The history of xPack Ninja Build

April 2020

The project was created in April 2020.

Initially it was considered that on Windows it is mandatory to spawn processes via cmd.exe /c and a patch was applied for this change. The decision was reversed in mid-2024.

September 2020

The first xPack Ninja Build release was v1.10.0-1.

October 2021

In the Windows binaries, the MSVC runtime was replaced with the newer Universal C Runtime (UCRT) (in v1.10.2-4).

December 2021

Support for Apple Silicon macOS was added (in v1.10.2-5).

May 2022

Support for x86 Windows and x86 GNU/Linux (32-bit) was discontinued (in v1.11.0-1).

October 2022

The project received a significant update by transitioning the build scripts from the unwieldy monolithic XBB Docker images to the more flexible and modular xpm packages. XBB version 5.0.0 marked a major milestone for the xPack project, as it was the first self-sustained release. This version enabled the creation of new binary packages utilising existing binary packages, eliminating the need for bespoke Docker images or other compiled tools.

August 2024

The project underwent comprehensive restructuring. To streamline the top-level package.json by presenting only user-related definitions whilst concealing build-related ones, all build-related files were relocated to the build-assets folder. Furthermore, the development Git branch was renamed to xpack-development for enhanced clarity.

September 2024

The patch to spawn processes on Windows via cmd.exe /c was no longer applied (in v1.12.1-1).