How to Install Ubuntu 26.04 LTS (Resolute Raccoon) — Complete Guide

✅ Ubuntu 26.04 LTS "Resolute Raccoon" — Released April 23, 2026 · Supported until 2031 (standard) · 2036 (Ubuntu Pro)

Ubuntu 26.04 LTS is the most significant Ubuntu release in years. It ships Linux kernel 7.0, GNOME 50, and drops Xorg entirely — making it the first Ubuntu LTS to be Wayland only. If you are running Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, the upgrade path opens in July 2026. This guide covers a clean installation from scratch.

Table of Contents

• What is New in Ubuntu 26.04
• System Requirements
• Download Ubuntu 26.04 ISO
• Create Bootable USB
• Installation Steps
• Post-Installation Setup
• Essential apt Commands
• Install NVIDIA or AMD Drivers
• Upgrade from Ubuntu 24.04
• Troubleshooting FAQ

What is New in Ubuntu 26.04

Linux Kernel 7.0

Ubuntu 26.04 is the first LTS to ship kernel 7.0 — a landmark version number that brings improved hardware support, better energy efficiency on ARM64, and performance improvements for NVMe and networking. If you have recent AMD or Intel hardware, you will notice improved driver maturity compared to Ubuntu 24.04.

Wayland Only — Xorg is Gone

Ubuntu 26.04 removes the Xorg desktop session entirely. There is no "Ubuntu on Xorg" option at the login screen. All sessions run under Wayland.

For most users this is invisible. For users running older NVIDIA cards, X11-only applications, or screen recording tools that require XWayland, check compatibility before upgrading a production machine. XWayland (the compatibility layer for X11 apps) is still included — apps that require X11 will run through it automatically.

GNOME 50

Ubuntu 26.04 ships GNOME 50 (released March 2026) with Ubuntu-specific customizations:

• Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) enabled by default on compatible displays
• X11 app scaling on Wayland — legacy apps render at the correct DPI without blurring
• GPU-accelerated Remote Desktop — hardware video encoding via Vulkan/VA-API
• Redesigned folder icons and an opaque Ubuntu Dock
• Power mode indicator in the top bar
• Bold text in notifications for better contrast
• Parental controls with screen time schedules and per-app limits

New Default Applications

GPU and AI

• Mesa 26.0.x with AMD ray tracing support and ACO shader compiler enabled by default
• NVIDIA 595.x proprietary drivers available via ubuntu-drivers
• ROCm and CUDA installable directly with apt install rocm and apt install cuda — no manual repo setup required

Package Management Changes

The Software & Updates GUI has been removed. PPA management and driver settings are now handled through the command line or the App Center. The App Center now supports .deb package installation alongside Snap and Flatpak.

System Requirements

The minimum RAM increases to 4 GB compared to Ubuntu 24.04. GNOME 50 with kernel 7.0 has a slightly higher memory baseline. For anything below 4 GB, consider Ubuntu Server or a lighter desktop like Xubuntu.

Download Ubuntu 26.04 ISO

Download from the official Ubuntu releases server:

# Desktop (GNOME) — recommended for most users
wget https://releases.ubuntu.com/26.04/ubuntu-26.04-desktop-amd64.iso

# Server — no desktop, optimized for headless use
wget https://releases.ubuntu.com/26.04/ubuntu-26.04-live-server-amd64.iso

# Verify checksum (compare with SHA256SUMS file on the download page)
sha256sum ubuntu-26.04-desktop-amd64.iso

Create Bootable USB

On Linux

# Identify your USB drive — look for /dev/sdX (NOT a partition like /dev/sda1)
lsblk

# Write the ISO — this erases everything on the drive
sudo dd if=ubuntu-26.04-desktop-amd64.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress oflag=sync

On Windows

Use Rufus (free, open source). Select the ISO, choose GPT partition scheme for UEFI, and write in DD image mode when prompted. Balena Etcher is an alternative that works on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Installation Steps

1. Boot from USB

Insert the USB and restart. Access your firmware boot menu (F12, F2, Del, or Esc depending on your motherboard). Select the USB drive. Ubuntu boots into a live session.

