Release Date: October 16th, 2025

## New features

### Resource modernization

We've removed the following resources from InSpec core and are now releasing them separately in resource packs:

- docker_container
- docker_image
- docker_plugin
- docker_service
- elasticsearch
- ibmdb2_conf
- ibmdb2_session
- mongodb
- mongodb_conf
- mongodb_session
- opa_api
- opa_cli
- podman
- podman_container
- podman_image
- podman_network
- podman_pod
- podman_volume
- rabbitmq_config
- sybase_conf
- sybase_session

These resources are now bundled into the following resource packs:

- Docker
- Elasticsearch
- Ibmdb2
- MongoDB
- OPA
- Podman
- RabbitMQ
- Sybase

These resource packs are released as Ruby gems and you can add these gems as a dependency in an InSpec profile. For example:

```yaml
depends:
  - name: inspec-docker-resources
    gem: inspec-docker-resources
```

#### Resource pack availability

At the time of this release, the following resource packs _are_ available:

-  Elasticsearch 
-  Docker 
-  MongoDB
-  Podman
-  RabbitMQ

At the time of this release, the following resource packs _aren't_ available:

- Ibmdb2
- OPA
- Sybase

The Ibmdb2, Sybase, and OPA resource packs will be made available as Ruby gems from Chef's Ruby gem server soon.
If you need to use resources from these resource packs, wait until they've been made available before you upgrade to Chef InSpec 7.

#### Resource pack features

Modularizing these resources into separate resource packs streamlines InSpec core, maintains full profile compatibility, and enables independent development and delivery of future resource packs.

We've added these features to help manage these gem-based resource packs: 

- Automatic fallback to install missing resource pack gems, ensuring backward compatibility ([#7097](https://github.com/inspec/inspec/pull/7097))
- Automatic resolution of gem conflicts ([#7258](https://github.com/inspec/inspec/pull/7258))
- Improved dependency and source management for gem-based resources ([#7244](https://github.com/inspec/inspec/pull/7244))
- Version support for gem-based resources ([#7239](https://github.com/inspec/inspec/pull/7239))
- Support for vendoring gem-based resources ([#7355](https://github.com/inspec/inspec/pull/7355)) 

### Licensing changes

Chef InSpec 7 may require a license to execute it depending on how you install it:

- The Chef Habitat package for Chef InSpec 7 doesn't require a license key to run.
- The `inspec` gem requires a license key to run.

Licensing is automatically managed based on the distribution and can't be manually enabled or disabled.

## Improvements

- Added support for `--log-level trace`, providing the most detailed logging for troubleshooting complex profile execution and resource loading issues. ([#7513](https://github.com/inspec/inspec/pull/7513))

## Bug fixes

- Resolved a gem version comparison type mismatch issue.  ([#7252](https://github.com/inspec/inspec/pull/7252))

## Dependency updates

- Upgraded Ruby to 3.4.2. ([#7380](https://github.com/inspec/inspec/pull/7380))
- Upgraded Habitat package for Ruby 3.4.x:
  - Windows ([#7401](https://github.com/inspec/inspec/pull/7401))
  - Linux ([#7400](https://github.com/inspec/inspec/pull/7400))
- Updated `tomlrb` from  >= 1.2  to  >= 1.3  ([#7328](https://github.com/inspec/inspec/pull/7328))
- Updated `faraday_middleware` from  >= 0.12.2, < 1.1  to  ~> 1.2, >= 1.2.1 . ([#7286](https://github.com/inspec/inspec/pull/7286))
- Updated `ostruct` from  ~> 0.1.0  to  >= 0.1, < 0.7  ([#7548](https://github.com/inspec/inspec/pull/7548))
- Updated `rubyzip` from  >= 1.2.2, < 3.0  to  >= 1.2.2, < 4.0  ([#7550](https://github.com/inspec/inspec/pull/7550))
- Updated `thor` from  >= 0.20, < 1.3.0  to  >= 0.20, < 1.5.0  ([#7551](https://github.com/inspec/inspec/pull/7551))
- Updated `parslet` from  >= 1.5, < 2.0  to  >= 1.5, < 3.0  ([#7552](https://github.com/inspec/inspec/pull/7552))
- Updated `rspec-its` from  ~> 1.2  to  >= 1.2, < 3.0  ([#7553](https://github.com/inspec/inspec/pull/7553))