Ubuntu Trusty update 2017/Q4 and new LTS/Latest process

Schedule

We're happy to announce that we will be updating our Trusty Build Images on December 11th, 2017. With this update, we will also introduce a new set of `group:` attributes for selecting build images, and the existing ones will be deprecated.

The `group:` key

We'll be providing the option of both a stable, long-term support image where only security updates will be made. This is the group: travis_lts option, and is enabled by default.

We'll also be offering another image which will be frequently, regularly updated images with the name group: travis_latest.

History

Since the start of Travis CI, we’ve tried to provide images that could accommodate the vast majority of our users with periodic updates provided as needed. These images host a number of pre-installed software packages that are commonly requested and used. We update these as needed and requested, but there’s always been a balance to strike - do we push for cutting edge features, or do we keep to the stable and well known to work? There are plenty of benefits to both directions. Before, we’ve tried to strike a balance in a natural fashion but this led to some inconsistency in timelines for updates of images.

With this new setup, we can instead offer the best of both worlds. You can read our blog post about it here: https://blog.travis-ci.com/2017-12-01-new-update-schedule-for-linux-build-images.

Testing

We are encouraging you to proactively try these new images in advance to reduce the number of surprises on Monday. This is already possible if you are using our sudo-enabled infrastructure (i.e. with sudo: required). Simply add group: edge to your .travis.yml file and you're all set. Unfortunately, this is not possible right now if you are using our container-based infrastructure (i.e. with sudo: false).

Support

If anything comes up, we'd be glad to hear from you and you can learn how to report your issues here: https://github.com/travis-ci/travis-ci/issues/8870.