The version of pdns-recursor in trixie uses a different configuration
file syntax as compared to the version in bookworm. By default the new
version doesn't support the old configuration syntax anymore, and
therefore fails to work correctly.

There is a tool to help with this (rec_control show-yaml), but it only
works when pdns-recursor is working correctly. There is a workaround:
you can give command line option '--enable-old-settings' to
pdns-recursor, which will enable support for the old configuration file
format. I don't know the best way to supply this command line option. I
did it by temporarily creating a custom systemd service configuration
file and adding the switch to the ExecStart entry.

In any case, I think it would be best to mention this in the "Issues to
be aware of for trixie" chapter of the release notes for trixie. Maybe
use the text from apt-listchanges:

    The configuration file syntax has changed from the old key=value
    format to YAML. You must manually migrate, otherwise the service
    fails to (re-)start.

    See the documentation on how to migrate:
https://doc.powerdns.com/recursor/yamlsettings.html

Maybe contact the pdns-recursor maintainer for the best procedure on how
to handle the configuration file syntax conversion.

This is in NEWS.Debian of pdns-recursor. I don't see why we should
duplicate the info into the release-notes.

Chris

Because it's a breaking change, and very useful to know about before
starting the upgrade process, at which point people haven't had a chance
to read NEWS.Debian. The issue is very similar to e.g. the Dovecot
configuration change that did get a mention in the Release Notes.

To avoid confusion in the future, are there guidelines that I can look
up to find out what is supposed and not supposed to appear in the
Release Notes?

Op 14/08/2025 om 18:34 schreef Chris Hofstaedtler:

between the two:

https://qa.debian.org/popcon.php?package=pdns-recursor

https://qa.debian.org/popcon.php?package=dovecot

The upgrade for pdns-recursor for trivial setups is trivial, for
complex setups users need to plan ahead anyway. dovecot is in a
different situation.

A more general question might be: if all changes are expected to be
in the release notes, why have NEWS.Debian files at all? And who
will write and read all these release notes entries.

Chris