[ubuntu-studio-devel] Ubuntu Studio 25.04 Released

[Erich Eickmeyer]

The Ubuntu Studio team is pleased to announce the release of Ubuntu 
Studio 25.04 code-named “Plucky Puffin”. This marks Ubuntu Studio’s 36th 
release. This release is a Regular release and as such, it is supported 
for 9 months, until January 2026.

Since it’s just out, you may experience some issues, so you might want 
to wait a bit before upgrading. Please see therelease notes 
<https://discourse.ubuntu.com/t/ubuntu-studio-25-04-release-notes/53099>for 
a more complete list of changes and known issues. Listed here are some 
of the major highlights.

/This release is dedicated to the memory ofSteve Langasek 
<https://discourse.ubuntu.com/t/remembering-and-thanking-steve-langasek/52665>. 
Without Steve, Ubuntu Studio would not be where it is today. He provided 
invaluable guidance, insight, and instruction to our leader, Erich 
Eickmeyer, who not only learned how to package applications but learned 
how to do it properly. We owe him an eternal debt of gratitude./

You can download Ubuntu Studio 25.04 from ourdownload page 
<https://ubuntustudio.org/download>.


    Special Notes

The Ubuntu Studio 25.04 disk image (ISO) exceeds 4 GB and cannot be 
downloaded to some file systems such as FAT32 and may not be readable 
when burned to a standard DVD. For this reason, we recommend downloading 
to a compatible file system. When creating a boot medium, we recommend 
creating a bootable USB stick 
<https://ubuntu.com/tutorials/create-a-usb-stick-on-ubuntu#1-overview> with 
the ISO image or burning to a Dual-Layer DVD.

Minimum installation media requirements: Dual-Layer DVD or 8GB USB drive.

Images can be obtained from this link: 
https://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntustudio/releases/25.04/release/

Full updated information, including *Upgrade Instructions,* are 
available in the *Release Notes 
<https://discourse.ubuntu.com/t/ubuntu-studio-25-04-release-notes/53099>*. 
<https://wiki.ubuntu.com/GroovyGorilla/Beta/UbuntuStudio>

Upgrades from 24.10 should be enabled within a month after release, so 
we appreciate your patience. Upgrades from 25.04 LTS will be enabled 
after 24.10 reaches End-Of-Life in July 2025.


    New This Release

GIMP 3.0: Wilber logo by Aryeom


      GIMP 3.0!

The long-awaited GIMP 3.0 is included by default. GIMP is now capable of 
non-destructive editing with filters, better Photoshop PSD export, and 
so very much more! Check out theGIMP 3.0 release announcement 
<https://www.gimp.org/news/2025/03/16/gimp-3-0-released/>for more 
information.

Pencil2D Icon


      Pencil2D

Ubuntu Studio now includes*Pencil2D <http://pencil2d.org/>*! This is a 
2D animation and drawing application that is sure to be helpful to 
animators. You can use basic clipart to make animations!

The basic features of Pencil2D are:

  * layers support (separated layer for bitmap, vector and soud part)
  * bitmap drawing
  * vector drawing
  * sound support


      LibreOffice No Longer in Minimal Install

The LibreOffice suite is now part of the full desktop install. This will 
save space for those wishing for a minimalistic setup for their needs.


      Invada Studio Plugins

Beginning this release we are including the Invada Studio Plugins first 
created by Invada Records Australia. This includes distortion, delay, 
dynamics, filter, phaser, reverb, and utility audio plugins.


      PipeWire 1.2.7

This release contains*PipeWire 1.2.7*. One major feature this has over 
1.2.4 is that|v4l2loopback|support is available via 
the|pipewire-v4l2|package which is not installed by default.

PipeWire’s JACK compatibility is configured to use out-of-the-box and is 
zero-latency internally. System latency is configurable viaUbuntu Studio 
Audio Configuration <https://ubuntustudio.org/audio-configuration/>.

However, if you would rather use straight JACK 2 instead, that’s also 
possible. Ubuntu Studio Audio Configuration can disable and enable 
PipeWire’s JACK compatibility on-the-fly. From there, you can simply use 
JACK via QJackCtl.


