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Jonathan Riddell is a Scottish free and open-source software developer best known for founding Kubuntu and creating KDE neon, and for long-standing contributions to the KDE community and Ubuntu ecosystem. He has worked professionally on KDE and related technologies since the mid-2000s, including roles at Canonical and Blue Systems, and has been active in community governance and release coordination across major KDE releases.[1][2][3]
Early life and education
Riddell studied computing science, and as an undergraduate authored a dissertation on Umbrello UML Modeller, documenting both the software’s technical evolution and its integration into KDE; in it he described taking over the project in 2002, stabilizing it, and bringing it into mainstream GNU/Linux distributions. His early KDE work included maintaining Umbrello, editing KDE Dot News, and running Planet KDE, reflecting both technical and community responsibilities during the KDE 3 era.[4][5]
Career
Riddell rose to prominence in 2004–2005 by packaging KDE for early Ubuntu releases and co-founding Kubuntu, the KDE-based Ubuntu flavour, which debuted as Kubuntu 5.04 on 8 April 2005.[6] Following the initial success, Canonical contracted him to lead Kubuntu and build the contributor community, aligning Kubuntu closely with upstream KDE configurations and practices. He became Ubuntu’s first member and first core developer, contributed to the Ubuntu Release Team, and served as an archive administrator overseeing new package processing.[7]
In April 2012, after Canonical reduced direct investment in Kubuntu[8][9], Riddell moved to Blue Systems, a company that hired several KDE developers to continue KDE-centric distribution and tooling work. At Blue Systems, he launched KDE neon, a KDE community distribution that integrates continuous integration with rapid delivery of KDE software atop a stable base, and has since served as its lead. He has publicly discussed neon’s origins and architecture, highlighting its community-driven CI-to-delivery pipeline and its role as a showcase for KDE Plasma and KDE Gear.[10]
In addition to community roles, he operates a consultancy, Edinburgh Linux, offering services in Linux migration, KDE/Qt development across C++, Python, and Ruby, and project community organization, drawing on experience across KDE, Ubuntu, and independent projects. He is based largely in Edinburgh, Scotland, and notes broader involvement in local communities.[11]
KDE and Ubuntu contributions
Within KDE, Riddell contributed to application maintenance, packaging, release engineering, and public communications, including editing KDE Dot News and coordinating aspects of large-scale transitions such as KDE Plasma 5 and the KDE 6 MegaRelease. He has stated that with Plasma 5 he helped bring KDE’s desktop “back to the mainstream,” and later coordinated KDE’s 2024–2025 Megarelease cycle spanning hundreds of projects. His work has intersected with the KDE Free Qt Foundation’s long-standing mission to keep Qt free, a pillar arrangement in KDE’s ecosystem governance and sustainability.[12]
In the Ubuntu community, Riddell’s roles included packaging, installer development, image testing, and release coordination—workflows he described evolving from early ad hoc practices to structured UDS spec-driven processes during Ubuntu’s growth period. He published a reflective account at the project’s ten-year milestone in 2015, documenting Kubuntu’s origins, community-building, and collaboration with upstream KDE.
KDE neon
KDE neon is a continuously delivered KDE software repository and distribution image that pairs a stable Ubuntu LTS base with rapidly updated KDE Plasma, Frameworks, and Applications, developed and led by Riddell under the KDE community umbrella. It emphasizes tight integration between KDE’s CI infrastructure and end-user delivery, enabling swift availability of new KDE releases and serving as a reference platform for Plasma 5 and subsequent KDE 6-based software. Riddell has presented neon’s backstory and operations in public interviews and podcasts, underscoring community sponsorships and collaborations supporting build and hosting infrastructure.[13]
References
edit- ^ "JonathanRiddell - Ubuntu Wiki". wiki.ubuntu.com. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
- ^ Riddell, Jonathan (11 March 2015). "Ten years of Kubuntu". LWN.net. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
- ^ "Jonathan Esk-Riddell – KDE neon Developers' Blog". 15 November 2024. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
- ^ "Umbrello UML Modeller: Jonathan Riddell | PDF | Class (Computer Programming) | Unified Modeling Language". Scribd. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
- ^ OpenUK (3 July 2020). OpenUK Future Leaders talk, Jonathan Riddell, KDE, KDE Is All About the Apps, 19th June 2020. Retrieved 15 August 2025 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Jonathan Riddell". archive.fosdem.org. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
- ^ "Edinburgh Linux - Jonathan Riddell's Consultancy". www.edinburghlinux.co.uk. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
- ^ "Jonathan Riddell forced out of Kubuntu [LWN.net]". lwn.net. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
- ^ "Jonathan Riddell Stands Down as Release Manager of Kubuntu | Kubuntu". Retrieved 15 August 2025.
- ^ Untitled Linux Show (23 June 2021). KDE Neon - Jonathan Riddell. Retrieved 13 August 2025 – via YouTube.
- ^ "About Me – Jonathan Riddell's Diary". 23 October 2015. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
- ^ Kügler, Sebastian. "KDE Community Report 1st Quarter, 2011 | Issue 17" (PDF).
- ^ Isaac (19 December 2024). "Jonathan Riddell: exclusive interview for AT". ArchiTecnologia (in Spanish). Retrieved 15 August 2025.