update-ci-distro-releases

name	update-ci-distro-releases
description	Update spread and GitHub Actions distro/runner versions to current supported Ubuntu, Fedora, and Alpine releases; remove EOL stable releases by default, preserve existing development tracks, optionally keep only latest stable per distro, and refresh GitHub runner images.

Update CI Distro Releases

Use this workflow when asked to refresh distro versions in spread and GitHub Actions configuration.

Authoritative sources:

• Ubuntu release support and lifecycle: https://ubuntu.com/about/release-cycle
• Fedora release history (for current and EOL): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fedora_Linux_release_history
• Alpine releases and support windows: https://alpinelinux.org/releases/
• GitHub Actions runner images and deprecations: https://github.com/actions/runner-images

Behavior

Default behavior:

1. Remove unsupported/EOL distro releases.
2. Keep all still-supported releases.
3. Add newly supported releases to the version lists/matrices.
4. Preserve existing development images/tracks (for example edge, rawhide, devel)

Optional behavior when explicitly requested:

1. Keep only the latest supported stable release for each distro.
2. Where applicable, replace the default release with the latest supported stable release.

Files to inspect and update

• spread.yaml
• .github/workflows/spread.yml
• Any workflow under .github/workflows/*.yml with distro version literals or explicit runner image pins.

Typical fields:

• spread backend systems list (backends.lxd.systems)
• spread environment release aliases (RELEASE/...)
• unversioned spread release aliases (for example RELEASE/fedora_clang) aligned to the latest supported stable release for their distro track
• RELEASE and RELEASE/ubuntu are special-case Ubuntu aliases: update only in latest-only mode, and only to the latest supported Ubuntu LTS codename
• spread GitHub Actions matrix entries (for example lxd:alpine-..., lxd:fedora_...)
• workflow runs-on image pins (for example ubuntu-24.04, ubuntu-22.04, ubuntu-latest)

Ubuntu-specific (especially in latest-only mode):

• stable Ubuntu system image in backends.lxd.systems (for example ubuntu-24.04 -> ubuntu-26.04)
• default Ubuntu release aliases (RELEASE and RELEASE/ubuntu) to the latest supported Ubuntu LTS codename
• remove superseded interim aliases from RELEASE/... when latest-only is requested (for example remove RELEASE/ubuntu_questing once RELEASE/ubuntu_resolute is the selected stable baseline)
• remove matching superseded spread matrix tasks under .github/workflows/spread.yml (for example lxd:...:ubuntu_questing)

Update procedure

1. Determine current supported stable releases for Ubuntu, Fedora, and Alpine from the sources above.
2. Choose target versions per distro:
   • Default mode: keep all supported stable releases.
   • Latest-only mode: keep only the newest supported stable release.
3. Update the fields listed above:
   • Add newly supported versions and remove EOL versions.
   • Preserve existing development tracks (edge, rawhide, devel).
   • Keep naming conventions consistent with the existing config.
   • Update unversioned stable release aliases to match the newest supported stable release for their distro track (for example keep RELEASE/fedora_clang aligned with the newest supported stable Fedora release kept in RELEASE/fedora_<version>).
   • Do not update RELEASE or RELEASE/ubuntu in default mode.
   • In Ubuntu latest-only mode, set RELEASE and RELEASE/ubuntu to the latest supported Ubuntu LTS codename, keep only the latest stable Ubuntu image in backends.lxd.systems, and remove superseded interim aliases/tasks.
4. If runner images are in scope:
   • Update explicit pinned runs-on images only when repo policy or prompt requires it.
   • Only change runs-on to labels that are documented as available GitHub-hosted runner images in actions/runner-images.
   • Do not infer a new runs-on label from distro upgrades in spread config; if no matching GitHub-hosted image exists, keep the current pin (or ubuntu-latest) and note the constraint.
   • Leave ubuntu-latest unchanged unless explicitly requested.
5. When runner updates are touched, include this user prompt verbatim:
   • Please verify whether any self-hosted runners also need OS/image updates to match these CI changes.

Validation checklist

• No remaining references to removed/EOL distro versions in spread.yaml or .github/workflows/*.yml.
• Spread matrix entries align with backends.lxd.systems and RELEASE/... aliases.
• Unversioned stable release aliases (excluding RELEASE and RELEASE/ubuntu) match the selected latest supported stable release for their distro track.
• Existing development images/tracks are preserved.
• If latest-only mode was requested, exactly one stable version remains per distro.
• If latest-only mode was requested for Ubuntu, RELEASE and RELEASE/ubuntu match the latest supported Ubuntu LTS codename and superseded interim aliases/tasks are removed.
• YAML syntax remains valid (validate with yq).

Recommended validation command:

yq '.' spread.yaml >/dev/null && yq '.' .github/workflows/spread.yml >/dev/null

Suggested search commands

rg -n "alpine-|fedora-|ubuntu-|rawhide|edge|devel|runs-on:" spread.yaml .github/workflows/*.yml

Rules

• Prefer minimal, targeted edits.
• Do not silently change release-policy intent; follow default mode unless the prompt explicitly requests latest-only mode.
• Never update workflow runs-on to an unverified or unavailable image label.
• If upstream support status is ambiguous, state assumptions explicitly before finalizing.