February 2, 2026
License wars and video woes
Rust Coreutils Continues Working Toward 100% GNU Compatibility, Proving Trolls
Ubuntu swaps its everyday tools for Rust, and the comments go nuclear
TLDR: Ubuntu is rolling out Rust-based Coreutils that aim to fully match the old GNU tools, and the devs say fixes are fast. Comments explode over licensing politics and a broken FOSDEM video link, turning a boring tools update into a popcorn-worthy drama about the future of Linux.
Rust Coreutils just took the spotlight at FOSDEM (a big open‑source conference), with lead dev Sylvestre Ledru saying Ubuntu is now using Rust versions of its everyday command‑line tools—and aiming for 100% compatibility with the older GNU versions. Bugs popped up, but were fixed fast. The official line? Trolls said it would never work, and now they’re eating their words. The community line? Grab popcorn.
Top reactions: one snarky voice asked, “Proving Trolls… wrong?”—like, are we sure? Another camp isn’t mad about Rust, they’re mad about licenses. One commenter slammed the project for being “not copyleft,” the kind of license that forces changes to be shared. Cue the classic open‑source flame war: freedom vs. fairness, with both sides calling themselves the good guys. Meanwhile, someone tried to watch the talk and hit a wall: “Anyone else having problems with getting a video from FOSDEM.org?” The irony wasn’t lost—the real bug was the video.
Between the hype of Ubuntu’s adoption and dreams of repeating this “rewrite success” for other tools, commenters turned the thread into a courtroom drama: Rust vs. tradition, speed vs. stability, permissive vs. copyleft. Jokes flew about “rewriting everything in Rust,” and whether the only compatibility issue left is between devs and their opinions.
Key Points
- •Sylvestre Ledru presented Rust Coreutils progress at FOSDEM 2026.
- •Ubuntu 25.10 adopted Rust Coreutils, replacing GNU Coreutils, with continuation planned for Ubuntu 26.04 LTS.
- •Bugs discovered through adoption were fixed quickly.
- •Project aims for 100% compatibility with GNU Coreutils and is gaining contributors.
- •Cross-platform improvements are ongoing, with hopes to apply the Rust rewrite approach to other key Linux programs.