DarKE/FIRMWARE_CHANGELOG.md

Firmware Changelog

Differences, release milestones, and architecture changes across this workspace.

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1.0.0 — OpenKE Stock USB Installer (2026-09-24)

New Features & Architecture Transformation

• Transformed Repo into OpenKE Installer: Repurposed workspace from a stock pre-root patcher into a full-featured stock-compatible installer generator for OpenKE (Linux 6.6-rt + Klipper/Moonraker/GuppyScreen).
• Zero-Disassembly / Single-USB Install: Users can install OpenKE directly from an unmodified stock printer or Nebula Pad via the touchscreen UI without needing Ingenic mask-ROM recovery mode, cloner tools, or prior root access.
• Dual Target Hardware Profiles:
  • Ender-3 V3 KE (Board target F005)
  • Creality Nebula Smart Kit / Nebula Pad (Board target NEBULA)
• Standalone Build Script (build_openke_image.sh):
  • Automates preflight checks, asset selection, packaging, and validation.
  • Supports --target {ke,nebula,all}, --version, --artifacts, and --output.
• Direct OpenKE Packager (tools/pack_openke.py):
  • Directly encapsulates production OpenKE xImage and rootfs.squashfs without requiring SquashFS re-compression.
  • Validates hardware partition budgets: Kernel \le 8 MiB (5.54 MiB used), Rootfs \le 500 MiB (330.85 MiB used).
  • Validates SHA256 checksums against build-manifest.txt.
  • Generates 1 MiB payload chunks, MD5 hash sidecars, and Creality manifests.
  • Implements pure-Python Unix MD5-crypt password derivation for any Creality board.
  • Automatically verifies created 7z archives upon completion.
• Cached RTOS Binaries:
  • Extracted and cached assets/zero.bin (KE, 432 KB) and assets/zero_nebula.bin (Nebula, 424 KB), making builds completely standalone without needing the 118 MB stock firmware images.

Forensics, Bug Fixes & Live Qualification

• Resolved OTA Extraction Failure on Stock Updater:
  • Root Cause: Creality's /etc/ota_bin/local_ota_update.sh computes OTA_UNZIP_FILE_NAME=${OTA_FILE_NAME%.img*} and expects ota_config.in at <TEMP_DIR>/<OTA_UNZIP_FILE_NAME>/ota_config.in. When the archive file and internal folder names drifted, extraction aborted.
  • Fix: Ensured root directory inside the 7z archive strictly matches the .img filename without .img.
• Resolved Version Comparison Rejection:
  • Root Cause: Creality's master-server (UpgradeManager.c) parses versions after ota_img_V using regex [0-9]{1,3}. Raw integers like 11034 failed comparison against dotted stock versions.
  • Fix: Formatted all release versions with standard dotted numbers (e.g. 1.1.0.34), ensuring master-server and local_ota_update.sh recognize the update as newer than stock (1.1.0.30 / 1.1.0.17).
• Live Qualification:
  • Successfully verified on real Creality Nebula Pad hardware via USB flash drive.

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0.0.1 — Pre-Rooted Stock Firmware (Legacy)

• Baseline: Ender-3_V3_KE_F005_ota_img_V1.1.0.17.img
• Added overlay_rootfs/etc/init.d/S05agree_root to create /usr/data/creality/userdata/user_agree_root at boot.
• Enabled root access on stock CrealityOS.
• Provided tools/ke_firmware.py for SquashFS metadata-preserving rebuilds.