Depending on what we are working on, it can take some time until a feature you are waiting for gets published, also we already have written it. So for those wanting to test brand new features or needing fixes not published yet, we offer our nightly builds for testing.
Possible risks
There is no special testing for these builds. They get published based on the latest checked in sources. The typical case will be, that the system runs stable and just the features we are working on might have issues. In rare cases we made some mistake breaking something, we did not want to break. Our policy is to only check in code, when we do not know about an error caused by this. But not knowing is no guarantee for not having. Only towards final release we start extra tests to check for problems to fix before release.
I found a bug – what should I do
One reason to provide nightly builds is, to get early feedback. So if you find a bug you should report it so we check and fix it. You can use our support system for this: https://usersupport.repetier.com/.
Going back to stable versions
One drawback of nighty builds is, that they contain the same version as next stable version. So you will not see the update message. You can simply use the manual installation for the new version to switch from nightly to stable release.
You can also use manuall install of latest previous stable release in case the nightly breaks printing and you need your printer. You might loose new settings on the backgrade. In some rare cases you also loose old settings, if the new system stored the values in a different way. This has happend 2 times in the past. Best is to make a backup of your configurations with Repetier-Server Monitor before installing a nightly build. That way you can just restore old settings. There is no real need to backup the big stuff like g-codes, projects, timelapses.
How to install a nightly build
First, make sure your operating system is supported for nighty builds. At the moment we only create them for all linux versions. We have no automatic generator for Windows and macOS.
Now if you use nightly builds, you most likely want to update them on a regular basis. So you should write an update command for your version. No panic, we show you exactly what to do. Open a terminal – either by logging in to your linux pc with ssh or by opening a terminal on the linux desktop. First copy the complete code for your processor version and paste it into the terminal. You might get asked for your password due to sudo requirement to install it as command in /usr/bin.
Linux – armhf (e.g. Raspberry pi 2 or better)
sudo tee /usr/bin/installRepetierNightly > /dev/null <<EOF #!/bin/bash cd /tmp rm -f Repetier-Server-nightly.deb* wget http://download1.repetier.com/files/server/debian-armhf/Repetier-Server-nightly.deb sudo dpkg -i ./Repetier-Server-nightly.deb rm Repetier-Server-nightly.deb EOF sudo chmod a+x /usr/bin/installRepetierNightly
Linux – armel (Raspberry zero and pi 1)
sudo tee /usr/bin/installRepetierNightly > /dev/null <<EOF #!/bin/bash cd /tmp rm -f Repetier-Server-nightly.deb* wget http://download1.repetier.com/files/server/debian-armel/Repetier-Server-nightly.deb sudo dpkg -i ./Repetier-Server-nightly.deb rm Repetier-Server-nightly.deb EOF sudo chmod a+x /usr/bin/installRepetierNightly
Linux – armhf 64 bit
sudo tee /usr/bin/installRepetierNightly > /dev/null <<EOF #!/bin/bash cd /tmp rm -f Repetier-Server-nightly.deb* wget http://download1.repetier.com/files/server/debian-arm64hf/Repetier-Server-nightly.deb sudo dpkg -i ./Repetier-Server-nightly.deb rm Repetier-Server-nightly.deb EOF sudo chmod a+x /usr/bin/installRepetierNightly
Linux – intel 64 bit
sudo tee /usr/bin/installRepetierNightly > /dev/null <<EOF #!/bin/bash cd /tmp rm -f Repetier-Server-nightly.deb* wget http://download1.repetier.com/files/server/debian-amd64/Repetier-Server-nightly.deb sudo dpkg -i ./Repetier-Server-nightly.deb rm Repetier-Server-nightly.deb EOF sudo chmod a+x /usr/bin/installRepetierNightly
Linux – intel 32 bit
sudo tee /usr/bin/installRepetierNightly > /dev/null <<EOF #!/bin/bash cd /tmp rm -f Repetier-Server-nightly.deb* wget http://download1.repetier.com/files/server/debian-intel32/Repetier-Server-nightly.deb sudo dpkg -i ./Repetier-Server-nightly.deb rm Repetier-Server-nightly.deb EOF sudo chmod a+x /usr/bin/installRepetierNightly
After installation you simply enter
installRepetierNightly
and it will update Repetier-Server to our latest nighty. You will see the date of the nightly in the normal web gui in the title. You can install the current build version as often as you like with that command. After installing please make a reload in your browser to ensure you are using the latest scripts.