changelog: opam.2.2.0~beta1

data/changelog/opam/2024-01-18-opam-2-2-0-beta1.md

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+---
+title: opam 2.2.0~beta1
+authors: [
+  "Raja Boujbel",
+  "Kate Deplaix",
+  "David Allsopp",
+]
+description: "Beta1 release of opam 2.2.0"
+tags: [opam, platform]
+---
+
+_Feedback on this post is welcomed on [Discuss](https://discuss.ocaml.org/t/ann-opam-2-2-0-beta1/13913)!_
+
+We are happy to announce the first beta release of opam 2.2.0. It contains
+some fixes and a new feature for Windows.  You can view the full list in the
+[release note](https://github.com/ocaml/opam/releases/tag/2.2.0-beta1).
+
+This version is a beta, we invite users to test it to spot previously
+unnoticed bugs as we head towards the stable release.
+
+## Major change: Check and advertise to use Git for Windows
+
+Opam 2.2 is based on a Cygwin installation (previously installed, or managed
+internally by opam). Cygwin's Git has three known usability issues when used
+outside a Cygwin environment: it uses a different set of trusted certificate
+authorities, has its own Credential Manager and potentially uses a separate Git
+configuration.  We therefore recommend using [Git for
+Windows](https://gitforwindows.org) either installed manually or via `winget`.
+
+At `opam init`, opam checks for available Git(s), and asks the user to choose
+one of the available, or to rerun `opam init` after installing another Git.
+
+## Other noteworthy changes
+
+* When compiling opam on Windows with MinGW, the resulting opam binary now contains `libstdc++` instead of requiring the DLL to be distributed alongside it or present in the environment
+* Fix `opam env` containing carriage return on Cygwin - `eval $(opam env)` now works from a Cygwin bash terminal
+
+## Miscellaneous changes
+
+* Remove stray comments from `pwsh` and `cmd` opam env output
+* Add `./configure --enable-static` to compile the opam binary statically on Linux
+* Fix debug logs showing up regardless of verbosity on macOS 12.7.1 / 13.6.3 / 14.2 and FreeBSD
+* Upgrade to, and require mccs >= 1.1+17
+* Fix `opam tree` options `--dev` and `--no-switch`
+
+Various other improvements were made and bugs were fixed.
+API changes are denoted in the release note linked above.
+This release also includes PRs improving the documentation and improving and extending the tests.
+
+## Windows Support
+
+The main opam-repository Windows compliance is still a work in progress, we
+recommend to use existing [compatible
+repository](https://github.com/ocaml-opam/opam-repository-mingw) (originally
+from [@fdopen](https://github.com/fdopen)) and [32/64 bit mingw-w64
+packages](https://github.com/dra27/opam-repository/tree/windows-5.0) (by
+[@dra27](https://github.com/dra27)).
+
+
+### How to Test opam on Windows
+
+If you're feeling adventurous, you can use the experimental pre-built binary for Windows available [here](https://github.com/ocaml/opam/releases/download/2.2.0-beta1/opam-2.2.0-beta1-x86_64-preview-for-windows.exe).
+
+Otherwise you can compile opam yourself using the following steps:
+
+This beta requires a preexisting Cygwin installation for compiling opam.
+
+1. Check that you have all dependencies installed:
+  * `autoconf`, `make`, `patch`, `curl`
+  * MinGW compilers: `mingw64-x86_64-gcc-g++`, `mingw64-i686-gcc-g++`
+  * Or if you want to use the MSVC port of OCaml, you'll need to install Visual Studio or Visual Studio Build Tools
+2. Download & extract the [opam archive](https://github.com/ocaml/opam/releases/download/2.2.0-beta1/opam-full-2.2.0-beta1.tar.gz)
+3. In the directory, launch `make cold`
+4. A coffee later, you now have an opam executable!
+5. Start your preferred Windows terminal (`cmd` or `PowerShell`), and initialise opam with the Windows _sunset_ repository:
+  * `opam init git+https://github.com/ocaml-opam/opam-repository-mingw`
+
+From here, you can try to install the [sunset
+repository](https://discuss.ocaml.org/t/sunsetting-opam-repository-mingw/11632)
+packages. If you find any bugs, please [submit an
+issue](https://github.com/ocaml-opam/opam-repository-mingw#what-do-i-do-when-things-are-broken).
+It will help opam-repository maintainers to add Windows repository packages
+into the main repository.
+
+## Try it!
+
+In case you plan a possible rollback, you may want to first backup your
+`~/.opam` directory.
+
+The upgrade instructions are unchanged:
+
+1. Either from binaries: run
+
+    ```
+    bash -c "sh <(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ocaml/opam/master/shell/install.sh) --version 2.2.0~beta1"
+    ```
+
+    or download manually from [the Github "Releases" page](https://github.com/ocaml/opam/releases/tag/2.2.0-beta1) to your PATH.
+
+2. Or from source, manually: see the instructions in the [README](https://github.com/ocaml/opam/tree/2.2.0-beta1#compiling-this-repo).
+
+
+You should then run:
+```
+opam init --reinit -ni
+```
+
+
+Please report any issues to [the bug-tracker](https://github.com/ocaml/opam/issues).
+
+Thanks for trying this new release out, and we hope you will enjoy the new features!