Canonical begins pushing Resolute Raccoon

Resolute Raccoon is ready to roll out to existing Ubuntu users. Canonical has flipped the switch, and users on 24.04 will start to get offered 26.04.1. Canonical has marked the occasion with an official announcement that it's time to upgrade your desktop. Normally, a given LTS release of Ubuntu starts nagging offering the …

[thames]

Updated, already regretting it due to bugs in the new Rust based utilities

I ran the upgrade Wednesday evening, and am already regretting it. The Rust based uutils seem to be buggy as hell and don't seem to have even basic testing done on them.

Today I am struggling with broken scripts where the output of "sort" is incompatible with the input of "comm". Comm complains that the input files are unsorted, while the files were sorted with sort. They're both from uutils. This causes comm to not only complain, but also to spew out a long and incorrect output.

sort (uutils coreutils) 0.10.0

comm (uutils coreutils) 0.10.0

I just ran a test on a series of different Linux and BSD distros. Yes, I know that there can be different sorting orders, but in this case within the same distro comm expects a different sorting order from what sort produces. No other distro that I have tested has this same problem. Not only that, but I have Ubuntu 26.04 on a Raspberry Pi and it doesn't have this problem, so it works on ARM but not on x86.

I have yet to see which other important scripts I may have which also break. I am now stuck with trying every possible sorting option to see if there is one that comm will accept as being correct. This may take me some time, as there seem to be multiple issues involved.

The new man pages for sort and comm helpfully state that uutils are still a work in progress and that some of the examples they give (which they copied from someone else) may fail.

Even the most simple of basic testing would have turned up this problem. I would like to see them roll back to the GNU utils, at least those worked.

I have read that you can purge uutils to go back to the GUN utils, but I have heard that this introduces other problems.

Oh, while I'm at it, the upgrade hung for no obvious reason. I was able to open the terminal window embedded in the GUI to see that the command line underneath the GUI wanted me to confirm an option. I answered "yes" and it went merrily on its way and completed. If you are doing the upgrade from the GUI, open the terminal so make sure that it isn't asking you for anything.

I have been using Ubuntu since Mandrake went down the tubes, and this is the first time I can recall seeing any sort of problems on this scale.

[blu3b3rry]

Re: Updated, already regretting it due to bugs in the new Rust based utilities

I noted that Kubuntu has deferred updates to 26.04 from 24.04 so far according to a website post from early September:

The 26.04.1 images arrived on 27 August, alongside every other 26.04.1 flavour. A point release rolls the accumulated security and bugfix updates into the installation media, so a fresh install doesn’t spend its first ten minutes downloading a few hundred packages. If you are already running 26.04 and keeping up with updates, you are effectively already on 26.04.1.

One caveat worth knowing. The automatic 24.04 to 26.04 upgrade offer is being held back a couple of weeks while regressions in a recent rust-coreutils get backported. If you would rather go now, do-release-upgrade -d still works — read the release notes first.

Looks to me like I'll be sticking with Kubuntu 24.04 for now....

[Liam Proven]

Re: Updated, already regretting it due to bugs in the new Rust based utilities

> I noted that Kubuntu has deferred updates to 26.04 from 24.04 so far according to a website post from early September:

This is precisely the change that this story is about, so no, that info is obsolete.

Kubuntu did exactly what upstream Ubuntu did.

Now Kubuntu has an LTS sponsor as I reported 2mth ago:

https://www.theregister.com/software/2026/08/18/sponsor-gives-kde-plasma-66-the-lts-treatment/5288531

I'd go for it.

Igor "Dedoimedo" Ljubuncic has detailed instructions on how to install the X11 session:

https://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/kubuntu-26-04-review.html

[TVU]

Re: Updated, already regretting it due to bugs in the new Rust based utilities

"I ran the upgrade Wednesday evening, and am already regretting it. The Rust based uutils seem to be buggy as hell and don't seem to have even basic testing done on them"

As ever, there should have been thorough testing, more testing and retesting before releasing any updates to the wider public. This has quite clearly not happened this time and that is unfortunate to say the least. It's also not a good look for Canonical when things like this happen.

