MerlinAU MerlinAU v1.3.0 - The Ultimate Firmware Auto-Updater (GNUTON SUPPORT!)

[ExtremeFiretop]

Hello SNB Community,

-ORIGINAL THREAD CLOSED DUE TO AGE HERE:
https://www.snbforums.com/threads/m...-auto-updater-thread-closed-due-to-age.88577/

This project is hosted on our GitHub

Changelog and release notes: Here

Summery:
We're pleased to RE-introduce the add-on for Asuswrt-Merlin: MerlinAU (Merlin AutoUpdate).
MerlinAU.sh is a versatile shell script designed to automate the firmware update process for ASUS routers running Asuswrt-Merlin firmware.
This tool is designed to streamline the firmware update procedure by automatically detecting your router model, fetches the latest firmware, and offers options for installation making your router maintenance simpler and smoother than ever.

What's MerlinAU All About?

MerlinAU is a sophisticated and comprehensive script designed for Asus routers running Asuswrt-Merlin firmware.
It's a collaborative effort by @ExtremeFiretop (myself) and @Martinski W. It offers an extensive range of features:

1. Automatic router model detection and Automatic update detection.
2. Automatically install updates to your router with the latest firmware from the Asuswrt-Merlin repository.
3. Logic to manage cron jobs for automated firmware update checks.
4. Notifications for new MerlinAU updates and download the latest version of MerlinAU
5. User configurable wait periods. Wait for a set duration after a new firmware release.
6. Easy Enable/Disable: A menu switch for automatic update checking.
7. Easy Uninstall: A routine to cleanly uninstall MerlinAU, removing all related files and settings.
8. Logging and Cleanup: MerlinAU maintains logs for its operations and includes functions for cleanup tasks.
9. Blinking LEDs: A visual indicator before starting the firmware update.
10. Changelog verification check: Checks the changelogs for very obvious red flags and prompts for approval.
11. Checks RAM usage: Functions to check and manage available memory for firmware update operations.
12. Compatible with ROG and non-ROG routers; select ROG or Pure Build for ROG routers.
13. Backup the new firmware version to the USB drive. (If USB is selected for storage)
14. Email notifications if you configured email options in AMTM.
15. Automatic backup with BACKUPMON if installed.
16. Allow or Block Alpha/Beta upgrades to Production versions of the same cycle. (388.6.alpha1 or 388.6.beta1 --> 388.6.0)
17. Automatically stops all Entware services before the flash if running.
18. Automatically stops diversion if installed and running before the flash.
19. Unmounts any physically attached storage via USB as the last step before the flash.
20. AiMesh Node Update Check from Primary Router. (No Flashing from Primary, MerlinAU needs to be on each node for flashing)

What update mechanism does MerlinAU use to Auto-Update?

MerlinAU actually implements a curl update mechanism. Curl can simulate almost all behaviors of the browser through get/post.
While hnd-write is unsafe and unpredictable, we instead use curl to simulate a browser for the router to upload the firmware through it's own GUI, which is the safest way. As discussed on the forums in length here.

Essentially the router logins to it's own WebUI like a person does, and uploads the firmware through the WebUI.
Doing this insures that the firmware checks done by the router when uploading a firmware via the webUI are not skipped, and the router can follow it's regular update process from there.

This has been tested extensively on the following devices since 388.4

SUPPORTED MERLIN MODELS: (Multi-image models) - i.e. Any model that uses a .w or a .pkgtb file​

• GT-BE98_PRO (Tested)
• GT-AX6000 (Tested)
• GT-AXE16000 (Tested)
• GT-AX11000 (Tested)
• GT-AXE11000 (Tested)
• GT-AX11000_PRO (Tested)
• GT-AC2900 (Untested)
• RT-BE96U (Untested)
• RT-AX88U_PRO (Tested)
• RT-AX88U (Tested)
• RT-AC86U (Tested)
• RT-AX86U (Tested)
• RT-AX86U_PRO (Tested)
• RT-AX86S (Tested)
• RT-AX68U (Tested)
• RT-AX58U V1 (Tested)
• RT-AX56U (Tested)
• RT-AX3000 V1 (Tested)
• XT12 (Tested)

