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ls, cp, and rm Are Getting a Rust Makeover in Ubuntu 25.10
Every time you open a terminal and run a command like ls, cp, or rm, you're leaning on a decades-old foundation: GNU Coreutils.
These tools, written in C and developed as part of the GNU Project, have quietly powered nearly every Linux system for generations.
They’re small, fast, and reliable — but not without issues. C is a powerful language, but it’s also notoriously prone to memory safety bugs and subtle vulnerabilities.
Now, Ubuntu is preparing to take a bold step.
A Quick Look at Coreutils
GNU Coreutils is a package of around 100 command-line tools that form the backbone of Unix-like systems. These include basic file, shell, and text manipulation commands like:
ls– list directory contentscp– copy files and directoriesrm– remove filescat– concatenate and display filesmv,touch,stat,sort,uniq, and many more.
These commands may feel simple on the surface, but they are the invisible plumbing of Linux systems — relied on by countless shell scripts, automation tools, and system services.