Agama Is Coming to Tumbleweed

Image from the original story at news.opensuse.org.

Key points

Tumbleweed will move from the YaST installer to Agama before the end of the year, according to an announcement on the Factory mailing list. Agama-based images should become the main download on get.opensuse.org within the next few weeks, and the project wants testing and bug reports before that switch.

What changes

Agama images will replace the YaST-based installer as the primary download on get.opensuse.org within the coming weeks.
The traditional YaST-based image can still be downloaded for now.
Agama does not offer selection of individual packages; users choose from a curated list of patterns, and some patterns in the repository are not shown. The project describes this as an intentional simplification.

Images to test

Offline installer: released late last week, it ships a pre-filled package cache and installs Tumbleweed without network access. It is available at https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/iso/TW-offline-installer-x86_64.iso.
Network installer: available for some time, but in the appliances ISO directory on download.opensuse.org rather than the standard ISO directory, so many users may not have noticed it.

When the switch happens

Release managers will link the Agama images on get.opensuse.org only once openQA testing and the staging workflow show the installer is as stable as the YaST-based one.
Full openQA coverage is still being built.
Agama tests are being added to the staging workflow; the groundwork is in place, but the tests do not run yet.
A further announcement will follow when get.opensuse.org is ready to switch.

How to help

Testing of less common setups is especially wanted: RAID and LVM layouts, systems with multiple disks, serial console installations, offline installations and unusual hardware.
Any behaviour that differs from the YaST installer should be reported as a bug.
Documentation help is needed, as profile-based installs and console access are not yet widely covered in guides.

Background

Tumbleweed usually adopts new technology ahead of other openSUSE releases but deliberately waited on the installer until Agama either matched YaST's features or dropped them on purpose.
Leap 16.0 has used Agama since its first release.
YaST (Yet another Setup Tool), first released in April 1995, is no longer under active feature development and receives only minimal maintenance; the project says relying on it carries growing risk as the software it depends on keeps changing.

Summary by DistroNews, based on the original post.

The openSUSE Project’s rolling release Tumbleweed will switch to the Agama installer before the end of the year, according to an announcement on the Factory mailing list.

Agama-based images are expected to replace the legacy YaST installer as the main download on get.opensuse.org within the coming weeks.

The project is asking users to test the new installer now and report any problems before the cutover.

Two Agama images are available to test. An offline installer with a pre-filled package cache was released late last week and can install Tumbleweed without a network connection. A network-based installer has been available for some time, but it was placed outside the standard ISO directory, so many users likely never saw this. The netinstall image is in the appliances ISO directory on download.opensuse.org, and the offline installer is at https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/iso/TW-offline-installer-x86_64.iso. The traditional image remains available for now.

The switch depends on test results. Release managers will link the new images on get.opensuse.org once openQA testing and the staging workflow show the new installer is as stable as the YaST-based one. Full openQA coverage is still being built, and Agama tests are being added to the staging workflow, where the groundwork exists but the tests don’t yet run.

Less common setups are especially valuable before the cutover. These include RAID and LVM disk layouts, systems with several disks, serial console installs, offline installs and unusual hardware. Any behavior that differs from the YaST installer should be filed as a bug. Documentation is also needed, because profile-based installs and console access are not yet widely covered in guides.

The most visible change for users is that the installer no longer lets them pick individual packages. Only a curated set of patterns is offered, and not every pattern in the repository appears. The decision is a deliberate choice to simplify installation.

Tumbleweed usually adopts new technology before openSUSE’s other releases, but it held back on the installer on purpose. Leap 16.0 has used Agama since its first release, while Tumbleweed waited until the new installer either matched YaST’s features or dropped them deliberately. The project says the move is now needed because YaST is no longer under active feature development and receives only minimal maintenance. As the software it depends on keeps changing, relying on it carries growing risk. YaST, which stands for Yet another Setup Tool, was first released in April 1995.

The project plans another announcement when get.opensuse.org is ready to switch.