Ubuntu Studio 19.10 (Eoan Ermine) was released October 17, 2019 and will reach End of Life on Friday, July 17, 2020. This means that after that date there will be no further security updates or bugfixes released. We highly recommend that you update to 20.04 LTS immediately if you are still running 19.10.
After July 17th, the only supported release of Ubuntu Studio will be 20.04 LTS. All other releases of Ubuntu Studio will be considered unsupported, and will no longer receive any further updates from the Ubuntu Studio team.
The Ubuntu Studio team is pleased to announce the release of Ubuntu Studio 20.04, code-named “Focal Fossa”. This marks Ubuntu Studio’s 27th release. This release is a Long-Term Support release and as such, it is supported for 3 years (until April 2023).
Since it’s just out, you may experience some issues, so you might want to wait a bit before upgrading. Please see the release notes for a complete list of changes and known issues.
You can download Ubuntu Studio 20.04 LTS from our download page.
Upgrading
Please note that those running Ubuntu Studio 19.10 will likely not receive an upgrade notification right away. This may take anywhere from a few days to a couple weeks. Since 19.10 reaches End Of Life in July, please upgrade as soon as possible.
Those running Ubuntu Studio 18.04 can also upgrade, but will likely not receive any upgrade notification until 20.04.1 is released in July. Please note that you should purge the Ubuntu Studio Backports PPA prior to upgrade. Since 18.04 was not an LTS release, please upgrade as soon as possible.
With the release of version 2.0 of MyPaint, the library conflict with GIMP no longer exists. As such, MyPaint has retruned to our default installation. This is a welcome re-inclusion for our graphics design community, and has been a long-requested feature. MyPaint, welcome back!
AVLDrums
Available as an LV2 plugin, AVLDrums is now included with the default installation of Ubuntu Studio. AVLDrums is a drumkit plugin which can be used in conjunction with MIDI in any DAW that supports LV2 plugins, such as Ardour.
Ubuntu Studio Controls
Our flagship audio control application, Ubuntu Studio Controls, got a large update this release. Among the new changes:
Audio setup tab is split into three tabs: Jack Master Settings, Extra Devices, Pulse Bridging
Firewire devices are no longer available under Ubuntu Studio Controls unless they work with ALSA. Consider upgrading to a modern USB or PCIe audio interface to take advantage of everything Ubuntu Studio Controls has to offer.
PulseAudio bridges can now be named by the user
Libreoffice Impress
One item that has been requested is the inclusion of Libreoffice Impress, which was missing in releases past. We now include it by default to help those who need it for making presentations.
Other Changes
Most of this release is evolutionary on top of 19.10 rather than revolutionary. As such, most of the applications contained are simply upgraded versions. Details on key packages can be found in the release notes.
We have followed Xubuntu’s lead on a few desktop packages and replaced them. GNOME Calculator has been replaced with MATE Calculator, FileRoller has been replaced with Engrampa, and Evince has been replaced with Atril.
Unfortunately, we did have to say goodbye to some applications that people rely on due to library incompatibilities. Most notably, Python 2 has reached End-Of-Life, and many packages that depend on Python 2 simply have not been upgraded to Python 3. Those packages are as follows:
DisplayCAL
The author needs to upgrade this package to Python 3. Once it’s upgraded, we will include it in the Ubuntu Studio Backports PPA.
Patchage
The author has already patched this for Python 3, but relies on a newer version of another library not yet included in Ubuntu. We may be able to add this package and its library to the Ubuntu Studio Backports PPA at a later date.
In the meantime, use the Patchbay functionality in Carla.
GMidiMonitor
This project appears to be dead upstream and relies on Python 2.
We have replaced it with midisnoop, which is functionally equivallent.
For a more complete list of changes, please see the release notes.
Backports PPA
Packages already exist in the Ubuntu Studio Backports PPA for 20.04 for items that could not make it into the official Ubuntu repositories in time for release. These items include:
dragonfly-reverb 3.0.0
lsp-plugins 1.1.19
The above have also been backported to 19.10 and 18.04, along with many packages that did make it to the official Ubuntu repositories. However, as of today, the packages for 18.04 in the backports PPA will be frozen. If 18.04 users wish to receive further updates, please upgrade to 20.04 as soon as possible.
