OpenWrt 25.12 Released with APK Package Manager Replacing opkg

The OpenWrt project has announced the release of OpenWrt 25.12, a free and open-source Linux-based operating system primarily used for embedded devices, most notably residential gateways and routers, as the first stable version in the new 25.12 series.

The main highlight is the switch from the opkg package manager to APK (Alpine Package Keeper). Since the OpenWrt opkg fork is no longer maintained, the project has adopted APK as the default package manager. While most package names remain the same, command-line syntax has changed. The project provides an official opkg-to-apk cheat sheet to assist users with the transition.