Mainsail Update 03-2025

I'd like to return to my usual rhythm of monthly updates, so today I'm sharing the March update for 2025. This month, there might not be quite as much to report as last time.

My primary focus over the past few weeks was on MainsailOS. I'm now almost finished with it. Currently, only the release workflow remains incomplete. This includes uploading images to GitHub Releases, creating the changelog, and updating and uploading the JSON file for the Raspberry Pi Imager. (most of these can be copy from the old workflow)

Another significant milestone was the complete redevelopment of the Sonar service in Python. Internally, we refer to this version as "Pynar", analogous to our Python rewrite of Crowsnest, which we named "Pynest". During Sonar's update for Debian Bookworm, we discovered some disadvantages and bugs in the original Bash implementation, which were either impossible or very complicated to fix with BASH. Therefore, I decided to completely rewrite Sonar in Python. This will make future improvements easier and significantly enhance maintainability.

However, one open question remains: How should we handle existing installations? Until recently, my plan was to leave the old Bash-based Sonar installations untouched in their current GitHub branch. But while writing this Patreon post, a new idea occurred to me: since the old version runs via the script "sonar" (without file extension) and the new Python version is called "sonar.py", I could transform the old Bash script into a sort of "updater." This script could automatically switch to the new service files of "sonar.py" upon its first execution. I haven't tested this yet, but the idea seems promising for ensuring a straightforward and smooth transition for all users.

Once these tasks are completed, I will perform final tests to ensure that all SPI, I2C, and UART connections function perfectly with the new MainsailOS images on all supported Single-Board Computers (SBCs). Afterward, I will finally be able to officially release the Bookworm images.

By the way, Debian 13 (Trixie) is scheduled for release in 2025, and I think that Raspberry Pi OS will follow a few months later. Fortunately, our new MainsailOS build workflow is flexible enough that we should be able to quickly catch up this time—provided Raspberry doesn't introduce any unexpected foundational changes.

Additionally, following the release of MainsailOS v2 (Bookworm), I will review and merge the two significant pull requests from AFC and HappyHair for Mainsail. These will introduce substantial improvements, especially beneficial for multi-filament and multi-color printers.

Finally, a quick question for all of you: How many of you use Sonar to maintain stable Wi-Fi on your Raspberry Pis? Has Sonar solved your issues, or are you still issues? I would greatly appreciate your feedback in the comments!

I sincerely thank you for your support and feedback, and I look forward to your comments. Stay tuned, and until the next update!

Best regards,
Stefan Dej