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Disabling automatic refresh for Snap from store

forum.snapcraft.io

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Re: Disabling automatic refresh for Snap from store

#111

Post by saidinesh5 »

account-5 wrote: post #71

Can someone explain why I'd use snap or flatpak over the distros repo or manual install for something not in the repo or unavailable via adding a repo? Apart from auto-managed updates. Snap and flatpak are massive compared to "traditional" packages.

The big one being - when you install just an application, you don't want it to accidentally pull in the wrong dependency and destroy the rest of your system. This is a big problem when you use ppas or .debs directly from the app developer and accidentally update say libc or gtk. Another example: an application you use brings in a python-xyz package that conflicts with the same package you installed with pip install.

Also updating the system shouldn't accidentally break the application you use either. On rolling release distros this can be a pain. You'd typically want the application that the application developer tested properly (as opposed to relying on your package manager's "testing"). The packagers can introduce bugs while repackaging an application for X distro. My Cura was broken for so long on Arch linux that i gave up and started using their AppImages instead.

Depending on your distro, you also have to deal with headaches like XYZ software is only available on Ubuntu 20.04. Tough luck that you are running 18.04 on your laptops. (last week i had to deal with this problem with clang)

In addition to being self contained with all the dependencies, these solutions offer some level of sandboxing too.

On Arch, AUR usually does a nice job of packaging binary only applications, so i rarely need to use flatpack/snap/appimages but on other distros that can be a pain.

Re: Disabling automatic refresh for Snap from store

#112

Post by kafkaIncarnate »

duped wrote: post #9
canadaduane wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pop!_OS is a solid Ubuntu-based distro that uses Flatpak in place of Snap (among many other great decisions).

This is why I don't use it anymore: https://support.system76.com/articles/enable-hibernation/

I really liked my System76 laptop until the AC adapter died. I looked around on their site to buy accessories and it wasn't there. Eventually I found you have to open a support ticket to get a replacement.

Not only did it take multiple days for them to respond (me without laptop), their resolution was to attach an invoice for one despite me asking for two. I didn't want to open a new ticket so I just looked online for an AC that had the same voltage/amp/etc and head, then ordered three. I have multiple desks...

The three arrived approximately a week before the one they sent out.

Also, you can't actually open these the way they've glued them shut inside by attaching the heatsink to the outer case. Might be a manufacturing defect but definitely can't open mine after unscrewing the bottom.

Never buying a System76 laptop again after this thing dies.

Re: Disabling automatic refresh for Snap from store

#113

Post by ugjka »

jmholla wrote: post #106
ugjka wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use it only for Spotify

I install Spotify through `apt`. What benefits do you get from installing their snap?

They sometimes forget to update the .Deb version

>@Romario74 That is not the case; while on Snap they packaged v77, if you look here you will find that the Spotify devs have not been updating the .deb releases. Re-packaging Snaps is less convenient than using a .deb tarball, and is being done through scripts by this Github project, which is in turn repackaged by @Edu4rdSHL.

https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/spotify

So i run snapd on system

Re: Disabling automatic refresh for Snap from store

#114

Post by throwaway984393 »

rsolva wrote: post #56

Having observed (well deserved) criticism of both Snap and Flatpak during the years, Flatpak seems to emerge as the most sensible solution, continuously addressing and improving on the pain points and security challenges. I have been using Fedora 34/35 the last year or so, and Flatpaks are well integrated and mostly just works without any performance hit. Being able to adjust permissions per app (with Flatseal) has a…

As an Alpine user, Flatpak is invaluable. Snap isn't supported because it requires systemd.