Instructions for enabling the Ubuntu Studio Backports PPA
Unlike other flavors of Ubuntu, Ubuntu Studio isn’t based on its desktop environment. We strive to look for the best experience for all of our users, which includes more than just audio.
About two years ago, we decided to try to release a second version of Ubuntu Studio with the KDE Plasma desktop environment. Unfortunately, that proved to be too time-consuming as we’d essentially have to be introducing a new flavor of Ubuntu, subject to the same application process as other new flavors. Knowing it would be too much for our small team, we decided to drop that idea and, with Ubuntu Studio Installer, make it so that other flavors could have Ubuntu Studio as a bolt-on, which enabled users to choose their desktop environment themselves.
Ubuntu Studio Installer isn’t going away, but we did reach a decision that does affect the future of Ubuntu Studio.
Ubuntu Studio 20.04 LTS will be the final release of Ubuntu Studio using the Xfce Desktop Environment. As such, upgrades from Ubuntu Studio 20.04 to later releases may result in breakage.
Future versions of Ubuntu Studio, beginning with 20.10, will be using the KDE Plasma Desktop Environment by default. Plasma has proven to have better tools for graphics artists and photographers, as can be seen in Gwenview, Krita, and even the file manager Dolphin. Additionally, it has Wacom tablet support better than any other desktop environment.
It has become so good that the majority of the Ubuntu Studio team is now using Kubuntu with Ubuntu Studio added-on via Ubuntu Studio Installer as their daily driver. With so many of us using Plasma, the timing just seems right to focus on a transition to Plasma with our next release.
For audio production, nothing in terms of resource usage changes. If the display compositor proves to be problematic, a simple alt-shift-F12 disables the display compositor. It can also be disabled from starting at login. A known resource hog from KDE, the Akonadi server in the KDE Personal Information manager, will not be included by default (Kubuntu currently does not use KDE PIM, but Thunderbird as do we). The Plasma desktop environment has, without Akonadi, become just as light in resource usage as Xfce, perhaps even lighter. Other audio-focused Linux distributions, such as Fedora Jam and KXStudio, have historically used the KDE Plasma desktop environment and done well with audio.
We will be working with the Kubuntu project on these changes, and the Lubuntu project as they have already cut the path ahead of us in changing desktop environments.
We look forward to working with the Kubuntu and KDE teams on this transition, and are excited to be joining the KDE community.
Evaluation of Included Applications
During this transition to Plasma, we will be evaluating our included applications to see if there is any duplication going on. Some have pointed out that there is duplication of application purpose. For example, we include 3 video editors by default: Pitivi, OpenShot, and Kdenlive, and each may have features the other does not have. We will be doing a lot of evaluation like that over the course of the next release cycle.
More details on all of this will emerge in the coming months. Please stay tuned to our website, our Twitter feed, and Mastodon for updates.
A Personal message from the Project Leader
The rest of this announcement is a personal message from our project leader, Erich Eickmeyer
This release represents the culmination of two years of hard work by the Ubuntu Studio team. This release is much more revolutionary than was released for 18.04 when I first started leading this project. We have come a long way since then, when a group of burnt-out developers were rallied into making a great product.
I would very much like to thank the following volunteers who made this release happen:
Len Ovens: Ubuntu Studio Controls, Ubuntu Studio Installer, Coding
Len has become my right-hand with this, and though we have disagreements about things, we have a common goal: making audio production on Linux easy, affordable, and ready for everyone with little to configure.
Thomas Ward: Packaging, Ubuntu Core Developer for Ubuntu Studio, Code Cleanup
I’d say Thomas is my other right-hand, but I don’t have two right hands, so Thomas gets to be my left hand. When I have questions about Ubuntu policy, or need a new package sponsored and uploaded, Thomas is my guy. He has been absolutely instrumental with Ubuntu Studio, and is someone I can genuinely call a friend.
Eylul Dogruel: Artwork, Graphics Design, Website Lead
Eylul has been amazing to work with. She had a bit of a hiatus over the past couple years, but that was completely understandable. We have many VOIP discussions about the future of the project, and it’s great having her perspective as a graphics designer. She has become a great friend, even though she lives halfway across the globe from me.
