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Linux Distribution Release Upgrade Notifications - Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora

Linux Distribution Release Upgrade Notifications - Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora

Update-Watcher’s Distro checker monitors whether a newer release of your Linux distribution is available. Unlike the system package manager checkers (APT, DNF, etc.) that track individual package updates, this checker watches for entirely new distribution releases – such as Ubuntu 24.04 LTS becoming available while you are running 22.04 LTS.

This is useful for long-term server planning and ensuring you are aware of upcoming migration targets.

Prerequisites

  • A Linux system running Ubuntu, Debian, or Fedora.
  • lsb_release command or a valid /etc/os-release file (present on virtually all modern Linux distributions).

Adding via CLI

Add a Distro watcher:

Terminal
update-watcher watch distro

Enable LTS-only mode (default) to only be notified about long-term support releases:

Terminal
update-watcher watch distro --lts-only

Disable LTS-only to be notified about all releases including short-term support:

Terminal
update-watcher watch distro --lts-only=false

Configuration Reference

OptionTypeDefaultDescription
lts_onlybooltrueOnly report LTS (Long Term Support) releases. When enabled, short-term or interim releases are ignored. This is particularly relevant for Ubuntu, which alternates between LTS and non-LTS releases.

YAML Configuration Example

Basic Distro configuration (LTS only, the default):

config.yaml
watchers:
  - type: distro

Notify about all releases, including non-LTS:

config.yaml
watchers:
  - type: distro
    lts_only: false

Combined with APT for complete Ubuntu server monitoring:

config.yaml
watchers:
  - type: apt
    security_only: true
    hide_phased: true
  - type: distro
    lts_only: true

How It Works

The Distro checker performs the following steps:

Step 1: Identify current distribution

Reads /etc/os-release or runs lsb_release to determine the distribution name (Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora) and the currently installed version.

Step 2: Check for newer releases

Compares the current version against the list of available releases for the detected distribution.

Step 3: Apply LTS filter

If lts_only is enabled, non-LTS releases are filtered out. For example, on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, the checker would report Ubuntu 24.04 LTS as available but not Ubuntu 23.04 or 23.10.

Step 4: Report results

If a newer release is available, the checker reports the current version and the available version.

Tips

💡

Ubuntu LTS Tracking: Ubuntu releases a new LTS version every two years (April of even-numbered years). The lts_only: true default is designed for production servers that follow the LTS upgrade path. If you run Ubuntu on desktops or development machines and want to track interim releases, set lts_only: false.

Debian: Debian releases new stable versions roughly every two years. Since Debian does not have an LTS/non-LTS distinction in the same way Ubuntu does, the lts_only flag has limited effect on Debian systems. All Debian stable releases are reported.

Fedora: Fedora releases a new version approximately every six months. There is no LTS variant of Fedora. The lts_only setting is less relevant for Fedora, but the checker still reports when a newer Fedora release is available.

Notification Frequency: The Distro checker will report the same available release on every run until you upgrade. If you schedule Update-Watcher as a daily cron job, you will receive a daily notification about the available upgrade. To reduce noise, consider configuring your notification settings to use digest mode or adjusting the send_policy for this checker.

Pairing with Package Checkers: The Distro checker complements the system package manager checkers. While APT, DNF, and other checkers track individual package updates within your current release, the Distro checker alerts you when an entirely new release is available for migration.

Related

Send distribution upgrade notifications to Slack, Discord, Email, Telegram, or any of the other 16 supported notification channels.

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