watznue

watznue ("What's new?") — Modular, lean update digest & changelog inspector.

watznue inspects pending package updates on your Linux system (Fedora DNF5 / DNF4), aggregates advisory metadata from Fedora Bodhi and local package databases, and renders a clean, prioritized digest before you apply updates.

Written in pure, native Rust for sub-10ms startup, single-binary distribution, and zero runtime dependencies.

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Features

• Blazing Fast: Sub-5ms cached execution time; local disk caching in ~/.cache/watznue/.
• Signal over Noise: Automatically classifies updates into intuitive tiers:
  • Security & Critical (CVEs, security advisories)
  • Core & System (Kernel, systemd, PipeWire, Mesa)
  • Desktop & UX (GNOME, Mutter, Wayland compositors)
  • User Applications (Firefox, productivity apps)
  • Libraries & Development
• Resilient Bullet Extraction: Cleans messy RPM specfiles and Bodhi notes into concise, readable bullet points while filtering out packaging boilerplate.
• Multiple Output Formats: High-contrast terminal output, GitHub Flavored Markdown (for Obsidian/notes), and structured JSON.
• Standalone & Unprivileged: Runs without sudo or forced package manager hooks.
• License: GNU General Public License v3.0 (GPL-3.0-or-later).

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Installation & Build

Requirements

Rust 1.75+ and Cargo.

# Clone and build optimized release binary
git clone https://github.com/ManuelSaleta/watznue.git
cd watznue
cargo build --release

# Install to ~/.local/bin
cargo install --path crates/watznue-cli

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Setup: Download & Use as a Command

Follow this step-by-step guide to clone the repository, build watznue, and configure it so the watznue command can be executed from anywhere in your terminal.

1. Prerequisites

Ensure Git and the Rust toolchain (Rust 1.75+ and Cargo) are installed:

• Fedora / RHEL:

  sudo dnf install git cargo rust
  

• Universal (via rustup):

  curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh
  

2. Download the Project

Clone the repository using git and enter the directory:

git clone https://github.com/ManuelSaleta/watznue.git
cd watznue

3. Setup watznue to Use as a Command

Choose one of the following methods to install the binary to your shell $PATH:

Method 1: Install via Cargo (Recommended)

Install the binary directly into Cargo's binary directory:

cargo install --path crates/watznue-cli

Note: Ensure Cargo's bin directory (~/.cargo/bin) is in your $PATH. If not already configured, add it by running:

echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.cargo/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

Method 2: Install to ~/.local/bin (User PATH)

Modern Linux distributions (such as Fedora) include ~/.local/bin in your $PATH by default:

# Option A: Using cargo install with custom root
cargo install --path crates/watznue-cli --root ~/.local

# Option B: Building release binary and copying
cargo build --release
mkdir -p ~/.local/bin
cp target/release/watznue ~/.local/bin/

Method 3: System-Wide Installation

To make watznue available for all users on the system:

cargo build --release
sudo cp target/release/watznue /usr/local/bin/

4. Verify Command

Once set up, confirm that watznue is available from any directory:

# Verify the binary is detected in your PATH
which watznue

# Run with demo data to test output
watznue --demo

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Usage Examples

# 1. Check system pending updates live (via DNF5 / DNF4)
watznue

# 2. Preview digest using demo packages (even if system is up to date)
watznue --demo

# 3. Inspect specific packages
watznue kernel mesa mutter firefox

# 4. Filter by category or security only
watznue --demo --category desktop
watznue --demo --security-only

# 5. Export to Markdown (ideal for saving to Obsidian notes)
watznue --demo --format markdown

# 6. Export to machine-readable JSON
watznue --demo --format json

Output Examples

Output Text Examples

Found 44 package(s) with pending updates.

[CORE & SYSTEM]
• kernel (installed -> 7.2.7-200.fc44)
    - Revert "isofs: Drop support of directory entries straddling blocks" (Justin M. Forbes)
    - redhat: fix builds by disabling HYPERV_MOUSE_KUNIT_TEST (Nico Pache)
    - sched: move stack_canary to the start of the randomizable region (Scott Weaver)
    - automotive: enable HUGETLBFS to workaround build error (Scott Weaver)
    - fedora: arm64: enable Samsung S6E3FA7 panel driver (Sam Day)
• kernel-core (installed -> 7.2.7-200.fc44)
    - Revert "isofs: Drop support of directory entries straddling blocks" (Justin M. Forbes)
    - redhat: fix builds by disabling HYPERV_MOUSE_KUNIT_TEST (Nico Pache)
    - sched: move stack_canary to the start of the randomizable region (Scott Weaver)
    - automotive: enable HUGETLBFS to workaround build error (Scott Weaver)
    - fedora: arm64: enable Samsung S6E3FA7 panel driver (Sam Day)
• kernel-devel (installed -> 7.2.7-200.fc44)
    - Revert "isofs: Drop support of directory entries straddling blocks" (Justin M. Forbes)
    - redhat: fix builds by disabling HYPERV_MOUSE_KUNIT_TEST (Nico Pache)
    - sched: move stack_canary to the start of the randomizable region (Scott Weaver)
    - automotive: enable HUGETLBFS to workaround build error (Scott Weaver)
    - fedora: arm64: enable Samsung S6E3FA7 panel driver (Sam Day)
• kernel-modules (installed -> 7.2.7-200.fc44)
    - Revert "isofs: Drop support of directory entries straddling blocks" (Justin M. Forbes)
    - redhat: fix builds by disabling HYPERV_MOUSE_KUNIT_TEST (Nico Pache)
    - sched: move stack_canary to the start of the randomizable region (Scott Weaver)
    - automotive: enable HUGETLBFS to workaround build error (Scott Weaver)
    - fedora: arm64: enable Samsung S6E3FA7 panel driver (Sam Day)
• kernel-modules-core (installed -> 7.2.7-200.fc44)
    - Revert "isofs: Drop support of directory entries straddling blocks" (Justin M. Forbes)
    - redhat: fix builds by disabling HYPERV_MOUSE_KUNIT_TEST (Nico Pache)
    - sched: move stack_canary to the start of the randomizable region (Scott Weaver)
    - automotive: enable HUGETLBFS to workaround build error (Scott Weaver)
    - fedora: arm64: enable Samsung S6E3FA7 panel driver (Sam Day)
• kernel-modules-extra (installed -> 7.2.7-200.fc44)
    - Revert "isofs: Drop support of directory entries straddling blocks" (Justin M. Forbes)
    - redhat: fix builds by disabling HYPERV_MOUSE_KUNIT_TEST (Nico Pache)
    - sched: move stack_canary to the start of the randomizable region (Scott Weaver)
    - automotive: enable HUGETLBFS to workaround build error (Scott Weaver)
    - fedora: arm64: enable Samsung S6E3FA7 panel driver (Sam Day)
• kernel-tools (installed -> 7.2.7-200.fc44)
    - Revert "isofs: Drop support of directory entries straddling blocks" (Justin M. Forbes)
    - redhat: fix builds by disabling HYPERV_MOUSE_KUNIT_TEST (Nico Pache)
    - sched: move stack_canary to the start of the randomizable region (Scott Weaver)
    - automotive: enable HUGETLBFS to workaround build error (Scott Weaver)
    - fedora: arm64: enable Samsung S6E3FA7 panel driver (Sam Day)
• kernel-tools-libs (installed -> 7.2.7-200.fc44)
    - Revert "isofs: Drop support of directory entries straddling blocks" (Justin M. Forbes)
    - redhat: fix builds by disabling HYPERV_MOUSE_KUNIT_TEST (Nico Pache)
    - sched: move stack_canary to the start of the randomizable region (Scott Weaver)
    - automotive: enable HUGETLBFS to workaround build error (Scott Weaver)
    - fedora: arm64: enable Samsung S6E3FA7 panel driver (Sam Day)
• mesa-dri-drivers (installed -> 26.2.3-1.fc44)
    - Update to 26.2.3-1.fc44
• mesa-dri-drivers (installed -> 26.2.3-1.fc44)
    - Update to 26.2.3-1.fc44
• mesa-filesystem (installed -> 26.2.3-1.fc44)
    - Update to 26.2.3-1.fc44
• mesa-filesystem (installed -> 26.2.3-1.fc44)
    - Update to 26.2.3-1.fc44

[APPLICATIONS]
• code (installed -> 1.139.0-1790100890.el8)
    - Update to 1.139.0-1790100890.el8

[LIBRARIES & DEVELOPMENT]
• python3-perf (installed -> 7.2.7-200.fc44)
    - Revert af_alg_restrict sysctl for F43/44 (Justin M. Forbes)
    - redhat: configs: fedora: Enable CONFIG_FIREWIRE_KUNIT_NODE_TREE_TEST for x86 (Augusto Caringi)
    - redhat/configs/fedora: Enable dwc dual-role and ulpi phy support (Hans de Goede)
    - redhat/configs/fedora: Enable some drivers for x86 tablets (Hans de Goede)

[OTHER UPDATES]
• aspnetcore-runtime-10.0 (installed -> 10.0.12-1.fc44)
    - Update to .NET SDK 10.0.111 and Runtime 10.0.11
    - Update to .NET SDK 10.0.110 and Runtime 10.0.10
    - Update to .NET SDK 10.0.109 and Runtime 10.0.9
    - Update to .NET SDK 10.0.108 and Runtime 10.0.8

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Workspace Structure

watznue/
├── Cargo.toml               # Cargo workspace manifest
├── LICENSE                  # GNU General Public License v3.0
├── README.md
└── crates/
    ├── watznue-core/        # Headless domain engine (library)
    │   ├── Cargo.toml
    │   └── src/
    │       ├── lib.rs
    │       ├── models.rs    # Data models & schema
    │       ├── detector.rs  # DNF5 / DNF4 package discovery
    │       ├── sources.rs   # Bodhi REST API client & local changelog fallback
    │       ├── normalizer.rs# Heuristic bullet extractor & classifier
    │       └── cache.rs     # Positive/negative disk caching
    └── watznue-cli/         # Standalone command-line binary
        ├── Cargo.toml
        └── src/
            ├── main.rs      # CLI entrypoint (clap derive)
            └── formatters.rs# Terminal, Markdown, and JSON renderers

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Roadmap

• Milestone 1: Problem validation & heuristic extraction (POC).
• Milestone 2: Native Rust core (watznue-core) & standalone CLI (watznue-cli).
• Milestone 3: Configuration parser (~/.config/watznue/config.toml) & RPM packaging.
• Milestone 4: Interactive terminal browser (watznue-tui with ratatui).
• Milestone 5: Native GTK4/Libadwaita desktop companion (watznue-gui with relm4).