Ubuntu Developers

Ubuntu Developers represent an important part of the creation of Ubuntu. They have a direct influence on the software included in Ubuntu and whether it meets the needs of end users. They are responsible for ensuring that Ubuntu works, and works as well as it can with the resources available.

Everybody is welcome to work on any package they want to improve and we value these contributions. If you don’t have upload rights yet, sponsors can review your work and upload it for you.

If you wanted to categorize the different kinds of involvement and upload rights in Ubuntu, it would look like this:

See Path to upload rights below for a visual guide.

Ubuntu Developer membership

Ubuntu Developers get all the benefits of Ubuntu Membership. They also get:

Note

A few Per-Package Uploaders are not members of ubuntu-dev and are not eligible for these benefits. One way to check this is to run bin/lp-check-membership from the lptools package.

Path to upload rights

Note

The links shown on this page are subject to sudden changes over the next few months as more of the documentation it refers to is migrated here. Please expect inconsistencies – and feel welcome to correct any links you find that are incorrect.

These interactive charts show the skills needed to obtain permissions for uploading changes to the Ubuntu Package Archive. They can be used as a guide to help build your applications for upload rights on:

The uploader’s journey

Since Ubuntu is based on Debian, they share a similar technical skillset. This means that as a contributor, you may want to contribute to Debian as well as Ubuntu, or just focus on one (as you prefer).

This diagram shows the overall expected progression paths you can take as a contributor. Click any of the nodes to learn more.

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  columns 6

%% Column 1
  block:col1
  columns 2
    space:5
    Ubuntu{{"<b>Ubuntu<br>path</br>"}}
    Start(("Start"))
    space:2
    Debian{{"<b>Debian<br>path</b>"}}
  end

  Start --> Ubuntu
  Start --> Debian

%% Column 2
  block:col2
  columns 2
    space:4
    Basics("<a href='#upload-path-basics'>Basics</a>")
    id1((" "))
    space:2
    Contributor("<a href="https://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/maint-guide/">Contributor</a>")
    space
  end

%% Column 3
  block:col3
  columns 2
    UploadRights{{"<b>Upload<br>rights</b>"}}
    PPU["<a href='https://documentation.ubuntu.com/project/who-makes-ubuntu/developers/dmb-joining-ppu/'>PPU*</a>"]
    space:2
    Intermediate("<a href='#upload-path-intermediate'>Intermediate</a>")
    id2((" "))
    space:2
    Maintainer("<a href='https://wiki.debian.org/DebianMaintainer'>Maintainer</a>")
    space
  end

%% Column 4
  block:col4
  columns 2
    space
    PackageSet["<a href='https://documentation.ubuntu.com/project/who-makes-ubuntu/developers/dmb-joining-packageset/'>PPU*<br>PackageSet</a>"]
    space:2
    Advanced("<a href='#upload-path-advanced'>Advanced</a>")
    id3((" "))
    space:2
    Developer("<a href='https://wiki.debian.org/DebianDeveloper'>Developer</a>")
    space
  end

%% Column 5
  block:col5
  columns 2
    space
    MOTU["<a href='https://documentation.ubuntu.com/project/who-makes-ubuntu/developers/dmb-joining-motu/'>MOTU</a>"]
    space:2
    Expert("<a href='#upload-path-expert'>Expert</a>")
    id4((" "))
    space:4
  end

%% Column 6
  block:col6
    columns 2
    space
    CoreDev["<a href='https://documentation.ubuntu.com/project/who-makes-ubuntu/developers/dmb-joining-core-dev/'>Core Dev</a>"]
    space:2
    Main("<a href='#upload-path-expert'>Expert<br>in main</a>")
    id5((" "))
    space:4
  end


%% Connections
Basics --> Intermediate
Intermediate --> Advanced
Advanced --> Expert
Expert --> Main

id2 --> PPU
id3 --> PackageSet
id4 --> MOTU
Main --- id5
id5 --> CoreDev

Contributor --> Maintainer
Maintainer --> Developer

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Basics

As a Prospective Developer you should start your learning here. These topics will get you started with a good foundation for your future contributions to Ubuntu. As you complete tasks that build your confidence and skills, you can apply for Ubuntu Developer Membership as a Contributing Developer.

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Once your team and/or mentor says you are ready for more, you can move onto the Intermediate-level tasks.

Intermediate

This set of topics are more in-depth, as well as being quite hands-on. Completing the tasks in this set will prepare you for Advanced-level work.

