Public bug reported:
Starting in Ubuntu 25.10 Questing Quokka, `screen` is not a part of
default server installs, nor the ubuntu-server metapackage. `do-release-
upgrade` when run via the CLI, will utilize the DistUpgradeViewText as
the frontend, which sets `needs_screen=True`. This will run the current
upgrade session in a `screen` session. By default on an Ubuntu server,
this will run into issues starting in 25.10
1. in a fresh install of 25.10 Server, then upgrading to 26.04, screen will not
be available, causing the upgrade to fail
2. on upgrades, since `screen` is no longer seeded and a part of
`ubuntu-server` metapackage, it will end up marked for removal. A user will
likely then remove screen (unless they require it for personal reasons), thus
rendering an upgrade to 26.04 not possible.
a. this will _also_ occur in a world of rolling LTS to LTS. when upgrading
from 24.04 to 26.04, screen will get marked for removal. This means if a user
upgrades past 26.04, they will likely hit this scenario, with even greater time
passed.
I see two options, a short term patch and the long term fix which
requires development work
Option 1: add screen as a dependency
list screen as a dependency for ubuntu-release-upgrader-core. NOTE --
that ubuntu-release-upgrader-{gtk|qt} provided views are, as far as I
can tell, unaffected
This solves the short term problem, but is tantamount to putting screen
back in by default. that's not a _terrible_ thing by itself, and my be
"fine" by most people's estimations.
Option 2: refactor to use tmux
tmux is heavier than screen for this scenario, but it is installed by
default as part of ubuntu-server metapackage. In addition, tmux should
be added as a dependency (to ensure if we hit another such future
scenario, we prevent immediate issues).
** Affects: ubuntu-release-upgrader (Ubuntu)
Importance: Undecided
Status: New
** Description changed:
Starting in Ubuntu 25.10 Questing Quokka, `screen` is not a part of
default server installs, nor the ubuntu-server metapackage. `do-release-
upgrade` when run via the CLI, will utilize the DistUpgradeViewText as
- the frontend, which sets `needs_view=True`. This will run the current
+ the frontend, which sets `needs_screen=True`. This will run the current
upgrade session in a `screen` session. By default on an Ubuntu server,
this will run into issues starting in 25.10
1. in a fresh install of 25.10 Sever, then upgrading to 26.04, screen will
not be available, causing the upgrade to fail
2. on upgrades, since `screen` is no longer seeded and a part of
`ubuntu-server` metapackage, it will end up marked for removal. A user will
likely then remove screen (unless they require it for personal reasons), thus
rendering an upgrade to 26.04 not possible.
- a. this will _also_ occur in a world of rolling LTS to LTS. when
upgrading from 24.04 to 26.04, screen will get marked for removal. This means
if a user upgrades past 26.04, they will likely hit this scenario, with even
greater time passed.
+ a. this will _also_ occur in a world of rolling LTS to LTS. when
upgrading from 24.04 to 26.04, screen will get marked for removal. This means
if a user upgrades past 26.04, they will likely hit this scenario, with even
greater time passed.
I see two options, a short term patch and the long term fix which
requires development work
Option 1: add screen as a dependency
list screen as a dependency for ubuntu-release-upgrader-core. NOTE --
that ubuntu-release-upgrader-{gtk|qt} provided views are, as far as I
can tell, unaffected
This solves the short term problem, but is tantamount to putting screen
back in by default. that's not a _terrible_ thing by itself, and my be
"fine" by most people's estimations.
Option 2: refactor to use tmux
tmux is heavier than screen for this scenario, but it is installed by
default as part of ubuntu-server metapackage. In addition, tmux should
be added as a dependency (to ensure if we hit another such future
scenario, we prevent immediate issues).
** Description changed:
Starting in Ubuntu 25.10 Questing Quokka, `screen` is not a part of
default server installs, nor the ubuntu-server metapackage. `do-release-
upgrade` when run via the CLI, will utilize the DistUpgradeViewText as
the frontend, which sets `needs_screen=True`. This will run the current
upgrade session in a `screen` session. By default on an Ubuntu server,
this will run into issues starting in 25.10
- 1. in a fresh install of 25.10 Sever, then upgrading to 26.04, screen will
not be available, causing the upgrade to fail
+ 1. in a fresh install of 25.10 Server, then upgrading to 26.04, screen will
not be available, causing the upgrade to fail
2. on upgrades, since `screen` is no longer seeded and a part of
`ubuntu-server` metapackage, it will end up marked for removal. A user will
likely then remove screen (unless they require it for personal reasons), thus
rendering an upgrade to 26.04 not possible.
a. this will _also_ occur in a world of rolling LTS to LTS. when
upgrading from 24.04 to 26.04, screen will get marked for removal. This means
if a user upgrades past 26.04, they will likely hit this scenario, with even
greater time passed.
I see two options, a short term patch and the long term fix which
requires development work
Option 1: add screen as a dependency
list screen as a dependency for ubuntu-release-upgrader-core. NOTE --
that ubuntu-release-upgrader-{gtk|qt} provided views are, as far as I
can tell, unaffected
This solves the short term problem, but is tantamount to putting screen
back in by default. that's not a _terrible_ thing by itself, and my be
"fine" by most people's estimations.
Option 2: refactor to use tmux
tmux is heavier than screen for this scenario, but it is installed by
default as part of ubuntu-server metapackage. In addition, tmux should
be added as a dependency (to ensure if we hit another such future
scenario, we prevent immediate issues).
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https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/2116874
Title:
`do-release-upgrade` as CLI, run with DistUpgradeViewText, requires
screen but does not declare dependency
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