Re: Disabling automatic refresh for Snap from store

#115

Post by [deleted] »

indymike wrote: post #91

Users are telling the snap team exactly what they want: give us a way to disable automatic updates. Snappy's vision is to take this control away. This is why people hate snaps. They don't fit user workflows, make extra work and even cause show stopping problems. Snaps could be great but the team really needs to listen. For me I'm removing snaps from my configs before I get surprised. (edit: mobile autocomplete typos)

[deleted]

Re: Disabling automatic refresh for Snap from store

#116

Post by amelius »

kzrdude wrote: post #2

The snap thing makes me want to switch distro (for work) from ubuntu. Unfortunately we have some benefits from using ubuntu as the common platform for less divergence from each other

I would love to switch to something else (e.g. NixOS) but Ubuntu is the required OS for NVidia's Jetson family of hardware.

Re: Disabling automatic refresh for Snap from store

#117

Post by AnIdiotOnTheNet »

account-5 wrote: post #71

Can someone explain why I'd use snap or flatpak over the distros repo or manual install for something not in the repo or unavailable via adding a repo? Apart from auto-managed updates. Snap and flatpak are massive compared to "traditional" packages.

In my experience "manual install for something not in the repo" applies to a whole lot of software, especially if "latest version isn't in the repo" counts, and also usually means "compile it from source yourself". Frankly I think that's a pretty ridiculous ask, and the fact that Linux Desktop hasn't had a good story for installing software outside of the repo has been one of the main factors keeping me from liking it over the past 2 decades.

There have been a lot of 'universal package' standards over the years, and honestly Flatpak isn't the best one, but it is the one that the community finally seems willing to adopt to a degree that actually makes it worthwhile. Snap, however, is the worst of these formats, and by a wide margin, that I can recall ever existing. It's amazingly bad and extremely user-hostile.

Re: Disabling automatic refresh for Snap from store

#118

Post by AnIdiotOnTheNet »

emerongi wrote: post #94
_0w8t wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In theory one gets better security. Distribution or manual apps can access and modify everything the user can do. Flatpack and Snap tries to address that with a security model similar to mobile apps. In practice for many apps the security protection is non-existent or very limited for compatibility reasons. So for now the benefits is indeed mostly a store model and auto updates. If one really needs to run an untruste…

Flatpak apps usually come with quite open privileges, however the user can completely configure this themselves and restrict the access of an application to quite a reasonable degree. Unless you distrust the sandbox of Flatpak, I don't see a need for containers.

Worth noting that Flatpak's sandboxing is using the same container functionality of the Linux kernel as all the various other container tools. If containers are secure enough than so is Flatpak, assuming you've tweaked the applications sandbox settings to your liking.

Re: Disabling automatic refresh for Snap from store

#119

Post by AnIdiotOnTheNet »

tux1968 wrote: post #39
philliphaydon wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I feel like people who use fedora swear by it. What DE do you use? I prefer KDE but donno if it’s time to retry gnome or something else.

If you're moving to Fedora then Gnome really is the path of least resistance, and highest level of integration and support. But you can make KDE work, or even use a tiling WM like Sway and customize it to your taste. In any case, you get to enjoy the benefits of a really well done distro.

> If you're moving to Fedora then Gnome really is the path of least resistance

Which is really the largest drawback by far that I've found. GNOME 4 is user-hostile garbage made by people who really really wish they were designing for tablets. It's practically useless without third-party extensions, which are of course unsupported. It doesn't even have a system tray FFS.

If Fedora Kinoite worked as well as Fedora Silverblue, I think I could be reasonably content. Immutable base system with Flatpak and Toolboxes is pretty close to how I actually want a system to work.

Re: Disabling automatic refresh for Snap from store

#120

Post by AnIdiotOnTheNet »

selfhifive wrote: post #42
philliphaydon wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn’t this also the of the main reasons the linux community hates windows. Because windows has a habit of forcing updates and reboots.

The linux community isn't a big fan of Canonical. Everyone starts with Ubuntu, distro hops, installs Debian or Arch configured according to them and tries to bring Ubuntu back from the dark side.

Canonical used to be The Chosen One, the prophesied savior that would decend from the heavens and bring us a reasonable chance at actually having a Year of the Linux Desktop. Then something happened, and they turned to the darkside, started adopting the worst behaviors of Microsoft, and here we are. Sadly they are still promoted as the recommended "generic" distro for the masses.
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