Mainline is a graphical tool to install the latest mainline Kernel in Ubuntu, Linux Mint, and derivatives.

Mainline (Ubuntu Mainline Kernel Installer) is an open-source fork of ukuu, which now is pay for use. It offers a simple interface with updated list of the “mainline” Kernels, allows to one-click install, remove, or purge Kernels in Ubuntu-based distributions.

Mainline features:

• Fetches list of available kernels from Ubuntu Mainline PPA
• Optionally watches and displays notifications when a new kernel update is available
• Downloads and installs packages automatically
• Display available and installed kernels conveniently
• Install/remove kernels from gui
• For each kernel, the related packages (headers & modules) are installed or removed at the same time

How to install Mainline in Ubuntu:

NOTE: The mainline kernels are provided by Ubuntu Kernel Team for testing and debugging purposes. They are not supported and are not appropriate for production use. You should only install these if they may fix a critical problem you’re having with the current kernel.

The software has an official PPA so far contains packages for Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 22.04, Ubuntu 24.04, and derivatives.

1.) To add the PPA, open terminal from system application launcher and run command:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:cappelikan/ppa

2.) Then check updates and install the tool via commands:

sudo apt update

sudo apt install mainline

Uninstall:

To remove the PPA, run command:

sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:cappelikan/ppa

To remove the Ubuntu Mainline Kernel Installer, run command:

sudo apt remove mainline

For those who want to test the latest Linux kernels, Ukuu (Ubuntu Kernel Upgrade Utility) offers a simple interface with list of the “mainline” Kernels and allow user to one-click download and install a selected kernel release.

Ukuu features:

• Fetches list of kernels from kernel.ubuntu.com
• Displays notifications when a new kernel update is available.
• Downloads and installs packages automatically

How to Install Ukuu in Ubuntu / Linux Mint:

For Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 16.10, Linux Mint 17 & 18, and based systems, you can install the tool from the developer’s PPA.

Just open terminal via Ctrl+Alt+T keyboard shortcut, and run the commands below one by one:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:teejee2008/ppa

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install ukuu

For those don’t want to add PPA, grab the DEB package from HERE.

Uninstall:

To remove the utility, simply run apt-get command with remove flag in terminal:

sudo apt-get remove ukuu

And you can remove the PPA via the Software & Updates utility under Other Software tab.

In addition, if the new kernels do not work properly on your machine, you can easily go back to the old (stable) kernel by:

• reboot your computer.
• go to Grub boot-loader (press & hold Shift key while booting if don’t see the menu)
• in Grub menu, select Advanced Options and select boot the old stable kernel.
• finally use Ukuu to remove mainline kernels.