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Installing Ubuntu Core

Ubuntu Core runs on a variety of hardware, and pre-built images are available for amd64 and Raspberry Pi reference platforms (among others).

Installation on a reference platform is easy and a great way to get started with Ubuntu Core, and to explore Ubuntu Core’s features and evaluate its potential.

Download Ubuntu Core

The latest images for each supported Ubuntu Core release are always available from the following locations:

Ubuntu Core 22 (UC22)
https://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-core/22/stable/current/

Ubuntu Core 20 (UC20)
https://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-core/20/stable/current/

Ubuntu Core 18 (UC18)
https://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-core/18/stable/current/

Installation guides

See Testing Ubuntu Core with QEMU for details on how to try Ubuntu Core locally without installing it to a separate device.

Ubuntu Core 22

Ubuntu Core 20

Ubuntu Core 18

Platform Requirements Install guide
Intel® IEI TANK 870 >2GB USB flash storage, USB keyboard, display, network access https://ubuntu.com/download/intel-iei-tank-870
Qualcomm DragonBoard 410c >2GB microSD card, display, USB keyboard, network access https://ubuntu.com/download/qualcomm-dragonboard-410c
Ubuntu Core on other platforms:

The installation process is similar across supported Ubuntu Core devices. See Supported platforms for a list of which images are available for which platforms.

General requirements

Alongside enough storage to hold the Ubuntu Core image, installation on a Raspberry Pi also requires a screen and keyboard to navigate a few installation prompts. These aren’t needed post-installation.

Additionally, you will need an Ubuntu SSO account, with associated SSH keys. This setup is required because, after Ubuntu Core has been installed, Ubuntu SSO is used to login to your device. For help importing SSH keys, see the Ubuntu community wiki.

When Ubuntu Core is up and running, if you want to access your device remotely, you’ll need an SSH client for your operating system. Linux and macOS both have clients built-in, whereas Windows users could use Ubuntu on WSL.

General installation steps

The typical installation procedure is as follows:

  1. Download the preferred Ubuntu Core image for your device
    See Supported platforms for links to device support and images.
    By default, images are compressed with xz and can be expanded with:
    xz -d <image-name>.img.xz.
  2. Write the image to your device’s storage medium (eg. SD card for Raspberry Pi)
    We recommend using Raspberry Pi imager for Windows, macOS and Linux, although long-time embedded developers are probably familiar with using Linux’s dd command for this.
  3. Boot the device from the flashed storage and follow the on-screen prompts
    This step is version-specific, but the installation typically asks only two questions.

After installation, see Using Ubuntu Core for a quick overview of how to work within the Ubuntu Core environment.

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Last updated 5 months ago. Help improve this document in the forum.