Snaps and Flatpaks

apt isn't the only package manager. Mint ships Flatpak (and blocks snaps on purpose; an image with snapd installed had it added by someone). Debian has neither by default. Each has its own list and its own update command, and a README may ask for a specific one to be current or installed.

Flatpaks

flatpak list --app
sudo flatpak update -y

Flatpaks can be installed per user as well as system-wide; flatpak list --app --user run as each human user finds the per-user ones.

Snaps

If snap list works at all on a Mint image, snapd was installed by hand (Mint pins it out with /etc/apt/preferences.d/nosnap.pref). Read the list, and unless the README names a snap, sudo apt purge snapd. On a system where snaps are legitimate, sudo snap refresh updates them and snap refresh --time shows the schedule.

Both are places to hide software

flatpak list and snap list are part of the Installed Packages sweep; a game or a remote-access tool installed as a Flatpak doesn't show up in dpkg.

Verify

flatpak update             # "Nothing to do."
snap list 2>&1 | head -1   # "command not found" on Mint and Debian is the normal answer

Example

flatpak list --app shows com.anydesk.Anydesk and org.videolan.VLC. The README doesn't mention remote-support software; sudo flatpak uninstall -y com.anydesk.Anydesk. VLC is a media player the README says the users need; sudo flatpak update -y brings it current.

Try it

1. List Flatpaks for the system and for each user.
2. On Mint, read /etc/apt/preferences.d/nosnap.pref and explain what it does.

Build it

Add flatpak list --app and snap list to baseline.sh.

Next

Installed Packages