OpenWrt 25.12.0-rc1 - Release Candidate

[Hauke Mehrtens]

Hi,

The OpenWrt community is proud to announce the first 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-rc1

Download firmware images directly from our download servers:
   * https://downloads.openwrt.org/releases/25.12.0-rc1/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-rc1 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
===============

   * Switch package manager from opkg to apk
   * Integration of attended Sysupgrade into default LuCI installation
   * The shell history is stored in RAM till the next reboot
   * Integration of video feed
   * Wi-Fi scripts converted to 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 23.05.0-rc1:

   * Updated toolchain:
     * musl libc 1.2.5
     * glibc 2.41
     * gcc 14.3.0
     * binutils 2.44
   * Updated Linux kernel
     * 6.12.62 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
===================

Sysupgrade can be used to upgrade a device from 24.10 to 25.12, and 
configuration will be preserved in most cases.

:!: Sysupgrade from 23.05 to 25.12 is not officially supported.


-----------------

Full release notes and upgrade instructions are available at
  https://openwrt.org/releases/25.12/notes-25.12.0-rc1

In particular, make sure to read the regressions and known issues before 
upgrading:
  https://openwrt.org/releases/25.12/notes-25.12.0-rc1#known_issues

For a detailed list of all changes since 24.10 branching, refer to
  https://openwrt.org/releases/25.12/changelog-25.12.0-rc1

To download the 25.12.0-rc1 images, navigate to:
  https://downloads.openwrt.org/releases/25.12.0-rc1/targets/
Use OpenWrt Firmware Selector to download:
  https://firmware-selector.openwrt.org?version=25.12.0-rc1

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