Ubuntu Desktop documentation

Caution

The Ubuntu Desktop guide is under construction. The current state is a preview. URLs might change at any time and some content is unfinished.

What’s Ubuntu Desktop? It’s the number 1 open-source operating system powering millions of PCs and laptops around the world.

What can it do? Ubuntu Desktop supports all your daily computing needs. It offers applications for web browsing, messaging, gaming and content creation, including Firefox, Chrome, Discord, Steam and OBS Studio. It’s a primary platform for all major IDEs, game development tools and AI/ML software.

How is it different? Compared to other mainstream operating systems, Ubuntu Desktop prioritizes your privacy and security. It’s free to download, use, modify and share. Compared to other Linux-based systems, Ubuntu Desktop aims to make open-source software easy and pleasant to use. Thanks to regular releases and commercial support, Ubuntu Desktop is a reliable and predictable platform.

Is it for me? Ubuntu Desktop is used by millions of users at home, for development and in enterprise. Anyone with a laptop or a PC is welcome to use Ubuntu Desktop. If you aren’t sure, you can try Ubuntu Desktop without making any permanent changes on your computer: just run it from a USB stick.

In this documentation

Tutorial

Get started: a hands-on introduction to Ubuntu Desktop for new users

Tutorials
How-to guides

Step-by-step guides covering key operations and common tasks

How-to guides
Reference

Technical information: cheat sheets, specifications, APIs, architecture

Reference
Explanation

Concepts: discussion and clarification of key topics

Explanation
Accessibility

Screen reader tutorial | Enable accessibility features | Accessibility stack | Reference

Project and community

Ubuntu Desktop is an open source project that warmly welcomes community projects, contributions, suggestions, fixes and constructive feedback.

Credits

Large parts of this guide are based on documentation written by open-source communities. We wish to thank them for their work: