Release an ARM Linux build so the installer and thirdshift update work on aarch64 Linux #1663

Activity

1. JacobStephens2

   added

   enhancementNew feature or requestNew feature or request

   needs-triageMaintainer needs to evaluate this issueMaintainer needs to evaluate this issue

   on Oct 30, 2026
2. JacobStephens2 commented on Oct 30, 2026

   

   JacobStephens2

   on Oct 30, 2026

   Last edited by JacobStephens2

   OwnerAuthor

   More actions

   This was generated by AI during triage.

   Agent Brief

   Category: enhancement
   Summary: Publish a statically linked ARM Linux binary with every release, and run the full test suite on ARM Linux on main pushes and nightly.

   Decision (maintainer, 2026-10-30): option (b). ARM Linux is supported with CI test coverage, not just a smoke test. Rocky and WSL2 keep their smoke checks with no test suite: a Rocky container can't reproduce a Rocky host's kernel, SELinux or systemd, and the maintainer runs thirdshift daily on a real Rocky 9.8 host. The docs say which platforms get which.

   The time cost was checked against today's successful main runs. A full CI run takes 18–21 minutes, set by the macOS shards (13–18 minutes each); the x86_64 test job takes 15–21 minutes. ubuntu-24.04-arm has the same 4 vCPUs, so an ARM suite run in parallel should add little or no time. GitHub's standard runners, ARM included, are free for this public repository.

   For comparison, Rocky Linux and WSL2 get smoke checks only (a static-link check plus thirdshift version). x86_64 Ubuntu and macOS get the test suite.

   Current behavior:

   • Releases build only x86_64-unknown-linux-musl and aarch64-apple-darwin.
   • On aarch64 Linux the shell installer stops with "there isn't a download for your platform aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu".
   • A source or crates.io install has no install receipt, so thirdshift update refuses there.
   • ADR 0003 records "ARM Linux … have no binary".

   Desired behavior:

   • Release.

     • Each release also publishes an aarch64-unknown-linux-musl binary. It's statically linked like the x86_64 one, built on GitHub's ubuntu-24.04-arm runner, and covered by the same shell installer, so thirdshift update works on ARM Linux.
     • Before the GitHub Release is published, a smoke job on ubuntu-24.04-arm checks the ARM binary is statically linked and that thirdshift version prints the release's version. It follows the existing release smoke pattern: always on tag pushes, and on pull requests only when the existing gate would run.
     • If that check fails, nothing is published, as with the Rocky and WSL checks.

   • CI.

     • The full test suite, with the same clippy and nextest invocation as x86_64 Linux, runs on ubuntu-24.04-arm on main pushes and the nightly schedule.
     • It doesn't run on ordinary pull requests, like the full macOS suite. Mirror that split, including a way to run it on a PR on demand if the macOS label mechanism generalizes cheaply.
     • It reports under one stable check name.
     • Shard it if one ARM job would take noticeably longer than the existing longest job.

   • Docs. The platform lists name ARM Linux:

     • ADR 0003's build list and its "no binary" consequence (amend the ADR; don't add a new one);
     • the README's "Supported:" line;
     • the user manual's Supported platforms section, then regenerate the generated manual;
     • the hand-written site home page's "Requirements and platforms" list, which says it agrees with the README.

   • Wording. Every platform list states what each platform is checked with, so "supported" doesn't imply equal coverage:

     • test suite in CI: Ubuntu 24.04 x86_64, macOS on Apple Silicon, and Ubuntu 24.04 aarch64;
     • release smoke check only: Rocky Linux 9 and WSL2, each confirmed to start the static x86_64 binary and print its version. Rocky's check runs in a rockylinux:9 container on an Ubuntu runner, so it doesn't exercise a Rocky host's kernel, SELinux or systemd.

     Make no claim that Rocky or WSL run on ARM.

   Key interfaces:

   • dist-workspace.toml [dist] targets, and [dist.github-custom-runners], which maps each target to a pinned runner image.
   • The release workflow is generated. Change the dist config or the generator, then regenerate it with the repository's generator script. Never hand-edit the generated workflow. The repository's CI check for the generator must still pass.
   • The release smoke workflow (workflow_call with a plan input) currently hard-codes the x86_64 archive and artifact names. ARM needs its own job or a parameterized one, read from the dist plan.
   • thirdshift update relies on the installer's receipt matching the running executable. No change is expected there, but verify it on ARM.

   Acceptance criteria:

   • On a dry release or pull request run that the smoke gate covers, the plan lists aarch64-unknown-linux-musl, its build job succeeds on ubuntu-24.04-arm, and the ARM smoke job passes (file reports a static binary, and thirdshift version prints the expected version).
   • A failing ARM smoke check blocks the GitHub Release, verified by reading the generated workflow's job dependencies.
   • A main push and the nightly schedule run the full ARM Linux suite and it passes. An ordinary pull request doesn't run it, and its CI time is unchanged.
   • The installer, run on aarch64 Linux against a release that includes the target, installs to ~/.local/bin and writes a receipt. thirdshift update there then reports it's up to date instead of "no install receipt". If no release exists yet, check the installer's platform table in the generated script.
   • ADR 0003, the README, the user manual (with the generated manual regenerated, and its check passing) and the site home page all list the ARM Linux build, and each platform's coverage (test suite or smoke check only), consistently.
   • scripts/affected-tests main passes.

   Out of scope:

   • Intel macOS, native Windows, and glibc ARM builds.
   • Running the test suite on Rocky or WSL2.
   • Replacing the updater (Replace axoupdater with a small verified updater #1592).
   • Making a release; the maintainer runs that.
3. JacobStephens2

   added

   ready-for-agentFully specified, ready for an AFK agentFully specified, ready for an AFK agent

   in-progressA Claim: thirdshift has taken this issueA Claim: thirdshift has taken this issue

   and removed

   needs-triageMaintainer needs to evaluate this issueMaintainer needs to evaluate this issue

   ready-for-agentFully specified, ready for an AFK agentFully specified, ready for an AFK agent

   on Oct 30, 2026
4. JacobStephens2

   marked this as blocking on Oct 30, 2026

   • Specialize thirdshift on Linux and drop native macOS support #1665
5. JacobStephens2

   closed this as completedin #1664on Oct 30, 2026
6. JacobStephens2

   removed

   in-progressA Claim: thirdshift has taken this issueA Claim: thirdshift has taken this issue

   on Oct 30, 2026