SUPPORTED GNUTON MODELS (Multi-image models) - i.e. Any model that uses a .w or a .pkgtb file​

• GT-BE98 - Known issues due to missing from manifest2.txt file in Gnuton
• DSL-AX82U (Untested)
• TUF-AX3000 V1 (Untested)
• TUF-AX3000 V2 (Tested)
• TUF-AX5400 (Tested)
• RT-AX5400 (Untested)
• RT-AX82U V1 (Tested)
• RT-AX82U V2 (Untested)
• RT-AX58U V2 (Untested)
• RT-AX92U - (Tested)
• RT-AX95Q (Untested)
• RT-AXE95Q (Untested)

All tests were successful on all subsequent firmware updates, the firmware upgraded correctly, and no issues with compatibility with other addons were identified.

UNSUPPORTED MERLIN MODELS: (Single image models) - i.e. Any model that uses a .trx file​

Blocked due to low RAM/ROM space and/or have reached end-of-life support from ASUS and Merlin.

• RT-AC87U (Blocked)
• RT-AC56U (Blocked)
• RT-AC66U (Blocked)
• RT-AC3200 (Blocked)
• RT-N66U (Blocked)
• RT-AC88U (Blocked)
• RT-AC5300 (Blocked)
• RT-AC3100 (Blocked)
• RT-AC68U (Blocked)
• RT-AC66U_B1 (Blocked)
• RT-AC1900 (Blocked)

UNSUPPORTED GNUTON MODELS: (Single image models) - i.e. Any model that uses a .trx file​

Blocked due to low RAM/ROM space and/or have reached end-of-life support from ASUS and Gnuton.

• DSL-AC68U (Blocked)

How to Get MerlinAU

AVAILABLE THROUGH AMTM!
MerlinAU is also available for download on our GitHub repository here: https://github.com/ExtremeFiretop/MerlinAutoUpdate-Router

Installation and update information are provided on the same github page.
For any questions please visit our FAQ on Github here

PLEASE READ ALL THE DETAILS AND BACKUP BEFORE STARTING!

Post-Install Notes for MerlinAU Users

• Confirm your entered crons with Crontab.guru here: https://crontab.guru/ and review the below FAQ questions in the second post.
• After installing or updating MerlinAU, it's recommended to review the new settings and adjust them as per your preference.
• If using a USB drive for firmware storage, ensure it's properly connected and mounted.

## NOTE: It is highly recommended to configure backups using BACKUPMON
For any additional questions the FAQ was moved to Github here: https://github.com/ExtremeFiretop/MerlinAutoUpdate-Router/wiki before posting.

We're eager to hear your feedback and experiences with MerlinAU. Your suggestions and comments are invaluable in making MerlinAU even better!
MerlinAU is available under the GNU General Public License version 3 (GPL-3.0).

## Contribution
- Before any contributions, please review: https://github.com/ExtremeFiretop/MerlinAutoUpdate-Router/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md
- Also please review the: https://github.com/ExtremeFiretop/MerlinAutoUpdate-Router/blob/main/CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md

Thank you, and enjoy a hassle-free firmware updating experience with MerlinAU!

 

[ExtremeFiretop]

Latest Changelog can be found here

-V1.3.0

MerlinAU - MerlinAU v1.3.0 - The Ultimate Firmware Auto-Updater (AMTM ADDON!)

Hello SNB Community, -ORIGINAL THREAD CLOSED DUE TO AGE HERE: https://www.snbforums.com/threads/merlinau-v1-2-6-the-ultimate-firmware-auto-updater-thread-closed-due-to-age.88577/ This project is hosted on our GitHub Changelog and release notes: Here Summery: We're pleased to RE-introduce the...

www.snbforums.com

Previous Changelogs can be found below for historical reference:

Spoiler: Previous Changelogs

-V1.2.7

MerlinAU - MerlinAU v1.3.0 - The Ultimate Firmware Auto-Updater (GNUTON SUPPORT!)

