Ubuntu (originally /ʊˈbuːntʊ/ uu-boon-tuu, according to the company website /ʊˈbʊntuː/ uu-buun-too)^{[7][8][9][10][11]} is a Debian-based Linuxoperating system, with Unity as its default desktop environment. It is based on free software and named after the Southern African philosophy of ubuntu (literally, "human-ness"), which often is translated as "humanity towards others" or "the belief in a universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity".^[12]

Development of Ubuntu is led by UK-based Canonical Ltd.,^[13] a company owned by South African entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth. Canonical generates revenue through the sale of technical support and other services related to Ubuntu.^[14][15] The Ubuntu project is publicly committed to the principles of open-source software development; people are encouraged to use free software, study how it works, improve upon it, and distribute it.^[16][17]