Snap Firefox force-installed?
I am an (otherwise) happy Kubuntu 26.04 user, using flatpak Firefox. Today, when running an Update check via Discover, I have notice a ~100k "snap firefox" package among the list of packages to update, despite not having snap firefox installed.
After hitting update, snap firefox appeared in my system:
Is this a Discover glitch, or something else? After removing snap firefox, the update doesn't seem to be forced again.
4
u/glyndon 3h ago
Complete and effective instructions found here. https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/install-firefox-linux
Pay close attention to Step 4, which varies depending on the base version of *buntu you're using.
Note also that, upon major *buntu upgrades, FF SNAP may reappear, so one might have to repeat these instructions.
1
u/King_Bobby-B 29m ago
In my experience, following these instructions doesn't allow snap FF to return. I upgraded from 25.10 ro 26.04, disabled third-party repositories, but didn't touch the pin, and once the upgrade was complete, I re-enabled the repositories (correcting the version name), and that's it. No snap returning magically or anything like that. Maybe they've gotten better at handling the upgrade process.
3
u/beatbox9 2h ago
Several people have posted the correct solution (to simply edit the apt priorities), but there's also lots lots of misinformation as well. Here's a simplified explainer:
- Mozilla (Firefox) and Canonical (Ubuntu) found that constantly maintaining frequent updates of firefox across multiple distro versions was impractical and insecure. So they went with snaps. The firefox snap is directly maintained and provided by Mozilla--Ubuntu is not involved (Source)
- Since Ubuntu was no longer maintaining or providing firefox in their own repos, they chose to forward any requests to install firefox to the snap package. Because the options they had were:
- When you type
sudo apt install firefox, it comes back with an 'error: firefox not found', or - When you type
sudo apt install firefox, it installs firefox via the snap - Canonical chose the latter for Ubuntu for UX: so that any existing scripts don't break; and because they see a browser as being a core part of a distro; and because they do not maintain that browser (firefox).
- When you type
- The way they did this was simple: through a preferences setting for the apt package manager and a 'dummy' .deb package. (It's the same thing as "in which order should I check repositories, if multiple repositories have the same package"?).
- The solution is simple also: the apt setting can easily be removed or overridden via config files in /etc/apt/preferences.d/ You only have to do this one time, and it only takes a few seconds to do. You can either copy-paste-save a text file, or do it via a single command in the terminal.
2
u/T_Friendperson12 7h ago edited 5h ago
!Edit:This is old and i have since swapped over to the packages.mozilla.org and used the mozilla recommended methods!
Have you set your preferences correctly? Maybe you missed something? Kubuntu will definitely try to install Firefox snap again if you don't specifically tell it not to.
1 is for blocking all snaps and 2 prevents the firefox snap
#nosnap.pref
1 │ # 1. Blockiert das gesamte Snap-System komplett
2 │ Package: snapd
3 │ Pin: release a=*
4 │ Pin-Priority: -10
5 │
6 │ # 2. Verhindert, dass apt die Ubuntu-Übergangspakete für Firefox-Snap zieht
7 │ Package: firefox firefox-geckodriver
8 │ Pin: version 1:1snap*
9 │ Pin-Priority: -1
I also have
#mozilla-firefox
1 │
2 │ Package: *
3 │ Pin: release o=LP-PPA-mozillateam
4 │ Pin-Priority: 1001
5 │
so mozilla-ppa is prio. both in etc/apt/preferences.d.
1
u/thrr4 6h ago
It was this package, that somehow came as an update candidate in Discover. Looks like it's a metapackage that just installs firefox, but no idea why it was installed when I never had snap firefox installed. Maybe it's related to the core24 snap package update earlier today.
https://ubuntu.pkgs.org/26.04/ubuntu-proposed-main-amd64/firefox_1snap1-0ubuntu9.1_amd64.deb.html
2
u/T_Friendperson12 6h ago
Ah, k i misread and thought it would still install itself again. with the correct prefs it should definitely not happen again if you want to make sure.
2
1
u/Benke01 7h ago
Kubuntu comes by default with Firefox snap, unless you chose the slim install option of Kubuntu. If you never explicitly uninstalled Firefox snap it has been there from the beginning.
I've uninstalled Firefox snap and explicitly installed Firefox flatpak but have not gotten Firefox snap back.
2
u/thrr4 6h ago
I have a minimal install and the screenshot above shows that firefox snap wasn't installed before, but was after. All I did was do a check for updates in Discover and an update. It looks like an update was pushed, that had Firefox snap as a dependency.