Hello SNB Community, -ORIGINAL THREAD CLOSED DUE TO AGE HERE: https://www.snbforums.com/threads/merlinau-v1-2-6-the-ultimate-firmware-auto-updater-thread-closed-due-to-age.88577/ This project is hosted on our GitHub Changelog and release notes: Here Summery: We're pleased to RE-introduce the...

www.snbforums.com

-V1.2.6

MerlinAU - MerlinAU v1.2.6 - The Ultimate Firmware Auto-Updater (**Thread closed due to age**)

I see that now! 🙄 I should have know that you had it covered... We think of *almost* everything around here ;) Currently checking into the BACKUPMON stuff, last time it was some missing options from the kernel, but I thought that was handled so I'm starting from zero again.

www.snbforums.com

-V1.2.5

MerlinAU - MerlinAU v1.2.6 - The Ultimate Firmware Auto-Updater (**Thread closed due to age**)

I see that now! 🙄 I should have know that you had it covered... We think of *almost* everything around here ;) Currently checking into the BACKUPMON stuff, last time it was some missing options from the kernel, but I thought that was handled so I'm starting from zero again.

www.snbforums.com

-V1.2.4

MerlinAU - MerlinAU v1.2.6 - The Ultimate Firmware Auto-Updater (**Thread closed due to age**)

Something tells me you've never been thru WHQL certs - this applies to drivers and firmware updates that are made through Windows update. Again, it seems like it is all on the vendor to test and submit their results to Microsoft in order to get them signed off and out the door with Windows...

www.snbforums.com

-V1.2.3

MerlinAU - MerlinAU v1.2.6 - The Ultimate Firmware Auto-Updater (**Thread closed due to age**)

Something tells me you've never been thru WHQL certs - this applies to drivers and firmware updates that are made through Windows update. Again, it seems like it is all on the vendor to test and submit their results to Microsoft in order to get them signed off and out the door with Windows...

www.snbforums.com

-V1.2.2

MerlinAU - MerlinAU v1.2.6 - The Ultimate Firmware Auto-Updater (**Thread closed due to age**)

Something tells me you've never been thru WHQL certs - this applies to drivers and firmware updates that are made through Windows update. Again, it seems like it is all on the vendor to test and submit their results to Microsoft in order to get them signed off and out the door with Windows...

www.snbforums.com

-V1.2.1

MerlinAU - MerlinAU v1.2.6 - The Ultimate Firmware Auto-Updater (**Thread closed due to age**)

Hey @visortgw Happy to continue to work on this on my spare time :) Considering I've always wanted an add-on that did all this for me, I'm happy to contribute to the community and give this addon some love when I can. We actually did do this in release 1.1.3 as noted below here: The only...

www.snbforums.com

-V1.2.0

MerlinAU - MerlinAU v1.2.6 - The Ultimate Firmware Auto-Updater (**Thread closed due to age**)

Hey @visortgw Happy to continue to work on this on my spare time :) Considering I've always wanted an add-on that did all this for me, I'm happy to contribute to the community and give this addon some love when I can. We actually did do this in release 1.1.3 as noted below here: The only...

www.snbforums.com

-V1.1.5

MerlinAU - MerlinAU v1.2.6 - The Ultimate Firmware Auto-Updater (**Thread closed due to age**)

This is fantastic news, and honestly you went above and beyond for me tonight so I really appreciate that. A+ for sure! I'll be updating the list now and honestly at this point it's up to you if you want to keep it installed but for my purposes this was more than enough validation. Thanks...

www.snbforums.com

-V1.1.4

MerlinAU - MerlinAU v1.2.6 - The Ultimate Firmware Auto-Updater (**Thread closed due to age**)

I've just experienced the "high-risk phrases" workflow, and have some gentle suggestions for improvement. I'd prefer if the change-log scan happened before the postponement period. Unfortunately this suggestion would require a complete redesign of the workflow compared to our current method...

