Canonical has announced “Resolute Raccoon” as the codename for its next Long-Term Support (LTS) release, Ubuntu 26.04 LTS, scheduled for April 2026. The choice is a deliberate nod to stability and a posthumous tribute: the codename was selected by Steve Langasek, a long-time Canonical employee and former Debian and Ubuntu release manager who passed away at the start of 2025.
The selection of Resolute is particularly fitting for an LTS release, signifying a determined and unwavering focus on dependability for the millions of users relying on the system for years. The Raccoon, a North American creature, is noted for its resilience, resourcefulness, and adaptability—traits aligned with the Ubuntu platform itself.
As the next LTS version, Ubuntu 26.04 LTS offers extensive support. Desktop users receive five years of ongoing updates, which includes three years of Hardware Enablement (HWE) updates. This core support is extensible with a further five years of critical security patches made available through Ubuntu Pro.
Development planning is integrated with the codename system. The adjective component is critical to the release infrastructure, offering a safety measure for developers. By typing a word, such as ‘resolute,’ instead of a number like ‘2604,’ developers mitigate the chance of inadvertently sending changes to an incorrect, but numerically valid, repository like 2504 or 2404. While the version number reflects the planned release date, that date has only slipped once in Ubuntu’s history (in 2006, resulting in the 6.06 release).
The new LTS release will ship with a number of key changes. Ubuntu 26.04 LTS is expected to include GNOME 50. It will also enable the Prompting Client by default. In the extended selection install, the distribution plans to switch the default video player from Totem to Showtime.
Security enhancements include a push to further improve TPM-backed disk encryption. This focus on stability, security, and interface updates underscores the ‘Resolute’ approach to the future LTS cycle. The tradition of naming releases with an adjective-animal pairing dates back to the very first release in 2004, Ubuntu 4.10 ‘Warty Warthog’.
