Ubuntu MATE is looking for a new maintainer, with current project lead Martin Wimpress revealing he no longer has the ‘passion’ for the project he once had – nor the time, it seems.

Wimpress created Ubuntu MATE back in 2014, pairing Ubuntu with the traditional MATE desktop, created as a fork of the old GNOME 2 codebase but now very much its own thing.

Ubuntu MATE was made an official Ubuntu flavour in 2015, and its first official long-term support (LTS) release arrived the following year. There will be no Ubuntu MATE 26.04 LTS release, however, as it did not apply for LTS qualification1.

A non-LTS release is expected, and the practical differences for fans of the distro will arguably depend on what they expect: the desktop will work and receive underlying updates for the duration of the LTS cycle, but MATE desktop apps and packages may not.

“As another development cycle passes, I find myself lacking the time I once had to work on Ubuntu MATE. And, to be frank, I don’t have the passion for the project that I once had. When I have time to tinker, my interests are elsewhere”, Wimpress writes.

“With that in mind, I’m interested in handing over the reins to contributors who do have the time and energy to work on Ubuntu MATE”.

Contributors aren’t plentiful

Ubuntu MATE is not the only Ubuntu flavour low on contributors. Lubuntu, per its devs, is effectively “in maintenance mode”, while Ubuntu Unity’s creator and project lead has stepped back from his role (like Ubuntu MATE, there’ll be no Ubuntu Unity 26.04 LTS).

Unlike the regular version of Ubuntu, its flavours are run by volunteers who work largely for free, fuelled by their own motivation. A lack of contributors is something many free software projects suffer from – though an abundance of demands and expectations from users is not.

Maintaining an Ubuntu flavour takes a lot. It’s not just the “fun” aspect of picking packages, applying themes and everything else just working.

There’s upstream code to track, test and package; Ubuntu’s quality standards to maintain; cross-flavour meeting and schedules; and development skills needed to identify, fix and triage bugs in a timely fashion, with due diligence paid to security.

And that’s before you add in documentation, translations, the occasional bit of politics and inter-team management, and the need to keep a flavour’s community of users engaged and involved.

The future of Ubuntu MATE

Anyone who thinks they have the time, passion and skills (experience in maintaining packages in the Ubuntu archive is not something blind hope and a Claude Pro subscription can cover) can reach out to Martin Wimpress to get involved.

Is this the beginning of the end of Ubuntu MATE? Unlikely; it’s potentially (cheese alert) the start of a new chapter. Many flavours have had their leadership baton pass on so – not always to just one person – so providing help can be found, there’s no cause for alarm.

Keep calm and carry on MATE-ing (ooh-er).

  1. The nature of LTS is in the name. While flavours only commit to three years of fixes for their LTS users, it is not a commitment they can or should make idly. Wimpress has done the right thing by the flavour’s users in not seeking re-qualification if he can’t commit to it. ↩︎