The pc-kernel snap delivers various Ubuntu kernel variants as snaps across tracks and risk channels.

The pc-kernel snaps in each risk channel serve a specific purpose:

• edge - Snaps are unsigned and intended for simple boot testing.
• beta - Snaps are signed and intended for automation testing.
• candidate - Snaps are signed and intended for further acceptance testing in QA.
• stable - Release channel; only promoted to stable once all testing, sign-off and cycle boundaries are satisfied.

You can differentiate between series-specific pc-kernel snaps by the store track.

• Ubuntu LTS releases - These snaps align with Ubuntu Core releases and are marked by the Ubuntu Core release years (e.g. 22/<channel>, 24/<channel>).
• Ubuntu interim releases - The tracks contain the full release version number (e.g. 23.10/<channel>, 25.04/<channel>).
• HWE kernels - Ubuntu LTS series that have a HWE kernel will be placed on HWE-specific tracks (e.g. 22-hwe/<channel>, 24-rt-hwe/<channel>).
• OEM kernels - Ubuntu LTS series that have an OEM kernel will be placed on HWE-specific tracks (e.g. 22-oem/<channel>).
• Edge kernels - Edge kernel snaps are unsupported “preview” or “early access” versions and will be rolled into the next LTS HWE kernel (e.g. 24-hwe-edge/<channel>). For example, the "24-hwe-edge/<channel>” snap will get rolled to the "24-hwe/<channel>” snap.
• Real-time kernels - These tracks are public versions of the real-time kernel (e.g. 25.04-rt/<channel>).

See also:

• https://ubuntu.com/kernel
• https://canonical-kernel-docs.readthedocs-hosted.com/latest/reference/snap-lifecycle/
• https://canonical-kernel-docs.readthedocs-hosted.com/latest/reference/oem-kernels/
• https://canonical-kernel-docs.readthedocs-hosted.com/latest/reference/hwe-kernels/
• https://ubuntu.com/core