# ALBS a Year Later: Update on Build System Development #### UPDATE: We need to address the matter of the goals as presented in the original post by Jack as we did not achieve them. --- We've come a long way since we first introduced ALBS (AlmaLinux Build System) last year. As we continue to innovate and evolve, our commitment to building a transparent, efficient, and robust Linux distribution remains steadfast. In this update, we aim to provide you with the latest changes in the ALBS landscape, and where our focus is shifting as we strive to meet the needs of our ever-growing community. ## Review of the Last Year Looking back at the original ALBS announcement, we set out with specific goals: - **Robust RBAC System**: Achieved. We now have a full-fledged RBAC (Role-Based Access Control) system that allows maintainers and contributors from different organizations to build packages with granular permissions. - **SBOM Support**: Partially achieved. Support for Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) has been implemented, but it's worth mentioning that we're in the transition to a self-hosted solution as CodeNotary has deprecated their previous service. - **COPR Support**: Achieved. The feature is complete, and we are in the final stages of making it public. - **VM and Container Image Building & Publishing**: In progress. Although the CLIMG team has made strides in providing images for multiple cloud vendors, we're also working on VM support as part of our test subsystem. ## Milestones & Current Focus Automated VM and Container Image Building & Publishing: We are actively working on enhancing our subsystem for automated testing with VM support, focusing on simplifying the VM and container image building process. Our end goal is to make it straightforward for any organization interested in the "Enterprise Linux" ecosystem to build packages and images. Our other significant milestone is an [automated transparent process of working with patches](https://github.com/AlmaLinux/build-system/milestone/4). This effort will streamline the handling and application of patches, making it more efficient and transparent for both maintainers and users. ## What’s Next? Building Made Easy with ALBS In the coming months, we plan to publish a detailed guide on how straightforward it is to build your code with ALBS. Our intent is to equip you with the knowledge to navigate the system, from gaining access through community moderators to setting up your custom product and build process. Look forward to a comprehensive "how-to" that walks you through building your product reliably in just a few clicks. ## Help Us Build the Future We've achieved a lot, but there's always room for improvement. If you would like to be part of this exciting journey, we welcome you to join us at the [AlmaLinux Community Chat](https://chat.almalinux.org), [AlmaLinux Community on Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/AlmaLinux/), or catch us on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/AlmaLinux). In closing, we extend our heartfelt thanks to all our contributors and community members for your continued support. Your participation and feedback have been invaluable in shaping ALBS to what it is today and what it will become in the future.