They started doing that in a couple of years back. Saw quite a bit of backlash in the Linux news media at the time.
this post was submitted on 05 Feb 2025
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I'm aware that when the user runs(without adding Mozilla's apt repository),
sudo apt install firefox
the snap version of Firefox is installed. But I never heard that, though APT is configured to install Firefox from Mozilla's repository, the DEB version will be uninstalled and the Snap version will be installed.
Yes, this is known. They do the same for Chromium. If you want a browser from ubuntu, it's going to be a snap.
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Firefox now has instructions on their "Debian-based" install section about pinning their repo over Canonical's so that doesn't happen.
Because you're right, Canonical does think so highly of their product that they will constantly attempt to undermine other options against your will.
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From a security standpoint? Not even close. From a software-release validation requirement, not even in the same galaxy. If they look the same, it's only due to Clarke's law.
You are missing the attribution. The person you are replying to is making a joke that Canonical says they are the same, not that they are actually the same.
Clearly they’re cosplaying as a Canonical engineer whose internal explanation and pleas for them to not take this approach fell upon deaf ears /j
In Ubuntu they are the same. firefox version 1:1snap1-0ubuntu5 is a deb that literally runs the command snap install firefox in the preinst script. Check line 77 in firefox-1snap1/debian/firefox.preinst in the source tarball: https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/firefox/1:1snap1-0ubuntu5
There's no magic there.
That is not the same thing as "snap and apt Firefox are the same". They just hijacked apt to force snap in.
So both commands do the same thing... right? I'm not saying snap and apt are the same in general.
Yeah for sure, I read your comment as excusing canonical screwing with user intent but I see that's not what you meant.
Yeah, I really dislike snap and have puppet clean it out and add in the real mozilla repo for me. If I wanted sandboxed apps I'd probably look at flatpak but I think there's still work to be done there also.
You are missing the attribution. The person you are replying to is making a joke that Canonical says they are the same, not that they are actually the same.
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It is one of the reasons many people turn away from Ubuntu.
Yes. That was the last straw for me. I switched to debian stable, and haven't looked back since
Hah! Me too, exactly this.
Debian will have snaps and flatpaks and all the same insecure black-box drek.
Given how much they violate ISO27002, I can't see them ever being run in a regs-compliant shop.
I feel like snaps are black boxier tho.
Yeah it's not really a secret
Not secretly, no.
But it's not obvious either. When I say 'apt install firefox', specially after adding their repository to sources.list, I'd expect to get a .deb from mozilla. Silently overriding my commands rubs me in a very wrong way.
Since when this became a known thing? I'm aware that the snap version is installed when the user is trying to install the deb version of Firefox by running,
sudo apt install firefox
But I never heard that the installed DEB version of Firefox is replaced by Snap version of Firefox.
The deb version is a pointer to the snap in their repos. Nothings being replaced, it no longer exists. The deb version of Firefox in Ubuntu repos is a wrapper that installs snap and has no binaries in it. Has been for 3 years or so.
It's more than that. Ubuntu copies the Debian repos and then applies their own changes on top. Debian has a native (DEB) Firefox package, so Ubuntu specifically has to remove it for every new version.
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Jesus Christ this is Windows-tier insane computing behaviour from Ubuntu. Fuck Ubuntu.
Definitely not you, they absolutely do this with snaps and have for a while. This was the main reason I stopped using Ubuntu.
I suggest Mint or straight Debian. I prefer Mint for anything graphical, Debian for headless
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It's a known and documented issue that Ubuntu does. They secretly install the Snap version, even if you tried to install the Deb package. This is an issue since years: https://askubuntu.com/questions/1345385/how-can-i-stop-apt-from-installing-snap-packages (posted 3 years and 7 months ago)
My problem is not like that. I’m aware that when the user runs(without adding Mozilla’s apt repository),
sudo apt install firefox
the snap version of Firefox is installed. But I never heard that, though APT is configured to install Firefox from Mozilla’s repository, the DEB version will be uninstalled and the Snap version will be installed.
Yes, that's the exact issue. Ubuntu does that for years. You use apt to install deb, but Ubuntu installs silently the Snap version. The article I linked was talking about that almost 4 years ago and talks about how to stop that. It's an old issue not many are aware off.
At this point, why is anyone using Ubuntu for desktop? You have soooo many options
Yeah they've been doing that for a while
I suspect that what's happened is you installed the apt version, then at some point upgraded it and there was a version in the main repo that had a higher version number and installed the snap version. If two repositories both have a package with the same name, and no other rules in place, the higher version number wins.
If that is the case, you need to pin the firefox package to the mozilla repository. You can find more details here: https://wiki.debian.org/AptConfiguration
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This is why i switched to Debian. It's 99% of Ubuntu, without the crap.
I.... I.... I don't know why I haven't done that myself. (Am now on NixOS btw) but for work maybe I ask for Debian cloud box.
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Ubuntu uses Snap as first-class method to install software. So if a piece of software is available as DEB or Snap, Ubuntu will always use Snap.
Thanks. I hate snaps. I'll probably just stop using Ubuntu.
I’m aware that when the user runs(without adding Mozilla’s apt repository),
sudo apt install firefox
the snap version of Firefox is installed. But I never heard that, though APT is configured to install Firefox from Mozilla’s repository, the DEB version will be uninstalled and the Snap version will be installed.
I've had it happen too. In fact it is what prompted me to move away from Kubuntu.
My work cannot manage permissions well so I cannot remove snap Firefox cos its in use by another user.
Meanwhile current snap version of Firefox is crashing on my profile
I battled that for about a year and then ditched Debian based diatros altogether.
OpenSUSE ftw
You could have gone pure Debian. There are no snap shenanigans over there :)
OpenSuse is also a great pick tho!
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They have been doing this for a while.
Would recommend you to stick to MX,Mint or if you care only about stability and not Updates debian.
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