Ubuntu 24.10 may have only just been released, but development on the next version is getting underway and the codename for Ubuntu 25.04 revealed.
Since codenames are alphabetical (as of Ubuntu 6.06 LTS; restarted at ‘A’ with 17.10) it means the Ubuntu 25.04 codename will start with the letter ‘P’…
- Praying for a Piquant Pika? You’ll be perplexed to know that wasn’t picked.
- Pining for a Percipient Panda? You’ll be put-out to hear it was passed over.
- Prefer the sound of a Plucky Puffin? You’ll be pleased because…
Ubuntu 25.04 is the ‘Plucky Puffin’.
Yes, another feathered mascot will follow in the footstep – well, talon steps – of the ‘Oracular Oriole’. It’s also only the second ‘P’ codename in Ubuntu’s history, the other being Ubuntu 12.04 LTS ‘Precise Pangolin’.
But what does it mean?
“Plucky” is an adjective often used to refer to someone/something showing courage, determination, or assurance in the face of challenges or obstacles. In some contexts it’s also a synonym of Gutsy, the adjective used in the Ubuntu 7.10 codename (and my first Ubuntu release).
A “Puffin” is a small seabird known with a brightly coloured beak, black and white feathers, and a somewhat squat shape. I’ve heard them (informally) described as “sea parrots” due to their coastal habitats and their vivid beaks.
Although the exact word and animal used in codenames no longer relate to the upcoming release as they once did, perhaps Ubuntu 25.04 will facing (and overcoming) a challenges of its own during the next development cycle.
There was talk of the first public preview of an Ubuntu Core Desktop image in 2025…
Why does Ubuntu use codenames at all?
Ubuntu version numbers are date based. Ubuntu 25.04 will (aim to) be release in the 4th month of 2025 – April.
But when Mark Shuttleworth kick-started his Super Secret Debian Startup1 20 years ago, there was no fixed release date, so no version number. Development on that formative first release needed some kind of codename to commit code against, cross-reference, and refer to in discussions.
Since the first Ubuntu release was unlikely to arrive perfectly polished, it’d be released ‘warts and all’ – hence ‘warty’.
However, initially there was no animal mascot element – so why did ‘warthog’ get added?
That depends on who you ask.
The “unclean” version which I was told (over a drink with a member of the original Ubuntu team) is that when devs were ‘sprinting’ in South Africa the warm climate, warm laptops, and warm bodies meant the room smelled, the team were affectionally referred to as ‘the warthogs’.
The “clean” version is that the warthog is native to Africa, Ubuntu’s founder Mark Shuttleworth is South African, ‘Ubuntu’ is an African word, and a lot of early development/sprint work took place in South Africa, near/at Mark’s home = synergy, innit.
While the animal serves a branding/marketing role, the adjective has a vital role in Ubuntu’s development infrastructure which is kind of hardcoded to expect a codename in letters, not numbers – the file name of the default Ubuntu wallpaper in every release is still warty_final.png.
Plus, I can guarantee I write “24.04” instead of “25.04” in coverage that follows because muscle memory is a powerful thing. Were I a developer pushing code to a repo or editing a config file? That sort of type might be a painful mistake.
So yeah: goofy or gimmicky the codenames may seem to some, they’re an important and indelible part of Ubuntu’s iconic lineage.
And next year, Ubuntu’s playful personality will be fronted by a Plucky Puffin.
Thoughts?
- Before Ubuntu was called Ubuntu, it was often referred to as this ↩︎