busybox-w32, branch cron_changes

crond: fix reboot special time

2026-05-15T06:52:14+00:00

The 'reboot' special time didn't work because the file to check for a reboot couldn't be created. And in any case, the mechanism used on Linux wouldn't work: Windows has no /var/run directory which is cleared on reboot. The crond.reboot file is now placed in the cron directory. If it doesn't exist when crond starts, it's created but the reboot job (if any) isn't run. If the file exists its modification time is compared with the time of the current boot. If it's older update its time and run the reboot job. Adds 144-224 bytes.

crond: drop '-S' option

2026-05-15T06:52:14+00:00

Since we don't use syslog on Windows there's no point in having an option to set it. Log to stderr by default instead. Saves 88-96 bytes.

crond,crontab: executable-relative cron directories

2026-05-15T06:52:14+00:00

Some users want a 'portable' busybox-w32 installation on removable media. To help with this, certain files can be positioned relative to the location of the executable. crond and crontab now look for var/spool/cron/crontabs relative to the binary, and use that as their working directory if it exists. If it doesn't, fall back to the hardcoded absolute path. The '-c' command line option can still be used to override the automatic choice. The '-c' option in crond now updates the cron directory variable as well as that for crontabs. Adds 128-144 bytes.

ash: prevent leakage of process handles

2026-05-13T11:32:26+00:00

When the shell invoked process substitution it retained a process handle to the child. These handles could accumulate without limit. The shell in upstream BusyBox doesn't bother to create a job structure for process substitutions or here documents. This isn't appropriate on Windows, where we need to track the child process handles. Create job structures as required. Saves 32-48 bytes. (GitHub issue #587)

dd: remove note about /dev/urandom and /dev/zero

2026-05-12T12:59:45+00:00

Now that /dev/urandom and /dev/zero can be used by all applets there's no need to mention that dd has support for them. Saves 32-56 bytes.

reset: code shrink and clarification

2026-05-12T06:49:43+00:00

The 'ESC]J' sequence in 'reset' is unnecessary. One or other of 'ESC]3J' and the explicit call to reset_screen() should be sufficient, but the Win 10/11 terminal requires the former while the Win 10 console requires the latter. Saves 4 bytes in the 32-bit build. (GitHub issue #161)

reset: add support for stty and Windows Terminal

2026-05-11T12:54:20+00:00

The 'reset' applet hasn't kept pace with developments elsewhere. We now have support for 'stty sane', so the code in 'reset' which calls that can be enabled. Windows 10 and 11 have updated Terminal and Console programs, with varying features and behaviours. Add ANSI emulation code to handle clearing the scrollback buffer and use ANSI sequences in 'reset' to do that. It was also necessary to retain the explicit call to reset_screen(), or 'reset' didn't work properly in the Terminal I'd installed in Windows 10. Adds 92-128 bytes. (GitHub issue #161)

libbb: reverse performance regression in bb_copyfd_*

2026-05-10T12:00:34+00:00

Commit c4f24ec9d (libbb: try to mitigate 'cat /dev/urandom') resulted in a 'cat' to the terminal taking ~25% longer than before. Raising the isatty() call out of the loop reduces the penalty to ~1%. Adds 16 bytes in the 32-bit build. (GitHub issue #585)

libbb: try to mitigate 'cat /dev/urandom'

2026-05-08T13:18:44+00:00

Now that '/dev/urandom' can be used directly, people with a sense of curiosity and adventure have tried running 'cat /dev/urandom' or 'cat

Update README.md

2026-05-07T13:59:31+00:00