Canonical makes Ubuntu One source code public

Canonical released much of the code of its cloud storage service Ubuntu One on Tuesday. It’s mostly about server-side code, the part that desktop clients interacted with to sync files.

Canonical has released code under AGPLv3 license, hoping other developers will fork the cloud storage service and do useful things with it.

Canonical, which is known for the popular Linux distro Ubuntu, offered its cloud storage service Ubuntu One on a paid basis for a while. However, it pulled the plug on the service in April last year when it was found to be suffering from fierce competition from other online storage services, while Ubuntu One enjoyed quite a bit of popularity.

According to Canonical, it took so long to make the code public because the development team was busy working on its smartphone operating system and its Snappy project. The last project includes read-only images of applications that would be easy to update. For example, developers can bundle files for apps and publish them in a single package.

Canonical has put a guide online for developers to start forking the Ubuntu One code for servers and clients. Soon, the company will make more code public, including from its website, REST APIs, contacts, and music streaming. Canonical does not mention specific data.