www.snbforums.com

-V1.1.3

MerlinAU - MerlinAU v1.2.6 - The Ultimate Firmware Auto-Updater (**Thread closed due to age**)

I've just experienced the "high-risk phrases" workflow, and have some gentle suggestions for improvement. I'd prefer if the change-log scan happened before the postponement period. Unfortunately this suggestion would require a complete redesign of the workflow compared to our current method...

www.snbforums.com

-V1.1.2

MerlinAU - MerlinAU v1.2.6 - The Ultimate Firmware Auto-Updater (**Thread closed due to age**)

I did look at that but you are right, I misread it, my apologies! Yep. :oops: Got it; all good. Was sort of thinking by extension from Beta to Release, if it went one way it would also do Alpha to Beta, but Q16 rules that out as you rightly point out. No worries. No worries, the goal is to...

www.snbforums.com

-V1.1.1

MerlinAU - MerlinAU v1.2.6 - The Ultimate Firmware Auto-Updater (**Thread closed due to age**)

You can rest assured that 9 nodes is the "hard" limit. I don't know if there is away around the 9 node hard limit (maybe @RMerlin knows if there is a way to cheat the system). There is I've seen it before. Let me see if I can dig up the info, I'll PM it though since it's unrelated to...

www.snbforums.com

-V1.1.0

MerlinAU - MerlinAU v1.2.6 - The Ultimate Firmware Auto-Updater (**Thread closed due to age**)

You can rest assured that 9 nodes is the "hard" limit. I don't know if there is away around the 9 node hard limit (maybe @RMerlin knows if there is a way to cheat the system). There is I've seen it before. Let me see if I can dig up the info, I'll PM it though since it's unrelated to...

www.snbforums.com

-V1.0.10

MerlinAU - MerlinAU v1.2.6 - The Ultimate Firmware Auto-Updater (**Thread closed due to age**)

MerlinAU Version 1.0.9 released. What's Changed/Fixed?: PR: (#167) in response to @Yaffle 's reported problems. -Improvements to Memory Management: Now on the final cleanup attempt it will shutdown non-critical services to make RAM for the flash. We kept the original logic with a 50% overhead...

www.snbforums.com

-V1.0.9

MerlinAU - MerlinAU v1.2.6 - The Ultimate Firmware Auto-Updater (**Thread closed due to age**)

MerlinAU Version 1.0.9 released. What's Changed/Fixed?: PR: (#167) in response to @Yaffle 's reported problems. -Improvements to Memory Management: Now on the final cleanup attempt it will shutdown non-critical services to make RAM for the flash. We kept the original logic with a 50% overhead...

www.snbforums.com

-V1.0.8

MerlinAU - MerlinAU v1.2.6 - The Ultimate Firmware Auto-Updater (**Thread closed due to age**)

Seems to have reached a mature enough stage for even me to give it a try, thanks for all the hard work by the authors. One question if I may, I understand the firmware downloads to a drive, is unzipped then uploaded as if via the WebGui. Are the downloaded files deleted after the successful...

www.snbforums.com

-V1.0.7

MerlinAU - MerlinAU v1.2.6 - The Ultimate Firmware Auto-Updater (**Thread closed due to age**)

Seems to have reached a mature enough stage for even me to give it a try, thanks for all the hard work by the authors. One question if I may, I understand the firmware downloads to a drive, is unzipped then uploaded as if via the WebGui. Are the downloaded files deleted after the successful...

www.snbforums.com

-V1.0.6

MerlinAU - MerlinAU v1.2.6 - The Ultimate Firmware Auto-Updater (**Thread closed due to age**)

Taking any donations? I didnt see your info (@ExtremeFiretop & @Martinski) below: https://www.snbforums.com/threads/asuswrt-merlin-addon-developers-donation-links.67496/ I appreciate the work on this! Update: Small donation sent your way!

www.snbforums.com

-V1.0.5

MerlinAU - MerlinAU v1.2.6 - The Ultimate Firmware Auto-Updater (**Thread closed due to age**)

