Canonical plans to introduce ntpd-rs, a Rust-based time synchronization tool, into Ubuntu as part of its ongoing effort to provide memory-safe alternatives for core system components.
The proposal, published on Ubuntu’s Discourse, outlines a roadmap where ntpd-rs will be tested in the 26.10 release cycle, for which a request for major changes to the GRUB bootloader has already been submitted. If development milestones are met, it may become the default time-synchronization solution by 27.04.
The move follows earlier steps by Canonical to introduce Rust into critical parts of the system. Ubuntu 25.10 shipped with sudo-rs as the default implementation of the widely used privilege escalation tool, and the company has also explored Rust-based replacements for core utilities through the uutils project.
This time, Canonical aims to consolidate multiple time-related services into a single implementation. Currently, Ubuntu uses tools such as chrony for NTP, linuxptp for Precision Time Protocol, and gpsd for GPS-based time sources. The long-term plan for ntpd-rs is to unify NTP, Network Time Security, and PTP functionality into a single binary.
However, the proposal states that ntpd-rs is not yet ready to replace existing tools. Canonical identifies several missing or incomplete features that must be addressed before broader adoption, including GPSD integration, multithreaded NTP server capabilities, support for multi-homed systems, and security confinement using AppArmor and seccomp.
Additional development is needed to support alternative cryptographic backends such as OpenSSL via rustls, and to introduce gPTP and experimental CSPTP support.
Performance and reliability are still under evaluation. Canonical emphasizes the need to benchmark ntpd-rs against chrony for CPU usage, memory footprint, and synchronization accuracy before making it the default.
To accelerate development, Canonical will fund work through the Trifecta Tech Foundation, focusing on closing these gaps and preparing the software for production use in Ubuntu.
The proposal also cites real-world usage. Let’s Encrypt has already deployed ntpd-rs, first in staging and later in production, providing operational validation outside Ubuntu.
Judging by the users’ reaction, community feedback has been measured rather than strongly oppositional. Early responses question whether a unified NTP, NTS, and PTP implementation is necessary for typical desktop systems, and whether features like NTS offer tangible benefits for most users given the added complexity.
Finally, Canonical’s timeline indicates a gradual transition rather than an immediate change. Under the proposed plan, ntpd-rs will first be available as an optional component before any decision is made to replace existing defaults.