Ross Gammon: Upstream Debian Developer, Guidance, Sage Wisdom
Ross does most of his work upstream with Debian project, making sure our upstream has functioning code for us to use. He always keeps Ubuntu Studio in mind when working on packages in Debian, even taking some of my packaging in Ubuntu to use. He is someone I have historically gone to when I have questions about packages, and, when there’s a huge update in Debian, is my go-to for getting that package synced to Ubuntu.
Steven Jay Cohen: Reddit moderator, perhaps more soon!
Steven is a recent example of someone who uses Ubuntu Studio actively in a recording studio. He came wanting to get involved with the project and proved to be very engaging on Reddit. I have already seen plenty of potential in Steven when it comes to community and communication, so I’m looking forward to working with him more.
Krytarik Raido: IRC Moderator, Mailing List Moderator
Although we share some of these responsibilities now, Krytarik has been very instrumental in keeping the IRC room and mailing lists clean of spam. I’m very thankful for his help over the years.
Set Hallstrom: Previous Ubuntu Studio Leader
Shortly after taking a lead role for Ubuntu Studio back in 2016, Set had to step back. However, even though he was unable to lead the project, the transition to handing the project over was smooth and accomplished in the course of the past two years. Without Set’s guidance, I wouldn’t have known where to begin.
Other help along the way, including some key players:
Steve Langasek
Adam Conrad
Simon Quigley
Chris Cooper
Matthias Klassen
Filipe Coelho
Robin Gareus
David Runge
Olivier Humbert
Mattieu Trudel-LaPierre
Ian Lane
Łukasz Zemczak
Colin Watson
William Grant
Rik Mills
Valorie Zimmerman
Sean Davis
Unit193
And anyone else I missed!
Success Stories
Over the past two years I have come in contact with many people who have used Ubuntu Studio as part of their professional environments. I’d like to highlight a few here.
I mentioned Steven Jay Cohen above, who recently converted all of his recording studio machines over to Ubuntu Studio and uses them for his professional audio production.
Another person I’d like to point out is Mike Holstein, who uses Ubuntu Studio for his production environment. Here’s a track from him produced entirely with Ubuntu Studio:
Last but not least we have the band Lorenzo’s Music, who uses Ubuntu Studio to record and produce their music, develop their artwork, and even produce their music videos. They recently released a new EP entitled Spaghetti Mid-Western. I highly recommend checking-out their music.
Conclusion
Finally, I want to thank the entire Ubuntu Studio community for being with us through the past two years. It hasn’t been easy, especially since we couldn’t release 18.04 as a long-term support release. I’m humbled to be leading this project, and I believe it has a bright future.
Ubuntu Studio 19.04 was released on April 18, 2019. As a non-LTS release, 19.04 has a 9-month support cycle, and, as such, the support period is now nearing its end and Ubuntu Studio 19.04 will reach end of life on Thursday, January 23, 2020.
The supported upgrade path from Ubuntu Studio 19.04 is via Ubuntu Studio 19.10. Instructions and caveats for the upgrade may be found at:
If you’re still running Ubuntu Studio 19.04 (Disco Dingo) you need to upgrade to 19.10 as soon as possible in order to continue receiving updates. Failure to upgrade to Ubuntu Studio 19.10 from 19.04 may result in the inability to upgrade at all or require using difficult upgrading techniques.
The Ubuntu Studio team is pleased to announce the release of Ubuntu Studio 19.10, code-named “Eoan Ermine”. This marks Ubuntu Studio’s 26th release. This release is a regular release and as such, it is supported for 9 months.
For those requiring longer-term support, we encourage you to install Ubuntu Studio 18.04 “Bionic Beaver” and add the Ubuntu Studio Backports PPA, which will keep 18.04 supported through April 2021.
Since it’s just out, you may experience some issues, so you might want to wait a bit before upgrading. Please see the release notes for a complete list of changes and known issues.
OBS Studiois now included by default, making Ubuntu Studio the first-ever operating system ready for live streaming and video recording out-of-the-box.
We realize that OBS Studio 24 has already been released, however we only include version 23 since by the time version 24 was released, the deadlines for inclusion in the Ubuntu repositories had already passed. As such, if you require a newer version, the OBS Project does have a PPA. If you choose to add this PPA, please note that neither the Ubuntu Studio nor any other Ubuntu team can support it.
