The first release candidate for JHOVE 1.26 is now available for testing. JHOVE is an open-source file format identification, validation and characterisation tool for digital preservation, and part of the OPF reference toolset. 

This community release incorporates the global contributions made during our 2020 Spring Hackathon. This event was a celebration of our collaborative open source  community and aimed to encourage participation from contributors with diverse interests and experiences. We’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who volunteered their time and effort to this release. 

Major new features of this release include:

• Java 11 compatibility.
• A number of improvements to the PDF module, many of which address files that caused loop or overflow errors.
• An overhaul of the JHOVE GUI with keyboard shortcuts and the ability to analyse a directory.
• An updated version of EPUB Checker is used in the EPUB module.
• Ability to set language preference via Java Properties or in the JHOVE configuration file.

There are many more fixes. So many that we decided to release a first functional release candidate for initial testing. This includes all of the functional changes we’re intending to add to version 1.26. While this release candidate is out, we will be making some changes to the project structure and build, but these won’t change the code/functionality. We will also be triaging the bug list to discover any fixes to old issues that may have been missed. The final RC will be released in the coming weeks, followed by the full release this Summer. 

Download JHOVE 1.26-RC

Read the draft release notes

Subscribe to the JHOVE user mailing list

Feedback welcome

We invite you to download and test the release candidate. To report an issue or make a feature request please add it to the JHOVE issue tracker on GitHub or contact us with any feedback. 

About JHOVE

JHOVE is maintained by the Open Preservation Foundation. JHOVE is open source and is free to download, use or modify. However, it is not free to host, maintain, support or develop. JHOVE is one of the most widely-used digital preservation tools, but currently, only OPF members support JHOVE financially as part of their membership fees. If you use JHOVE, please consider supporting its development by becoming an OPF member, or making a donation.