# Launchpad feature highlights Welcome to Launchpad, the platform designed to help you share your software projects with the world. You can use this platform to host your code, but you’ll also have access to features that help you collaborate with others, build packages, track bugs, and more. Get familiar with some of Launchpad’s most exciting features below. ## [Personal package archives (PPA)](https://ubuntu.com/docs/launchpad/user/explanation/feature-highlights/personal-package-archives/index.html.md#personal-package-archives-highlights) Personal package archives allow you to distribute software packages that can be installed on an Ubuntu system. Users who install these packages receive automatic updates whenever you make them available. PPAs are useful for: - Distributing your open source software as debian packages - Providing alternative implementations of existing packages - Maintaining backported packages when there are newer upstream versions - Building in an isolated environment and lowering the risk of breaking Ubuntu systems, etc. ## [Answer tracker](https://ubuntu.com/docs/launchpad/user/explanation/feature-highlights/answer-tracker/index.html.md#answer-tracker-for-community) If you need help with a project on Launchpad, the answer tracker is your best bet for finding a solution. When you ask a question through this feature, you can get assistance from project admins or community members who have signed up to be answer contacts for that project. The answer tracker also provides a framework for capturing discussions on different questions and issues, enabling users to search for answers in previous questions before asking new ones. ## [Build farm](https://launchpad.net/builders) Launchpad has a build farm consisting of 450+ builders (and counting), allowing users to build packages such as snaps, rocks, and charms on the platform. The builders are distributed across various architectures including AMD64, AMD64v3, ARM64, RISC-V, and more. You can check the status of the builders, length of queues, and even build histories of individual builders, before starting yours. ## [Bugs and bug trackers](https://ubuntu.com/docs/launchpad/user/explanation/feature-highlights/bug-watches/index.html.md#monitoring-bugs-in-other-bug-trackers) Bugs are a central feature of Launchpad and this enables users to work together to report, track, and fix bugs. Tracked bugs are made available to all projects and distributions. The bug tracker monitors bugs related to a project regardless of where they are reported. To monitor the status of bugs in external trackers, you just need to provide a bug report URL. ## Additional features Other interesting features to explore on Launchpad include: - [Email interface](https://ubuntu.com/docs/launchpad/user/how-to/work-with-bugs/use-email-interface/index.html.md#use-the-launchpad-email-interface): Interact with the bug tracker without a browser - [Bug branch linking](https://ubuntu.com/docs/launchpad/user/explanation/feature-highlights/bug-branch-linking/index.html.md#linking-bugs-to-dedicated-branches): Link a branch fixing a specific bug to the bug report - [Blueprints](https://ubuntu.com/docs/launchpad/user/explanation/feature-highlights/blueprints/index.html.md#blueprints-lightweight-specifications): Short specifications of things to be worked on in a project, i.e., bugs, documentation, features, etc. - [Milestones](https://ubuntu.com/docs/launchpad/user/explanation/feature-highlights/milestones/index.html.md#milestones-exp): Indicate bugs and blueprints you’re prioritizing for your next release