Daily builds of Ubuntu 26.10 ‘Stonking Stingray’ are now available for download, as development on the distro’s next major release kicks in to gear.
As the name suggests, new ISOs are produced from development code on a (mostly) daily basis, giving those keen to test October’s release in advance the ability to do so.
However, because package updates can break the ability for a bootable image to be created, it’s not unusual for there to be temporary gaps between new daily builds being available.
Daily builds will continue to be produced for remainder of the Ubuntu 26.10 development cycle, right up until the final, stable release on 15 October, 2026.
Users can choose to install a daily build and keep it updated throughout the development cycle through standard package management (i.e., one doesn’t have to download and re-install a new daily build every day).
But they are not intended to be used as a daily driver (i.e., a full-time OS used for critical work). Many with a disk partition to spare find it fun to ‘ride’ the development release and report bugs – a good way to contribute to the distro’s development.
Those unafraid of behavioural quirks and the occasional broken desktop can download a stonking daily build to try – if something breaks spectacularly whilst using it, remember it is somewhat the purpose of daily builds to find out!
The majority of major user-facing changes arrive later in the cycle.
The first couple of months in every development cycle involves package syncing, tooling updates and minor ‘paperwork’ plumbing. The bulk of user-facing new features arrive a few months in.
Ubuntu 26.10 daily builds can be downloaded from the Ubuntu CD image server.
The ‘current’ folder houses the most recent ISO to pass a set of (basic) automated checks, while the ‘pending’ folder contains images that are next be checked but have yet to be signed off.
What features or improvements are you hoping Ubuntu 26.10 brings?
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