Just reviewed the code and my recollection was slightly wrong, so minor correction incoming below to set the record straight: The /usr/sbin/webs_update.sh is called everytime MerlinAU is run interactively, but not when the update function runs as a cron job. However the rest of what I said...

www.snbforums.com

-V1.0.4

MerlinAU - MerlinAU v1.2.6 - The Ultimate Firmware Auto-Updater (**Thread closed due to age**)

Will this block updating from release to a new beta? Is that configurable? My core router I don’t want to update to a beta release but may be willing to on an edge AP. We don't do beta upgrades. If your on a stable release you will be updated at the next stable release. What is configurable...

www.snbforums.com

-V1.0.3

MerlinAU - MerlinAU v1.2.6 - The Ultimate Firmware Auto-Updater (**Thread closed due to age**)

Will this block updating from release to a new beta? Is that configurable? My core router I don’t want to update to a beta release but may be willing to on an edge AP. We don't do beta upgrades. If your on a stable release you will be updated at the next stable release. What is configurable...

www.snbforums.com

-V1.0.2

MerlinAU - MerlinAU v1.2.6 - The Ultimate Firmware Auto-Updater (**Thread closed due to age**)

Default setting for CRON Job, but now under 1.01 I see this.. which didn't happen under 1.0 If I can install 1.0 on the router I can go through the process again, what happened on each node for you/us.

www.snbforums.com

-V1.0.1

MerlinAU - MerlinAU v1.2.6 - The Ultimate Firmware Auto-Updater (**Thread closed due to age**)

Maybe one that tags @Tech9 in the forums everytime someone's router successfully updates with the script. Are you done or you want me to continue sharing my opinion?

www.snbforums.com

-V1.0.0

MerlinAU - MerlinAU v1.2.6 - The Ultimate Firmware Auto-Updater (**Thread closed due to age**)

Maybe one that tags @Tech9 in the forums everytime someone's router successfully updates with the script. Are you done or you want me to continue sharing my opinion?

www.snbforums.com

-Pre-Release V0.2.54

MerlinAU - MerlinAU v1.2.6 - The Ultimate Firmware Auto-Updater (**Thread closed due to age**)

Assuming a user has setup email credentials in AMTM, how about an email notification after an update? And also before... "Starting flashing firmware..." If we don't receive the "update done" email after a couple of minutes, we know that something went (terrible) bad 🫣😁

www.snbforums.com

-Updated August 08th, 2024

 

[ExtremeFiretop]

MerlinAU FAQ Moved to Github HERE:
https://github.com/ExtremeFiretop/MerlinAutoUpdate-Router/wiki

 

[ExtremeFiretop]

MerlinAU Version 1.2.7 released.

What's Changed/Fixed?:

PR: #271 - Minor change to the "Help" output
-Added the ".sh" file extension to the listed script commands in the "Help" output screen to make it clear that the extension is definitely needed as part of the script filename.
(Thanks @Martinski4GitHub)!

PR: #273 - Allow script to continue flashing F/W if connection is terminated.
-Made changes to allow script to continue with the F/W flash "curl" command after connection is terminated due to stopping Entware services, including TailScale.
(Thanks @Martinski4GitHub)!

PR: #278 - Keep ZeroTier connection during F/W updates.
-Updated code to keep ZeroTier VPN connection alive during F/W updates. Also, if OpenSSH is being used for remote SSH access the server is kept alive as well.
(Thanks @Martinski4GitHub)!

BUG FIX: PR: #280 - Clarify Email Content
- Clarify Email Content as requested by: @maghuro here: https://www.snbforums.com/threads/m...dater-now-available-in-amtm.88577/post-920655
-Also fixed a bug related to the email subject when a node had an update (sent from the primary router)

PR: #282 - Increased Maximum Postponement Days
-Increased the maximum number of postponement days to 199. This gives users plenty of time to wait and decide when to do the F/W Update, especially for those users who prefer to do it manually. Requested by @Jeff-
(Thanks @Martinski4GitHub)!

As always, we highly recommend you update ASAP as this includes lots of functional improvements and little bug fixes.

