Hi.
I remember reading that the firmware selector is updated every 8 hours (I assume by a script ran 3 times a day). At what hours ? Answer in UTC please, so everyone can translate to its local time.
My real goal is to know when a new snapshot release will be available for online building.
Thanks.
To my knowledge there is no separate download repo for that, but it just uses binaries from the normal buildbot download site.
You better follow the actual buildbot and see when exactly your taret has been rebuilt...
The kernel / main firmware image buildbot has a build cycle of less than day /normally)
- https://buildbot.openwrt.org/master/images/#/builders
- https://buildbot.openwrt.org/master/packages/#/grid (grid does not show all targets, only the recent ones)
The packages buildbot has larger task and the cycle is longer, currently each target gets built once every 2-3 days..
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I am monitoring the targets I'm interested in daily.
There is a misunderstanding. My question is not "when will there be a new snapshot?".
When a new snapshot is released, I can download the image builder and build my own right now. Or wait several hours until it's available in the firmware selector. 3 times a day (each 8 hours), the snapshots list is updated in the firmware selector. But at which hours?
For example, right now it is 5/4/2023 20:53 UTC. There has been a release for mt7621 (r22711) dated at 16:58. The firmware selector is only displaying the previous (r22706). The new one will be shown in several hours.
Just realistically, do you really think anyone wants to commit to an exact time to be followed strictly (and the following slew of user all requesting their firmware exactly at the same time) for all eternity to come? This is an implementation detail, you'll get updated nightlies each day - doesn't that work for you?
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If you want a snapshot with this frequency it must be a lot easier to build from source instead of waiting for buildbot or using imagebuilder.
The step from using imagebuilder to source isn’t that big with the user manual we have, obviously since I once manage the giant leap and got it working.
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May I be understood as someone honestly asking for a technical question, and not as a dumb consumer asking for his product?
In my understanding, every 8 hours, all the builds made in the interval are updated in the firmware selector. Whatever targets may be. By observation I have noticed that this occured at 22:00, 06:00 and 14:00 UTC. I wanted a confirmation by someone in the inside.
But the build bots only builds snapshot images once every EU night so what is actually updated every 8 hour?
Check the timestamps in the directory and you'll see any hours, not only night timestamps. What is updated every 8 hours are the builds made during the latest 8 hours. That way of functionning is legit, I'm not complaining. A daily update would be fine, so an 8 hours basis is almost luxurious 
https://downloads.openwrt.org/snapshots/targets/
For example this has been build an hour ago, and is not already available in the image selector. My guess is that it will be at 14:00 UTC.
https://downloads.openwrt.org/snapshots/targets/bmips/bcm6358/
I'm motivated by scientific curiosity to understand a very convinient tool I'm using. The very same that had lead everyone here to try OpenWrt instead of the stock firmware 
I had some reasons to switch to OpenWrt, but none of them included some 8 hour build bot cyclic activity.
Maybe you can elaborate what the actual goal is here?
But the thing is that a small number of buildbots must build all snapshots to all active stable releases to all devices and master snapshot to all devices and all packages to all these snapshots. That takes pretty much a rolling 24h before the cycle starts all over again. It is pretty much impossible to build all these snapshots that imagebuilder use in 8hour with our build resources.
You do realize the imagebuilder doesn’t really build anything. It only put together different packages with the core components. So until the buildbots has done their normal 24h build run nothing changes in the imagebuilder. An update there at every 8hour only collects what the buildbot has finished during the latest 24h rolling pass.
You must build from source with some script you make your self and run that every 8 hour to be able to have a updated snapshot build every 8 hour 24/7.
If your aim is to stay shorter to the buildbot releases, better use the image generator to build your custom images. You can script that easily.
I have checked some images timestamps and their availabilities (this morning and this afternoon) in the firmware selector: they were updated at 14:00 UTC.
So the answer is: the firmware selector list of images is updated at 22:00, 06:00 and 14:00 UTC.
Plus about 2 minutes in order for the script to be performed.
Oh it's quite simple.
When I visit a relative, I update his router with a custom build. If I read the image timestamp, and know when it will be available in the firmware selector, I can decide which is the best method:
- to download the imagebuilder and create the image at home before leaving.
- use the firmware selector when on site in the afternoon.
I guess all this chat was meaningless for such a tiny decision to make.
Thank you anyway.
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