Additional Audio Plugins
Adding nearly 100 audio plugins to Ubuntu Studio, we now include plugins from the Linux Studio Plugins project and the Distrho Plugins Framework. You will find these plugins in LADSPA, LV2, and VST formats.
RaySession
To replace the abandoned LADI Session Handler, we opted to adopt RaySession, a Qt-based audio application session handler API-compatible with Non Session Manager. This already supports a large number of applications that are already installed by default, and, per user feedback, provides superior session handling than the old LADI tools when paired with Carla.
New Ubuntu Studio Controls
Ubuntu Studio Controls version 1.11.3 is included in this release, and provides numerous improvements:
Now includes an indicator to show whether or not Jack is running
Added Jack backend selections: Firewire, ALSA, or Dummy (used for testing configurations)
Added convenient buttons for starting other configuration tools
Other Changes
Ufraw has been removed from the repositories as development ceased in 2015, and it is incompatible with the current version of Gimp. For those affected, we suggest you find a new workflow for working with RAW images. Applications we suggest include RawTherapee and DarkTable.
Want to help out?
Ubuntu Studio is maintained by a very small team and we are actively seeking new contributors. We are looking for developers, packagers and testers. Even if you are interested in contributing outside these areas, please do not hesitate to reach out. Your contribution is precious regardless of your field of activity. We are open to volunteers with all expertise levels. Just head over to our contribute page to find out how to get started.
Found a bug?
Taking the time to report bugs makes a huge difference; it’s the first step towards improvement! Clear and specific bug reports is the best way to get attention to a problem that needs fixing. The easiest way to create a bug report is with the terminal.
The Ubuntu Studio team is pleased to announce the beta release of Ubuntu Studio 19.10, codenamed Eoan Ermine.
While this beta is reasonably free of any showstopper CD build or installer bugs, you may find some bugs within. This image is, however, reasonably representative of what you will find when Ubuntu Studio 19.10 is released on October 17, 2019.
In terms of new features, Ubuntu Studio 19.10 will include several audio plugins previously not included: over 90 new plugins courtesy of the Linux Studio Plugins project and quite a few from the DISTRHO Plugins Framework.
Another major new feature is the inclusion of OBS Studio by default, allowing users to get up-and-running with recording and live streaming out-of-the-box. OBS Studio also includes Jack integration, allowing interfacing with DAWs such as Ardour or using an audio plugin host such as Carla.
With the LADI tools and LADI Session Handler being abandoned, we have removed those tools and replaced them with Raysession, which is a lightweight session handler fully compatible with the NON Session Manager API, meaning many tools already installed are supported. User feedback has shown that Raysession, paired with Carla, is superior to the session management previously done by LADISH.
Ubuntu Studio Controls has been updated with a plethora of new features, including an indicator showing the state of Jack, the ability to select other audio backends besides ALSA, the addition of more than one PulseAudio bridge, improvements to USB audio handling, the addition of button shortcuts to various audio tools,
The Ubuntu Studio team is pleased to announce the release of Ubuntu Studio 19.04, code-named “Disco Dingo”. This marks Ubuntu Studio’s 25th release, and is its largest and most feature-full release in a long while. This release is a regular release and as such, it is supported for 9 months.
For those requiring longer-term support, we encourage you to install Ubuntu Studio 18.04 “Bionic Beaver” and add the Ubuntu Studio Backports PPA, which will keep 18.04 supported through April 2020. Please do not install Ubuntu Studio 16.04 LTS anymore as it reaches end-of-life (EOL) on April 21, 2019.
Since it’s just out, you may experience some issues, so you might want to wait a bit before upgrading. Please see the release notes for a complete list of changes and known issues.
New This Release
Ubuntu Studio Installer
Ubuntu Studio Installer
Ubuntu Studio is arguably the most popular multimedia creation operating system on Earth. With Ubuntu Studio Installer, it is now not only an operating system, but a complete multimedia toolkit for all official flavors of Ubuntu.
This means you are no longer limited to our default Xfce-based desktop, but can now install Ubuntu Studio’s benefits on the Ubuntu flavor of your choice.
Officially released on April 15, 2019, Carla 2.0.0 has been added to Ubuntu Studio to replace the outdated jack-rack and add more functionality.
