Canonical is once again migrating a system package to the snap format. The package in question is hwctl, a small command-line utility that comes standard with Ubuntu. According to the company, the switch improves security and enables better desktop integration. The Deb version will be discontinued.
The hwctl package is part of Canonical’s rust-hwlib, a set of hardware APIs pre-installed on both the desktop and server editions of Ubuntu. From now on, Canonical will provide this utility exclusively as a sandboxed snap. The traditional Deb package is being phased out.
Canonical engineer Sergio Costas cites planned architectural changes. “For increased security, the HWCTL package will be snap-only from now onward,” he writes. The reason lies in the future integration of hwctl with gnome-control-center and other front-ends.
Automatic transition on existing systems
Are you running Ubuntu 26.04 LTS? If so, you’ll soon be automatically migrated to the hwctl snap. Canonical is turning the current Deb into an empty placeholder that will install the snap during a regular update. That hasn’t happened yet, though, because LTS releases must first go through the Stable Release Update procedure.
On Ubuntu 26.10 and newer, the process is simpler. There, the snap is included by default in the seed used to build the ISOs, so no detour via a placeholder is necessary. The hardware API tools were first introduced with Ubuntu 25.10 Questing Quokka. Among other things, they power Ubuntu Pro and the opt-in telemetry for Ubuntu Insights. The new Ubuntu Certified panel in 26.10 also runs on them.
Tip: Canonical is releasing Ubuntu 26.04 LTS with a focus on enterprise