We are excited to introduce Ubuntu Stainless Steel Edition, a new flavor of Ubuntu in development. In contrast to the increasingly oxidising direction of Ubuntu, this edition is being carefully crafted to provide a traditional, time-tested computing experience that’s built to last.
No Rust, only steel
The key distinction of Ubuntu Stainless Steel Edition is that it will not include any package containing Rust code. If you do not like Rust, this edition is made for you.
Forged for durability
Just as stainless steel stands the test of time, Ubuntu Stainless Steel Edition is built to endure.
As part of this effort, we are actively evaluating the possibility of rewriting essential tools, including coreutils, in languages that have stood the test of time, such as COBOL.
Under development – patience is key
Since Rust has gained widespread use—including in the Linux kernel—removing it completely will take time. We are committed to this effort and aim to release the first testable beta image on April 1st, 2026, in time for the Ubuntu 26.04 LTS release.
Be part of the restoration
If you believe Ubuntu should never change, or if you simply do not like Rust, then Ubuntu Stainless Steel Edition is for you. Look for updates and get ready to experience an Ubuntu that remains strong and steady.
Stay tuned – the future is stainless!
PS: I spent the weekend working on my personal project, 3cpio, and released version 0.5.0. Grab it while it’s fresh!
I really want to use Ubuntu Stainless Steel, but as many people know, I exclusively use Windows 11 as my init system, booting straight into WSL.
How will this interact with the oxidized Windows 11 kernel? Can it maybe use an LLM to rewrite those parts to a more battle-tested language on the fly?
You have put me in a tri-lemma now - should I remove all the ‘rust’ from my Cobol and C skills or should I jump on the oxidization bandwagon to learn Rust or should I just stay with my mildly rusty Java skills to enjoy WORA (Write Once, Run Anywhere)???
Oh this is exciting! Hopefully the use of more battle-tested and established frameworks will free up enough resources that we can bring back i386 support, maybe all the way back to the Pentium III? I have a couple of machines that old that get active* use today, this would be a perfect candidate for them. 256 MiB of RAM should be more than enough for something as solid as this.
*where active is defined as booted within the last two years for brief recreational purposes
I’m all in on COBOL.