2. Start the Installer

Click Install Ubuntu from the desktop or the welcome dialog. The Ubuntu installer (Subiquity-based) will guide you through the process.

3. Language, Keyboard, and Accessibility

Select your language and keyboard layout. Ubuntu 26.04 shows accessibility options earlier in the setup flow than previous versions — Orca screen reader, large text, and high contrast can be enabled before you start the installation.

4. Type of Installation

Choose between:

• Interactive installation — the full guided flow, recommended for most users
• Automated installation — uses a YAML autoinstall file for unattended deployment

Under Interactive, choose Default selection (standard tools) or Extended selection (includes office suite, media apps, and more utilities).

5. Disk Partitioning

For a clean install on a dedicated disk, use Erase disk and install Ubuntu. The installer creates:

• EFI system partition (600 MB) — UEFI systems only
• /boot — 2 GB ext4
• / — ext4 or ZFS on the remaining space

For dual boot with Windows, select Manual partitioning and assign free space to Ubuntu. Do not reformat the Windows EFI partition — add Ubuntu's bootloader to the existing one.

6. Create User Account

Set your name, computer name, username, and password. Ubuntu 26.04 allows you to enable automatic login here — useful for personal machines, not recommended for shared or server environments.

7. Install

Review the summary and click Install. Installation typically takes 10–20 minutes. When complete, restart and remove the USB drive when prompted.

Post-Installation Setup

Update the System

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Install Build Tools and Common Dependencies

sudo apt install -y 
  build-essential git curl wget unzip 
  python3-pip python3-venv python3-dev 
  ffmpeg vlc 
  gnome-tweaks

Add Flathub for Flatpak Apps

# Flatpak is pre-installed; add Flathub as a source
flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

# Install popular apps
flatpak install flathub com.visualstudio.code     # VS Code
flatpak install flathub com.discordapp.Discord    # Discord
flatpak install flathub com.spotify.Client        # Spotify

Enable Universe and Multiverse Repositories

sudo add-apt-repository universe
sudo add-apt-repository multiverse
sudo apt update

Essential apt Commands

Install NVIDIA or AMD Drivers

NVIDIA

# Let Ubuntu detect and install the recommended driver automatically
sudo ubuntu-drivers install

# Or install a specific version (595.x is the current series for Ubuntu 26.04)
sudo apt install nvidia-driver-595

# Reboot to load the new driver
sudo reboot

AMD (ROCm for compute)

# Mesa is installed by default and handles GPU rendering
# For ROCm (machine learning, compute):
sudo apt install rocm

# Verify ROCm installation
rocm-smi

NVIDIA CUDA

# Install CUDA directly from apt in Ubuntu 26.04 — no manual repo required
sudo apt install cuda

# Verify
nvcc --version
nvidia-smi

Upgrade from Ubuntu 24.04

Direct upgrades from Ubuntu 24.04 LTS to 26.04 LTS are restricted until July 2026, when the first point release (26.04.1) is available. This is standard Ubuntu policy — the delay allows critical post-release bugs to be fixed before the upgrade path opens to the general public.

# Check in July 2026 or later — this will return "no upgrade available" before then
sudo do-release-upgrade

# To upgrade before July 2026 (not recommended for production systems):
sudo do-release-upgrade -d

Ubuntu 24.04 LTS continues to receive security updates until 2029, so there is no urgency to upgrade immediately.

Troubleshooting FAQ

My X11 application does not work properly under Wayland

Ubuntu 26.04 includes XWayland for X11 application compatibility. Most X11 apps work without any changes. If an app has display issues, try running it explicitly under XWayland:

# Force an app to use XWayland
DISPLAY=:0 app-name

Screen sharing or recording does not work

On Wayland, screen capture requires PipeWire and a portal-compatible tool. If you use OBS Studio, install it via Flatpak (which includes the required portal support):