launchpadblog

We would like to share an update regarding our plans for the Blueprints and Translations features in Launchpad.

Retiring Launchpad Blueprints

Launchpad Blueprints are lightweight feature specifications attached to projects and distributions.

As the usage of Blueprints has declined steadily, we plan to retire the feature at the end of the 27.10 cycle (October 2027) and remove its data. This reduces technical debt and frees development and maintenance time for the features most of our users rely on.

Reimagining Launchpad Translations

Launchpad Translations lets communities translate software through a web interface, with translation templates and message sharing across projects, distributions and series.

The current implementation has not changed substantially in many years, and the translation ecosystem has moved on considerably since it was built. Rather than continue incremental maintenance, we are considering replacing it with a modern, purpose-built translation platform and providing an integrated Launchpad experience on top of that. Weblate is an obvious candidate, though no decision has been made as yet.

Before we choose a direction, we want to hear from the people who use Translations. We are particularly interested in which workflows matter most to you, what you rely on that a general-purpose tool might not provide, how you currently get data in and out, and what a migration would need to preserve for you to consider it successful.

We will be collecting input over the coming months. Our tentative target for completing this change is the end of the 27.10 cycle (October 2027), but that timeline may shift as we learn more.

Get in touch

If you have any questions or concerns about the Blueprints retirement, need help exporting your Blueprints data, or have feedback to share on the Translations revamp, please contact us on Matrix (#launchpad:ubuntu.com), submit a question or send an email to feedback@launchpad.net.