      Ardour 8.12

While this does not represent the latest release of Ardour, Ardour 8.12 
is a great release. If you would like the latest release, we highly 
recommendpurchasing one-time or subscribing to Ardour 
<https://community.ardour.org/download?platform=linux&architecture=x86_64&type=compiled&paymentSelection=options>directly 
from the developers to help support this wonderful application.

To help support Ardour’s funding, you may obtain later versions directly 
from ardour.org. To do so, pleaseone-time purchase or subscribe to 
Ardour from their website. <https://ardour.org/>If you wish to get later 
versions of Ardour from us, you will have to wait until the next regular 
release of Ubuntu Studio, due in October 2025.


    Deprecation of Mailing Lists

Our mailing lists are getting inundated with spam and there is no proper 
way to fix the filtering. It uses an outdated version of MailMan, so 
this release announcement will be the last release announcement we send 
out via email. To get support, we encourage usingUbuntu Discourse 
<https://discourse.ubuntu.com/>for support, and for community clicking 
the notification bell in theUbuntu Studio category 
<https://discourse.ubuntu.com/c/flavors/ubuntustudio/188>there.


    Frequently Asked Questions

*Q:* Does Ubuntu Studio contain snaps?
*A:* Yes. Mozilla’s distribution agreement with Canonical changed, and 
Ubuntu was forced to no longer distribute Firefox in a native .deb 
package. We have found that, after numerous improvements, Firefox now 
performs just as well as the native .deb package did.

Thunderbird also became a snap so that the maintainers can get security 
patches delivered faster.

Additionally, Freeshow is an Electron-based application. Electron-based 
applications cannot be packaged in the Ubuntu repositories in that they 
cannot be packaged in a traditional Debian source package. While such 
apps do have a build system to create a .deb binary package, it 
circumvents the source package build system in Launchpad, which is 
required when packaging for Ubuntu. However, Electron apps also have a 
facility for creating snaps, which can be uploaded and included. 
Therefore, for Freeshow to be included in Ubuntu Studio, it had to be 
packaged as a snap.

We have additional snaps that are Ubuntu-specific, such as the Firmware 
Updater and the Security Center. Contrary to popular myth, Ubuntu does 
not have any plans to switch all packages to snaps, nor do we.

*Q*: Will you make an ISO with {my favorite desktop environment}?
*A:* To do so would require creating an entirely new flavor of Ubuntu, 
which would require going through the Official Ubuntu Flavor application 
process. Since we’re completely volunteer-run, we don’t have the time or 
resources to do this. Instead, we recommend you download the official 
flavor for the desktop environment of your choice 
<https://ubuntu.com/download/flavours> and use Ubuntu Studio Installer 
<https://ubuntustudio.org/ubuntu-studio-installer> to get Ubuntu Studio 
– which does *not* convert that flavor to Ubuntu Studio but adds its 
benefits.

*Q: *What if I don’t want all these packages installed on my machine?
*A: *Simply use the *Ubuntu Studio Installer* to remove the features of 
Ubuntu Studio you don’t want or need!


    Get Involved!

A wonderful way to contribute is to get involved with the project 
directly! We’re always looking for new volunteers to help with 
packaging, documentation, tutorials, user support, and MORE! Check out 
all the ways you can contribute! <https://ubuntustudio.org/contribute/>

*Our project leader, Erich Eickmeyer, is now working on Ubuntu Studio at 
least part-time, and is hoping that the users of Ubuntu Studio can give 
enough to generate a monthly part-time income. We’re not there, but if 
every Ubuntu Studio user donated monthly, we’d be there! Your donations 
are appreciated! If other distributions can do it, surely we can! See 
the sidebar for ways to give*!


    Special Thanks

Huge special thanks for this release go to:

  * *Eylul Dogruel*: Artwork, Graphics Design
  * *Ross Gammon*: Upstream Debian Developer, Testing, Email Support
  * *Sebastien Ramacher*:**Upstream Debian Developer
  * *Dennis Braun*: Upstream Debian Developer
  * *Rik Mills*: Kubuntu Council Member, help with Plasma desktop
  * *Scarlett Moore:*Kubuntu Project Lead, help with Plasma desktop
  * *Len Ovens:* Testing, insight
  * *Mauro Gaspari*: Tutorials, Promotion, and Documentation, Testing,
    keeping Erich sane
  * *Erich Eickmeyer*: Project Leader, Packaging, Development,
    Direction, Treasurer
  * *Steve Langasek:*You are missed.
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