In Linux, PPAs are external software repositories providing additional software packages, updates, or customized versions for Ubuntu and other Debian-based distributions. Individuals or groups outside the official Ubuntu repositories maintain these PPAs. It is foreseen that the PPA contains the updated versions of the packages or the software to be installed.

“Jammy” refers to the code name (Jammy Jellyfish) 0f the current LTS of Ubuntu 22.04. Usually, the PPA of any package is released for specific Debian-based distribution (sometimes for all). The error “cannot add PPA: “This ppa does not support jammy” occurs when the PPA you are trying to add is not yet supported on Jammy. This post will enlist the possible reasons for the error, “cannot add PPA: This ppa does not support jammy” and the solutions to counter the error.

How to Solve the “cannot add ppa: this ppa does not support jammy”?

Apart from just the unsupported PPA, several other reasons invoke this error. For instance, an outdated PPA may also become the reason for this error. Let’s dig into the reasons in detail.

Lack of Jammy Support

If the PPA has not explicitly mentioned Jammy’s support, then you will not be able to use that PPA for the current LTS of Ubuntu 22.04.

Outdated PPA

If the PPA is outdated and the maintainers are not updating the versions for long, the PPA will not be added to your system. This error can occur on any Debian-based Linux distribution, including Ubuntu 22.04 (Jammy Jellyfish).

Incorrect PPA URL

The PPA is added to your system with a specific URL. If that URL is incorrect or you have copied an old URL, your system will not recognize the PPA, resulting in an error “cannot add PPA: this ppa does not support jammy.”

Solution: Check the PPA Support and Look For Alternatives

The possible and recommended solution is to check the PPA support for the Jammy Jellyfish. For this, you have to use the codename of that PPA and then verify its support for Jammy on the PPA launchpad.

Example

The PPA named “ppa:cappelikan/ppa.” will be used as a reference to portray the solution. Navigate to the official page of PPA and paste the maintainer’s name of the PPA, i.e., cappelikan, in the search box and hit enter. The respective PPA will be shown in the search results. In this case, the maintainer has only one PPA. You can look into the description to get the relevant PPA.

Now, click on it, and you will get the following screen, where you can see the latest updates section, the command to add this PPA, and the maintainer’s contact:

Once you are inside the main PPA support, ensure the following:

• If you see the recent updates on the package (as in our case), you must use the proper command to add that PPA to the system.
• If you do not observe any latest updates or the command is not working, contact the respective maintainer and ask for support. In the meantime, looking for alternative ways to install the package you are trying to do so via the PPA is recommended.

By doing so, you have ensured that the PPA is supported for the system or not, the correct command to install that PPA, and the maintainer’s contact in case of any

Wrap Up

In Debian and its derivatives, the error “cannot add ppa: this ppa does not support jammy” occurs when the PPA does not support the “Jammy Jellyfish,” the PPA is outdated, or you are using the incorrect PPA URL. When a new LTS of Ubuntu is released, the PPA maintenance starts working to support that LTS.

To eliminate the error, you have to double-check the PPA URL and then use that supported URL to add the PPA. If the PPA is not supported, you must wait for the maintainers to update or look for alternative ways to install that package. This post briefly elaborates on the reasons and the solutions to rectify the error.

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