Carla is an audio plugin host that can handle many different types of plugins, from Ladspa to DSSI to LV2 to VST. In fact, if you install the WINE bridge (not installed by default), Carla can host Windows-compiled VST plugins.
Carla can also act as a plugin itself, allowing your DAW to use any audio plugin.
Carla also includes a patchbay, which is functionally similar to that of Patchage.
Other Changes
Ubuntu Studio Controls has been upgraded to 1.7 with many bugfixes, and is now the preferred method for starting Jack. As such, we ask that you discontinue use of QJackCtl for starting Jack. QJackCtl remains a good way to monitor Jack’s performance and logs.
Also in Ubuntu Studio 19.04 is new default theming for our Desktop Environment, Window Manager, and Icons.
Want to help out?
Ubuntu Studio is maintained by a very small team and we are actively seeking new contributors. We are looking for developers, packagers and testers. Even if you are interested in contributing outside these areas, please do not hesitate to reach out. Your contribution is precious regardless of your field of activity. We are open to volunteers with all expertise levels. Just head over to our contribute page to find out how to get started.
Found a bug?
Taking
the time to report bugs makes a huge difference; it’s the first step
towards improvement! Clear and specific bug reports is the best way to
get attention to a problem that needs fixing. The easiest way to create a
bug report is with the terminal.
Erich Eickmeyer, Council Chair, Communications, Ubuntu Studio Installer contributions, Social Media, Packaging, Documentation, Artwork, Theming, Vision
Len Ovens, Council Member, Ubuntu Studio Controls, Ubuntu Studio Installer, Coding
Set Hallstrom, Council Member, Guidance
Eylul Dogruel, Artwork
Ross Gammon, Council Member, Guidance, Packaging, Sage Wisdom
The Ubuntu Studio team is pleased to announce the beta release of Ubuntu Studio 19.04, codenamed Disco Dingo.
While this beta is reasonably free of any showstopper CD build or installer bugs, you may find some bugs within. This image is, however, reasonably representative of what you will find when Ubuntu Studio 19.04 is released on April 18, 2019.
New Features
In terms of new features, Ubuntu Studio 19.04 will include a new version of the Ubuntu Studio Metapackage Installer, renamed to Ubuntu Studio Installer. This package is used to add features you may have opted-out of during installation. With this release, Ubuntu Studio can now be installed on top of a default Ubuntu installation or any flavor thereof such as Kubuntu, Xubuntu,Lubuntu, Ubuntu MATE, Ubuntu Budgie, or Ubuntu Kylin. Documentation on this feature is coming soon.
Another major new feature is the addition of the upcoming Carla 2.0, originally from the KXStudio project. Carla is an audio plugin host and graphical patchbay which can be used as an audio plugin itself, and also can be used as a bridge to use VST plugins compiled for Windows using WINE. Please note that this WINE bridge is not installed by default, but is available in the Ubuntu repositories.
With the addition of Carla, jack-rack has been removed from the default installation for obsolescence reasons, and because Carla duplicates its functionality.
Also included are new GTK and icon themes which modernize the look and feel of Ubuntu Studio.
Known Issues
There is a known bug with the installer. Due to the new theme, there are occurrences of black text on a dark gray background. We intend to fix this before 19.04 is released. (Bug #1822134)
The Ubuntu Studio team is pleased to announce the release of Ubuntu Studio 18.10 “Cosmic Cuttlefish”. As a regular release, this version of Ubuntu Studio will be supported for 9 months.
Since it’s just out, you may experience some issues, so you might want to wait a bit before upgrading. Please see the release notes for a complete list of changes and known issues.
Ubuntu Studio Controls has historically been the app to run to get initial audio configuration set for your system. This release, Ubuntu Studio Controls has undergone a major rewrite, and has the following features:
Option for changing the CPU governor
Configuration of JACK, including any attached USB audio devices
Configuration of the JACK-PulseAudio Bridge
Configuration of the JACK-ALSA MIDI Bridge
Ubuntu Studio Controls now, for the first time ever for any JACK configuration GUI, configures JACK to automatically detect hot-plugged USB audio devices and allows you to use more than one audio device at a time. This is something you will find in no other such utility.
Future plans for Ubuntu Studio Controls includes configuration of WACOM Tablets, which is something currently not available in our default Xfce desktop environment.
