Can't ssh to raspberry Pi zero with Ubuntu

[gratefulfrog]

I have an rpi0 v1.3, linux Ubuntu 16.04 with avahi-daemon running. I am using a USB data cable that has been verified. I connect to the rpi0 USB port. I have tried with and without an external power supply on the pwr connector...

I modified the cmdline and config files as specified and added an ssh file to the Raspian Stretch Lite image at /boot.
After days of trying, I simply cannot get an ssh:

$ ssh pi@raspberrypi.local
ssh: Could not resolve hostname raspberrypi.local: Name or service not known

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[mahjongg]

Please don't hijack a thread marked as solved.
split off and moved to "other" as this is about ubuntu, not raspbian

[B.Goode]

I modified the cmdline and config files as specified and added an ssh file to the Raspian Stretch Lite image at /boot.

If you have correctly followed the documentation provided by 'gbaman' it is almost certain that the RPi is working as expected. I have done it myself so I know it works.

It is more likely to be the corresponding network configuration of your Ubuntu laptop that is the point of failure. I am not qualified to advise on how to troubleshoot that. But you could start with some common tools like dmesg, lsusb, and ifconfig to see whether the usb 'gadget' is detected by your ubuntu system and whether it results in a new network interface being created.

[DivineKnight]

gratefulfrog -> Get the IP address for the device, and use that (don't try to use the DNS name). It's probably something like 192.168.1.x.