Here is a slightly overdue status on Jessie.

• We are not ready to set a date on a Jessie release yet.  Even if we were, it would be unlikely that said date would be in January.  Accordingly, it is safe to assume that the rapid automatic removals clause of the freeze policy will be applied before our release.  If your package (or a package you use) depend on any package in this list, then they are at risk.
• It is unclear to me whether our CD1s are able to contain all the necessary packages.  This was a major issue for Wheezy.  So far I have only done some minor prodding here.  However, I really want this item done soon as it can easily take a month or more to resolve this.
• While the release notes have been improved quite a bit, I am certain that there are more cases we can cover.  As an example, I am looking for input on #773386.
• Despite the declining number of RC bugs, we still have some particular unhealthy ones left.  E.g. #759530.  There is also a view of some of the known unfixed Jessie blockers.
• We have had a number of issues with APT and dpkg (e.g. trigger cycles, APT breaking under puppet) that caused upgrade failures or were a severe regression.  Most of these have been resolved now.  There are some trigger issues left and I have pushed for a fixed dpkg at the cost of possibly removing some packages. See #772866 (among others).

Stricter freeze policy per January 5th

The next timed change of the freeze policy will apply per January 5th.  After that date, we will only accept RC bugs fixes.  Which means it is final chance for translation updates.

More on RC bugs

In absolute numbers, the RC bugs have declined quite well.  We are below 150 now.  We lost quite a bit of traction in December compared to November. However, November was an extremely efficient month.  However, we still need the final push here.

Debian installer release pending

Yesterday, we received a list of packages that needed to be unblocked for d-i with a remark that a release of d-i might follow.  Based on what we have unblocked previously, it will likely contain some (improved?) UEFI support.

Pending Debian 7.8 release

While not directly relevant to Jessie, we also got a pending Wheezy release planned for the 10th of January. The window for getting changes into the 7.8 release closes this weekend.

Want to help?

• File bugs against release-notes (source at [RN source]) and installation-guide for missing or outdated documentation.  Patches and drafts especially welcome.
• Fix RC bugs – especially the known Jessie blockers.
• Test upgrade paths and installation media.  Although in both cases, you may want to wait a bit (for the new dpkg to migrate and for the new debian-installer release respectively).
• Consider offering your help to teams such as the CD team or debian-installer team.

Thank you,

[RN source]:

https://anonscm.debian.org/viewvc/ddp/manuals/trunk/release-notes/

svn co https://anonscm.debian.org/viewvc/ddp/manuals/trunk/release-notes/

Git Repo: http://anonscm.debian.org/cgit/users/jcristau/release-notes.git/