Inclusion of PikoPixel
PikoPixel is an easy-to-use application for drawing & editing pixel-art.
Unlimited undo
Supports multiple layers
Customizable canvas background and grid patterns
Hotkey-activated popup panels
Export upscaled images
Supports linear (gamma-correct) color blending
Other Changes
Among those applications upgraded in this release is GIMP 2.10, which saw its release shortly before the release of Ubuntu Studio 18.04. Due to a library conflict between GIMP 2.10 and MyPaint, we had to make the hard decision to drop MyPaint from the default installation of Ubuntu Studio beginning in 18.10, citing other tools, such as Krita, as filling a similar role in graphical art production. As such, if both are installed and you wish to upgrade to Ubuntu Studio 18.10, you must uninstall GIMP or MyPaint for the upgrade to be successful. We apologize for this inconvenience. At this time, we are waiting for the upstream developers of MyPaint to release a new version based on libmypaint 1.3 before both can be co-installable again.
Information on newer packages can be found in the release notes.
Regarding Availability of Additional Desktop Environments
Since Ubuntu Studio is the only official flavor of Ubuntu not tied to a desktop environment, we thought it would be a good idea to attempt to offer more desktop environments for Ubuntu Studio and provide multiple ISO downloads. However, since the Ubuntu infrastructure for flavors is based on the desktop environment per flavor structure, we found this to be time and effort prohibitive. As such, we have decided to abandon this idea.
However, it has also been asked how it might be possible to add Ubuntu Studio to an existing Ubuntu install. As such, our new goal is to make a single package to install which starts that process on any Ubuntu or flavor thereof. We hope this lands in Ubuntu Studio 19.04. This means you will be able to install any flavor of Ubuntu and add Ubuntu Studio on to it, allowing you to work in your favorite desktop environment while having all of the benefits of Ubuntu Studio.
Future goals include providing the optional ability to re-brand your installed Ubuntu flavor to Ubuntu Studio along with the under-the-hood configurations. Yet another, distant goal is to allow you to install your preferred desktop environment at install time from the Xfce-based Live CD so long as you have an active Internet connection. Since these are distant goals, they are not completely solidified and are subject to change.
Want to help out?
Ubuntu Studio is maintained by a very small team and we are actively seeking new contributors. We are looking for developers, packagers and testers. Even if you are interested in contributing outside these areas, please do not hesitate to reach out. Your contribution is precious regardless of your field of activity. We are open to volunteers with all expertise levels. Just head over to our contribute page to find out how to get started.
Found a bug?
Taking the time to report bugs makes a huge difference; it’s the first step towards improvement! Clear and specific bug reports is the best way to get attention to a problem that needs fixing. The easiest way to create a bug report is with the terminal.
We are happy to announce the release of our latest version, Ubuntu Studio 18.04 Bionic Beaver! Unlike the other Ubuntu flavors, this release of Ubuntu Studio is not a Long-Term Suppport (LTS) release. As a regular release, it will be supported for 9 months. Although it is not a Long-Term Support release, it is still based on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS which means the components will be supported as usual for a LTS release.
Since it’s just out, you may experience some issues, so you might want to wait a bit before upgrading. Please see the release notes for a complete list of changes and known issues.
Changes in this Release
There are no notable changes in this release since 17.10 Artful Aardvark. Information on newer packages can be found in the release notes.
Want to help out?
Ubuntu Studio is maintained by a very small team and we are actively seeking new contributors. We are looking for developers, packagers and testers. Even if you are interested in contributing outside these areas, please do not hesitate to reach out. Your contribution is precious regardless of your field of activity. We are open to volunteers with all expertise levels. Just head over to our contribute page to find out how to get started.
Found a bug?
Taking the time to report bugs makes a huge difference; it’s the first step towards improvement! Clear and specific bug reports is the best way to get attention to a problem that needs fixing. The easiest way to create a bug report is with the terminal.
If you find any bugs with this release, please report them, and take your time in making the bug report as well formulated as possible. You’ll need an account at launchpad.net. Making a bug report can be done from the terminal with the command: ubuntu-bug [package_name] (replace [package_name] with the name of the package you’re reporting the bug against).
Tagging the bugs with “bionic” and “ubuntustudio-beta” will also help us find them, but a mail to our mailing list with the link to the bug will also help!
