Distro Tracker 1.0 is here !

After several weeks of development and a rebranding, here is Distro Tracker version 1.0, the monitoring tool for find out latest stable versions of GNU/Linux & BSD distributions, along with their download links.

First and foremost, and the most visible change, is the creation of a dedicated website : https://distrotracker.com. This bilingual site includes an HTML rendering page of the collected data, a feed of changes to this data, as well as articles on the detailed operation of the program.

You will find the original Bash script there, but now also available in multiple distribution modes : a Snap package, a Flatpak package, and a PowerShell module !

Here are the new features :

• Expansion to 22 GNU/Linux with the following new additions : Arch, Mageia, OPNsense, Parrot, Proxmox, Slackware, & XCP-ng.
• General mechanism for retrieving version numbers using the -LENGTH parameter has been revised for more logic : not just X tested versions are returned, but now X valid versions.
• Addition of the -FILE parameter to choose tracking URLs via a local or remote JSON file.
• Addition of the -REPORT parameter to generate a JSON report to notify of any changes in the latest release of each distribution.
• Activation of the -ENV parameter.
• Renaming of the -DISTRIB parameter to -DISTRO, -DEPTH to -LENGTH, -DATASECURITY to -BACKUP.
• Addition of one-letter shortcuts for each parameter and option.
• Addition of the Compare_NokFilter function to better manage and clarify versions tagged “NOK” (beta, RC, etc.) : all pingable versions are retrieved, with a final filter on stable versions.

Happy tracking !