Significant screenshots:
(Small Wording Changes below)

 

[nlurker]

Overnight, my RT-AX58U router auto-updated from 3004.388.7.0 to 3004.388.8.2 (automatically skipping over flawed release 3004.388.8.0). Everything is running smoothly this morning. This time I left it completely hands-off, all I did was review the changelog. Thanks again for a great script!

 

[ExtremeFiretop]

Overnight, my RT-AX58U router auto-updated from 3004.388.7.0 to 3004.388.8.2 (automatically skipping over flawed release 3004.388.8.0). Everything is running smoothly this morning. This time I left it completely hands-off, all I did was review the changelog. Thanks again for a great script!

It's only getting better with time The more development time we get, the smoother it becomes!

 

[Hunex]

My RT-AX56U just updated from 3004.388.7.0 to 3004.388.8.2 with the script, no problems.

 

[ExtremeFiretop]

My RT-AX56U just updated from 3004.388.7.0 to 3004.388.8.2 with the script, no problems.

Primary List updated in the OP and Github.
Thank you for reporting and confirming that model is functional as well!

Enjoy automated updates!

 

[visortgw]

Primary List updated in the OP and Github.
Thank you for reporting and confirming that model is functional as well!

Enjoy automated updates!

If there are any future updates for the RT-AX56U, that is...

 

[ExtremeFiretop]

If there are any future updates for the RT-AX56U, that is...

Fair point!
But I'm still happy to know MerlinAU *will* work if there is any future updates

 

[ExtremeFiretop]

MerlinAU Version 1.3.0 released.

What's Changed/Fixed?:

OFFICIAL GNUTON SUPPORT!
PR: [#186 ] https://github.com/ExtremeFiretop/MerlinAutoUpdate-Router/pull/186
- Requested on Github report: #89 by @micron888 and many others in the forums such as @Johndoe85 and many thanks to all the testers that volunteered such as @nullvoid, @novusB, @lilkidsuave, @explorer and of course @GNUton for merging our required PRs!

PR: [#289 ] https://github.com/ExtremeFiretop/MerlinAutoUpdate-Router/pull/289
- General Code improvements for Gnuton PR. (Thanks @Martinski4GitHub @Martinski)

PR: [#292 ] https://github.com/ExtremeFiretop/MerlinAutoUpdate-Router/pull/292
- Detect Access Restrictions... Issue reported on Github #290 by @SolidRhino . The script now has smarts to detect if the "Web Access restrictions" feature on the router will block successful login, depending on if the feature is enabled or the routers IP is within rule ranges.

PR: [#293 ] https://github.com/ExtremeFiretop/MerlinAutoUpdate-Router/pull/293
- Modified message when router login failed. (Thanks @Martinski4GitHub @Martinski )

PR: [#294 ] https://github.com/ExtremeFiretop/MerlinAutoUpdate-Router/pull/294
- Improvements when detecting WebGUI access rules (Thanks @Martinski4GitHub @Martinski)

PR: [#295 ] https://github.com/ExtremeFiretop/MerlinAutoUpdate-Router/pull/295
- More improvements for detecting WebGUI access rules (Thanks @Martinski4GitHub @Martinski)

PR: [#296 ] https://github.com/ExtremeFiretop/MerlinAutoUpdate-Router/pull/296
- Match between Gnuton and Merlin for Changelog Behavior (Small change identified when testing pre-release)

As always, we highly recommend you update ASAP as this includes lots of functional improvements and little bug fixes.

Significant screenshots:

 

[ExtremeFiretop]

Currently the only known issue is with the GT-BE98 (listed in the OP)
@GNUton is aware of this already and I am positive he has plans to add the GT-BE98 to the manifest file once it's out of beta stages. Either way MerlinAU does not support flashing of beta releases. Only stable releases.

Also MerlinAU will only work with Gnuton releases 388.8_2 and above. You will need to manually update to 388.8_2 for MerlinAU 1.3.0 to function correctly.

Please everyone report and advise if you notice of any issues with this beta release of 1.3.0