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    ComplexPackageMerges{{"Complex package merges"}}
    SRU{{"<a href=https://canonical-sru-docs.readthedocs-hosted.com/>Study SRU</a>"}}
    space:1
  end
   
  block:middle
    columns 1
    IntermediateTasks("Intermediate tasks")
    AddAUTOPKGTESTS["<a href=https://documentation.ubuntu.com/project/contributors/bug-fix/package-tests/>Add Autopkgtest</a>"]
    ProposeMigration["<a href=https://documentation.ubuntu.com/project/how-ubuntu-is-made/processes/proposed-migration/>Proposed Migration</a>"]
    DoSRUS["Do SRUS"]
    WorkOnBugs["Work on packaging bugs/features"]
  end

  block:right
    columns 2
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    PPU["<a href='https://documentation.ubuntu.com/project/who-makes-ubuntu/developers/dmb-joining-ppu/'>PPU*</a>"]
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  UnderstandDep8 --> AddAUTOPKGTESTS
  ComplexPackageMerges --> ProposeMigration
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Once you have done enough of these tasks that your team/mentor says you are ready to continue your journey, you can move onto the Advanced topics.

At this time, you may also be ready to apply for Per-Package Upload (PPU) rights. This will depend very much on the package you are interested in gaining upload rights for. Some of the more complex packages will need you to complete the Advanced path first.

Advanced

        block-beta
  columns 3

  block:left
    AdvancedStudies("Advanced studies")
    columns 1
    space:3
    StudyFFE{{"<a href=https://documentation.ubuntu.com/project/release-team/freeze-exceptions/>Study FFE</a>"}}
    PlusOne{{"<a href=https://documentation.ubuntu.com/project/contributors/advanced/plus-one-maintenance/>Study +1</a>"}}
  end

  block:middle
    AdvancedTasks("Advanced tasks")
    columns 1
    UpstreamSubmissionFixes["Upstream submission fixes/features"]
    UpstreamSubmissionDelta["Upstream submission of delta"]
    MilestonesAndExceptions["Milestones and exceptions"]
    DoAnFFE["Do An FFE"]
    PlusOneShadowing["+1 Shadowing"]
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  block:right
    columns 2
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    PPU["<a href='https://documentation.ubuntu.com/project/who-makes-ubuntu/developers/dmb-joining-ppu/'>PPU*</a>"]
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    PackageSet["<a href='https://documentation.ubuntu.com/project/who-makes-ubuntu/developers/dmb-joining-packageset/'>Package Set</a>"]
    space:8
  end

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  AdvancedTasks --> PackageSet
  StudyFFE --> DoAnFFE
  PlusOne --> PlusOneShadowing

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With enough of these tasks under your belt to demonstrate your skills and experience, you can move onto the Expert topics.

At this point, you are likely to be ready to apply for Per-Package Upload (PPU) rights, or if there is a set of packages you are interested in working on, you can apply for Package Set instead.

Expert

The Expert-level studies will prepare you for becoming a member of MOTU, where you will help to maintain packages in universe.

If you want to, you can continue your Expert-level studies by further specializing in main – you need to do this if you want to apply for the Core Developer role.

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  columns 3

  block:topleft 
    columns 1
    ExpertStudies("Expert studies")
    StudyLibaryTransitions{{"<a href=https://wiki.debian.org/Teams/ReleaseTeam/Transitions>Study libary transitions</a>"}}
    StudyPackageTransitions{{"<a href=https://wiki.debian.org/PackageTransition>Study package transitions</a>"}}
    id1((" "))
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  block:topright
    columns 1
    ExpertTasks("Expert tasks")
    DoLibaryTransitions["Do libary transitions"]
    DoPackageTransitions["Do package transitions"]
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  block:motu
    columns 2
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    MOTU["<a href='https://documentation.ubuntu.com/project/who-makes-ubuntu/developers/dmb-joining-motu/'>MOTU</a>"]
    space:4
    id3((" "))
    space
  end

  ExpertTasks --> MOTU

  block:lowerleft
    columns 1
    ExpertinMainStudies("Expert in <code>main</code> studies")
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    StudyMIR{{"<a href=https://documentation.ubuntu.com/project/MIR/main-inclusion-review/>Study MIR</a>"}}
    space:1
  end

  block:lowerright
    columns 1
    ExpertinMainTasks("Expert in <code>main</code> tasks")
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    SeedChange["Seed change"]
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  block:coredev
    columns 2
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    CoreDev["<a href='https://documentation.ubuntu.com/project/who-makes-ubuntu/developers/dmb-joining-core-dev/'>Core Dev</a>"]
    space:6
  end
 
  ExpertinMainTasks --> CoreDev

  id1 --> ExpertinMainStudies
  id2 --- id3
  id3 --- id1

  StudyLibaryTransitions-->DoLibaryTransitions
  StudyPackageTransitions-->DoPackageTransitions
  StudyMIR-->DoMIR
  StudyMIR-->SeedChange

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