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DOLFINx

DEVOPS
Velocity0.0

Finite element computational framework for solving partial differential equations

A finite element library whose entire recent release history says 'you don't need this'.

finite-elementscientific-computingpackagingmaintenancefenics
Current state
DOLFINx is the computational core of the FEniCS finite element project, and every release in this window is a post-release — a re-tag carrying packaging or test fixes rather than functional change. Each one states plainly that users do not need to upgrade. The actual audience is Debian packagers, CI systems, and anyone building against a moved dependency like ADIOS2 2.11 or pytest 9.
Where it's heading
This is a project with a slow, deliberate feature cadence and a fast reactive one for the build ecosystem around it. Real work lands in the sparse v0.10.0 and v0.11.0 tags; everything between is absorbing breakage from Python versions, test frameworks, and I/O libraries the project does not control. The post-release discipline — explicitly telling users to stay put — is itself notable.
Prediction
Post-releases should keep appearing whenever a downstream build environment shifts; the next functional change would come with a new minor tag, and these entries give no signal on its timing or contents.

Recent moves

  1. 2mo ago

    Documentation-only re-tag fixing MathJax rendering

    A post-release that fixes MathJax rendering in the built documentation and is functionally identical to v0.11.0. The release note says outright that users do not need to upgrade.

    View source ↗
  2. 7mo ago

    Test fixes for Python 3.14 and mesh partitioning

    Fixes a unit test under Python 3.14 and a mesh-partitioning test bug. Test-suite only, with no change to library behavior.

    View source ↗
  3. 8mo ago

    Build fix for ADIOS2 2.11 and newer

    Restores the build against ADIOS2 2.11 and above — the recurring pattern where an upstream I/O dependency moves and DOLFINx issues a post-release for packagers.

    View source ↗
  4. 8mo ago

    Unsigned integer test bug found via Debian CI

    Fixes an unsigned integer bug in a test surfaced by Debian's build system. Functionally identical to every other v0.10.0 tag for end users.

    View source ↗
  5. 9mo ago

    Compatibility with pytest 9's pyproject.toml reading

    Absorbs an API break in pytest 9 around reading pyproject.toml. Useful to package maintainers only; the note also points readers to a critical FFCx fix released separately.

    View source ↗
  6. 9mo ago

    Version-parity test now uses the packaging package

    Fixes the test asserting that the C++ and Python libraries report matching versions, which now depends on the packaging package for the test run only. No effect on fenics-dolfinx dependencies.

    View source ↗