[Liam Proven]

Re: Updated, already regretting it due to bugs in the new Rust based utilities

> I have read that you can purge uutils to go back to the GUN utils

Not quite, no.

There are 2 metapackages: `coreutils-from-gnu` versus `coreutils-from-uutils`. Installing one replaces the other; both sets of tools are always there, but this controls which ones are currently linked into `/usr/bin`.

But various critical system packages depend on this, so you need to add a switch.

This old link has a method that looks sane to me:

https://blobfolio.com/2025/revert-to-gnu-coreutils/

It says:

````

sudo apt-get remove coreutils-from-uutils --allow-remove-essential

````

That should remove one and automatically install the other.

I've found more recent advice that looks like a syntactically invalid `apt` command to me:

https://github.com/gbif/ipt/issues/3060

But it's repeated:

https://codehelper.me/articles/ubuntu-26-10-rust-coreutils/

It says:

````

sudo apt install coreutils-from-gnu coreutils-from-uutils- --allow-remove-essential

````

I don't like the look of that trailing minus sign.

But it is worth a try.

> but I have heard that this introduces other problems.

I don't personally do anything like this in the shell so I have seen no problems at all.

AFAIK Canonical is still using GNU coreutils on architectures where Rust isn't a first-class citizen yet: IBM S390, PowerPC, etc.

They _should_ be interchangeable.

[Justin Pasher]

Re: Updated, already regretting it due to bugs in the new Rust based utilities

I went through some testing a couple of months ago to see what big things broke or were changed between 24.04 and 26.04, and this was one of the things I wasn't too keen about as well (in addition to the rust version of sudo[1]). One point to make: I'm looking at this from an Ubuntu Server perspective, not Desktop.

> apt install coreutils-from-gnu coreutils-from-uutils- --allow-remove-essential

The command you referenced is valid, albeit a more obscure way of installing and removing a package at the same time. It's necessary in this case because of the odd way they set up the package dependencies to avoid leaving your system in a broken state. I had different issues with the other swap method. I use Ansible to configure servers, and I have to run it as a regular command instead of using an Ansible module, because the trailing - syntax is not supported.

Some other tidbits I found (and changed when I could):

- kdump-tools is installed by default (maybe only in the Server edition?), which aids kernel crash dump tracking. It also reserves percentage of your memory for this operation... for a feature that most people will never use.

- Still no official MongoDB 8 support in Ubuntu 26.04 (related to the compatibility issues with the 7.0 kernel it uses, so not fully Canonical's fault)

- systemd unit hardening (ProtectSystem=full) can cause surprise issues (and even break some shipped packages, like backuppc)

- Rust version of sudo (I'm waiting for it to have a better, longer track record before replacing such a critical program)

[1] - update-alternatives --set sudo /usr/bin/sudo.ws

[druck]

Re: Updated, already regretting it due to bugs in the new Rust based utilities

They _should_ be interchangeable.

They would be if they were written by proper software engineers for a real purpose, instead we have a half arsed job by bloody Rust evangelists trying to impose their anointed language on everyone else.

[collin.funk]

Re: Updated, already regretting it due to bugs in the new Rust based utilities

Unfortunately, Canonical's own steps to use GNU coreutils are incorrect, as I reported here [1]. Unfortunately, they seem to be unresponsive to issues posted there.

As a co-maintainer of GNU coreutils, I find the whole transition frustrating. The issues they have faced, and continue to face, are entirely foreseeable. Had anyone from Ubuntu contacted the other maintainers or me, we could have given them a heads-up. However, they seem entirely uninterested in participating in upstream GNU coreutils development. Improvements and suggestions to improve GNU coreutils and make it safer, taking their stated rationale for switching at face value, would have been an absolutely welcome and appreciated conversation, but we were never given that opportunity.

[1] https://github.com/ubuntu/ubuntu-release-notes/issues/254

[mIVQU#~(p,]

Yeah. I'll wait LTS ends in 2029.