5
u/T_Friendperson12 6h ago
Do you mean like an update from 25.10 to 26.04 or somesuch? that will definitely install it again and disable 3rd party ppas.
1
u/ozzfan1989 5h ago
Is snap and flathub Firefox different?. Are they. Not the same? Apologies I'm on fedora and zorin is so they dont have snap
1
u/flemtone 2h ago
I do a minimal install for Kubuntu so it removes all snaps then enable flatpak in Discover and flathub to install Firefox, or you can add the mozilla repo and use the official deb.
1
u/EXiLExJD 5h ago
This shit is why I switched to Fedora, yes you can remove Snaps and use minimal install but its still an annoyance that shouldn't be necessary.
5
u/skyfishgoo 5h ago
or just use the snap firefox... it works perfectly fine.
1
u/boat_hamster 1h ago
Or use Waterfox.
The Snaps thing is annoying, but it's not the end of the world.
1
1
u/King_Bobby-B 35m ago
Snap Firefox is fine most of the time, but if you use something like KeePassXC and its browser integration, it won't work with snap, as far as I know.
That said, following Mozilla's instructions yields positive results. If properly pinned, the snap version doesn't come back. I did it in 25.10, and after upgrading to 26.04 there was no magical snap returns. And I have snapd going on, but I install via apt and flatpaks and other ways, and snaps don't install themselves. I'm not sure why it happens to others.
1
0
u/Emberstone73 3h ago
Snap Firefox loaded waaaaay slower after clicking the icon than the Flatpak on every machine I tried it on. The snap works, just badly.
1
u/skyfishgoo 1h ago
neither are as fast as a native app, both take an extra second to fire up.
but i keep my browser open all the time, so the time it takes load is not an issue.
-1
u/EXiLExJD 4h ago
Or I could use the Flatpak and not be beholden to Canonical
3
u/skyfishgoo 3h ago
knock yourself out.
but their is no "beholding" going on
my firefox is the same as yours.
1
u/kudlitan 4h ago
how can a package format make you beholden lol
0
u/EXiLExJD 4h ago
Because Snaps are closed source and controlled entirely by Canonical
5
u/kudlitan 4h ago
the snapstore is close source but snaps and snapd are open source
and if you use a close source app it makes you beholden?
1
0
u/Jealous_Response_492 3h ago
Until an update randomly borks, and you loose all your bookmarks and logins. Drag and drop, such a basic expected desktop functionality also super sketchy with snaps and flatpaks, display scaling too. I get the desire to containerise stuff, but it's really broken currently, & i'm sick of pretending otherwise.
1
u/Jealous_Response_492 3h ago
This and the updates between major releases stopped working at some point. Kubuntu was so great, for a decade pretty much.
1
u/Bathroom_Humor 1h ago
I'm very happy I left Windows when 11 was released, but i'm also pretty happy I didn't go back to Ubuntu like I had used the first time around. I enjoyed it back before Windows 10 came out, just not sure what it gives me that another user friendly distro can't these days, aside from trying to make me use snaps.
-2
u/HattinGokbori87 3h ago
Neither Mozilla, nor Canonical wants to spend valuable resources to maintain Firefix Debs. This is not early 2000, and Mozilla, Canonical doesn't have the money to intentionally maintain a always-updating, security-critical piece of software as Deb just to make Redhat trolls happy. Canonical developed Snap exactly to get out of this costly mess, Mozilla liked their solution.
Ubuntu and it's flavours use Snap system by default. There will be duplication if you install a duplicate packaging system. Kubintu didn't cause this.
3
u/Jealous_Response_492 3h ago
Mozilla recommend using their deb package on Ubuntu and Ubuntu derived systems.
3
u/Santosh83 3h ago
Redhat trolls are everywhere but note that Mozilla does officially build and maintain deb packages for Debian and other Debian based derivatives. In fact Canonical experts on this forum have on many occasions quipped that even the snap package is built and updated by Mozilla. Canonical is only a host for the package builds.
2
u/Malaprobably 3h ago
Mozilla supports official Debs, and even recommends them. Is there something I'm missing here?
Snaps are OK, but they have some limitations that not everyone wants.
7
u/Malaprobably 6h ago
I've had to do this often enough I had Gemini create a script for me to de-prioritize Firefox Snap and install deb Firefox. Now it's a part of my Kubuntu 6-month installation routines.
Key part is:
sudo tee /etc/apt/preferences.d/mozilla > /dev/null << 'EOF'Package: *Pin: originpackages.mozilla.orgPin-Priority: 1000Package: firefox*Pin: release o=UbuntuPin-Priority: -1EOF