an irritating small amount that will cause some text to be slightly off-screen and annoy people. Like this:
If the above is implemented, while you install the mainline debs, the desktop should quietly play You’re the Fool by The Three Degrees, but like really, super quietly, so you wonder where it’s coming from. Subliminal messaging.
Your IP address gets blocked from accessing the mainline kernel server, every day except your birthday. Send us a photocopy of your government-issued ID to enable this feature.
Further suggestions are very welcome.
Support questions, less so.
–
Humour: the quality of being amusing or comic, especially as expressed in literature or speech.
(please don’t send copies of your government-issued ID)
Some kernels still built properly - by sheer luck - but the majority failed due to config errors.
obvious 
Maybe add a 
(gonna be honest, that will be fine for many of our lovely French amis (Bonsoir 
- Vive la révolution!)
Ubuntu Pro 
subscribers (not gonna lie; this one isn’t a completely terrible idea, and I am 42% certain someone at Canonical has probably already suggested it at a Product Sprint 
gotta pay those kernel developer salaries somehow!)
for a week