[Liam Proven]

> Yeah. I'll wait LTS ends in 2029.

Which LTS are you talking about? 24.04? If you're happy with it, sure, stay. One of my work machines still runs Ubuntu Unity 24.04 and since Ubuntu Unity 26.04 is _not_ an LTS release, I'm inclined to keep it there.

[Anrtryg]

A desktop for the ages

Huh. It appears that Linux (aka Ubuntu) has finally caught up with the desktop functionality of Windows ....

/s

[keithpeter]

OpenBSD angle (vaguely off topic)

Quote from OA

"but which was swiftly rejected by determined defender of the C faith Theo de Raadt."

Dr Proven did mark the above quote as sarcasm, but I think that the full thread on the openbsd-ports mailing list provides a case study in people talking past each other, which might be instructive to other people who wish to suggest significant changes to projects.

The chap who wrote the proposed port of uutils suggested that these could provide a drop-in alternative for the GNU coreutils currently in OpenBSD ports.

The OpenBSD ports maintainers were explaining that OpenBSD is available on a wider range of platforms than Rust currently supports which would make deployment more complex; that the rust-based coreutils replacements seem to have slight differences from the GNU coreutils and that therefore they could not be regarded as a drop-in replacement as the end user might find that scripts broke &c; and that the proposed port was very large and packaged in a way that was not usual in OpenBSD. It wasn't obvious to me that the issue was about the Rust language per se, except for the platform coverage and bootstrapping Rust issues.

Theo de Raadt pointed out that what the proposer of the new port was suggesting would mean a significant amount of extra work for a small team of volunteer port maintainers. Making helpful suggestions that require someone else, usually unspecified as to whom, to do extra work is a tried and true method for evoking a response from Mr de Raadt. The use of the passive voice is guaranteed to intensify the response. I actually felt that Mr de Raadt's replies were brisk, but focused on the behaviour and not the proposer.

Vague link to topic: it looks as if at least one Ubuntu user has discovered some of the 'slight differences'.

Icon: I have no connection with OpenBSD, Ubuntu or any other open source project other than being a grateful user of their work. "The street finds its own uses for things -William Gibson"

[Liam Proven]

Re: OpenBSD angle (vaguely off topic)

> Dr Proven did mark the above quote as sarcasm

*Rev* Proven, please. ;-)

No, I did *not* mark de Raadt's quote as sarcasm. I marked _my_ paragraphs as sarcastic. I can't, don't, and won't speak for anyone else.

[FIA]

Re: OpenBSD angle (vaguely off topic)

Your grace... the above quote was yours... not Theo's

[Liam Proven]

Re: OpenBSD angle (vaguely off topic)

Oh, I see what you mean. All right.

In nomine patris Tanenbaum, et filis Torvalds, et Sanctu Ignucius, ego te absolvo.

[keithpeter]

Re: OpenBSD angle (vaguely off topic)

Apologies to the arch bishop.

My quote was taken from your article and consists your words, not the words of Mr de Raadt.

However as the OpenBSD-ports mailing list thread in question was a short aside in your article, and my post had a tenuous connection to the article's main subject, I won't comment further.

[Liam Proven]

Re: OpenBSD angle (vaguely off topic)

> Apologies to the arch bishop.

That's _pope_ to you, sonny. :-D

[Nate Amsden]

hate those phased updates

What's the point? I am not sure... for Ubuntu 24, I run my own internal repos, and bunches of systems(but not all) get several packages delayed "due to phasing", after getting tired fixing it manually each round of updates I added some code to the update script to hopefully fix it automatically:

export UPTEST="/tmp/.upgrade-test.log"

apt-get -y upgrade 1>$UPTEST 2>&1

grep -iq phasing $UPTEST && apt-get -y upgrade |grep -A1 "deferred due to phasing" | tail -n 1 | while read line; do apt-get -y install $line;done

seemed to do the trick during testing at least, unsure if there is a way to just turn off the phasing altogether.