Ubuntu’s App Center Makes Installing Missing Media Codecs Easy
Ubuntu 26.10’s App Center is adding an Add-ons page that lets users install restricted media codecs, alongside hardware drivers.
The new option should help people who skipped the installer’s opt-in for restricted codecs, as well as those who installed Ubuntu without an internet connection and couldn’t select it. Although experienced users can install the necessary packages with apt, finding the right ones can be tricky, and App Center search doesn’t list system or library packages.
Rhythmbox can prompt users to install codecs when they try to play unsupported media, but its dialog is limited and doesn’t cover every missing codec. A dedicated App Center page offers a more straightforward way to set up media playback after installation.
The Add-ons page also hosts Ubuntu 26.10’s Additional Drivers feature on supported hardware. It provides a way to install and manage proprietary drivers for NVIDIA graphics cards, some Wi-Fi devices, and other selected hardware. The addition follows Ubuntu 26.04 LTS’s removal of the Software & Updates tool, which previously gave users access to driver controls.
The new page could potentially support more types of add-ons in future releases.