Ubuntu

• Ubuntu releases twice a year, with version numbers indicating the year and month of release (y.mm). Each release also has a nickname. (The first release came out in October 2004; Ubuntu 4.10 was also known as "Warty Warthog.")
• All of Ubuntu's six-month releases receive security updates for 18 months. In addition, some releases are designated "LTS" for Long Term Support. LTS releases are officially supported with security updates (and backported to) for 3 years on the desktop, and 5 years for servers.
• At present, GnuCash is NOT in Ubuntu's "Main" repositories, so updates must work their way through the Debian update process. Because of this situation, Ubuntu repositories usually contain a version of GnuCash that is a release or two behind the latest stable version.

Handy Links:

• Wikipedia has a handy chart showing which versions are still supported.
• packages.ubuntu.com search for gnucash
• ubuntu gnucash bugs in launchpad
• Details on how to upgrade Ubuntu

GnuCash package

Ubuntu has GnuCash available as a ready-to-install package. Just choose "gnucash" as a package to be installed.

GetDeb

The version of GnuCash in the official Ubuntu repositories tends to be outdated. The latest stable version is usually available at GetDeb http://GetDeb.net/ which is an unofficial archive of Ubuntu-compatible packages.

Follow the instructions at GetDeb for activating the GetDeb repository on your machine. http://www.getdeb.net/updates#how_to_install

If you want to avoid updating any other applications, turn off the GetDeb repository after installing GnuCash, OR you can download just the GetDeb packages for GnuCash. If you just download the GetDeb GnuCash packages, be sure to download all three GnuCash packages to your machine so the dependencies can be met.

If you are having trouble reaching GetDeb, see these suggestions of mirror sites: http://www.ubuntugeek.com/getdeb-mirror-site.html

NOTE For a few months in late 2012 and early 2013 GetDeb was unavailable due to hardware failure. If you cannot reach the site you might check the Wikipedia entry (or your favorite search engine) for news: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GetDeb

Standard Ubuntu Releases of GnuCash

If you not using any of the above sources, when you install GnuCash, the version you get will be the version archived for your release of Ubuntu. GnuCash is not officially maintained for Ubuntu, so it is the latest Debian version available when the Ubuntu release was "frozen" (as listed below). Depending on your version of Ubuntu, you may additionally have to manually activate the "Universe" repository (using the Software Sources application) before GnuCash is visible.

If you are using an older (such as one of the LTS versions) of Ubuntu, you may want an updated version of GnuCash from an official repository. As newer versions of GnuCash become "back-ported" to your release, you can activate the Backports repository to install the latest back-ported upgrade. (If fidelity to the rest of the supported release is important to you, also be sure to "pin" your Backports repository to a lower priority than the other repositories using an /etc/apt/preferences file, and install only the upgraded packages you use.) For more backport details see https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UbuntuBackports

Because back-ported releases come from Debian packages, even back-ported versions are usually at least a bit outdated, too. :-( If you want the latest, your best bet is to either build it yourself or use the GetDeb repository.

Ubuntu 13.10 ("Saucy Salamander")

GnuCash 2.4.13 is included in Ubuntu 13.10, to be released October 2013 https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/saucy/+source/gnucash

Ubuntu 13.04 ("Raring Ringtail")

GnuCash 2.4.12 is included in Ubuntu 13.04, released April 2013 http://packages.ubuntu.com/raring/gnucash

Ubuntu 12.10 ("Quantal Quetzal")

Guncash 2.4.11 is included in Ubuntu 12.10, released October 2012. http://packages.ubuntu.com/quantal/gnucash

Ubuntu 12.04 LTS ("Precise Pangolin")

GnuCash 2.4.10 is included in Ubuntu 12.04 LTS, released April 2012. http://packages.ubuntu.com/precise/gnucash

Adding Shortcuts to the Unity Launcher

Starting with Ubuntu 11.10, default Ubuntu installations include Unity, and its Launcher, which contains a set of icons for commonly-used applications. If you regularly open more than one set of GnuCash books you can add a useful right-click menu to the GnuCash icon in the Launcher to open each of your sets of books independently. (Using this method you can have multiple sets of GnuCash books open simultaneously, which you cannot do using the menu within GnuCash.) See Unity Shortcuts for details

Build GnuCash Yourself

It requires very little technical skill to build GnuCash from source in Ubuntu. See Building#Ubuntu for details. (Important: for production purposes be sure to compile the latest STABLE release.)