The Linux world will be a poorer place without Steve Langasek.
It came as no real surprise, for he had been fighting illness for several years, but Steve Langasek, a pillar of the open-source community and long-time Debian and Ubuntu Linux contributor, passed away on Jan. 1, 2025. It’s trite to say, “he’ll be missed,” but he really will be missed. His untimely death, he was only 45, has profoundly impacted the Linux and open source world.
Langasek’s journey in free software began in 1996 when he started experimenting with Slackware. After a brief stint with Red Hat, which he described as “Red Hat purgatory,” he found his true calling with Debian in 2000.
He became a staunch Debian supporter and contributor. In 2001, he officially became a Debian Developer, beginning an over two-decade-long dedication to Debian development. While with Debian, he managed the unenviable but crucial role of release manager for Debian Sarge and Etch.
In September 2007, Langasek joined Canonical as the Ubuntu release manager, where he helped direct Ubuntu’s path forward, starting with Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon). His expertise spanned various critical areas, including system administration, software development, and package maintenance. Steve’s contributions were particularly notable in projects such as Linux-PAM, Samba, and OpenLDAP.
Beyond his technical contributions, Langasek was renowned for his leadership and mentorship within the community. His patience, technical acumen, and ability to explain complex concepts made him an invaluable resource for developers and users alike.
His impact extended beyond individual projects. He was a member of the Debian Technical Committee, where his insights helped shape critical decisions for the distribution. A focus on technical merit and a commitment to collaboration marked his approach to problem-solving and conflict resolution.
Mark Shuttleworth, Ubuntu’s founder, described Steve in a blog post as epitomizing “everything that is great about the movement — depth of technical insight, generosity of spirit, rigor in design, care for those who put their trust in us, curiosity about the future and a willingness to do hard work in the face of uncertainty to bring that future into being.”
Personally, I didn’t know him well, but he was always one of Linux’s most impressive programmers, managers, and leaders.
Dustin Kirkland, long-time programmer and tech leader who’s now product manager at Chainguard, put it better than I could in response to Shuttleworth’s post, “Steve was always a wonderful thought partner, collaborator, sponsor, educator, leader, developer, colleague, tour guide, and friend. There’s no one else I’ve ever known to be as graceful in being precisely correct so much of the time. He always fought hard, yet fairly, for what he knew to be right. And the Debian/Ubuntu world consistently benefited from better results and technology and solutions because of it.” Exactly so.
Even in his final years, while battling illness, Langasek’ remained active in the community, approaching his challenges with “stoicism, humor, and science.” His dedication to open-source principles and his ability to bridge commercial and community interests set a standard for future developers.
Langasek’s contributions to Linux and open source software have indirectly touched millions of lives through his improvements to Ubuntu, Debian, and other projects. You may have never known his name, but if you’ve used Linux, you owe him a debt of gratitude.
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