[waltpad]

> I strongly recommend anyone similarly frustrated to check out debian, which is a fantastic distro.

It is true that the Debian people are doing a great job.

> [...] if you're using Ubuntu and disabling snap, you're fighting against the current and I have to imagine it's going to be increasingly difficult with subsequent releases.

Actually, snap was harder to remove in the previous release: you had to rebuild certain packages (actually, just pulseaudio, so it only matters for desktops) to get rid of the dependency, but it seems now that it's just a couple of apt commands, so you have to give Canonical credits for making it easier.

[waltpad]

Now, this is embarassing, here the list of reverse dependencies on snapd:

  python3-ubuntu-image
  xubuntu-desktop
  xubuntu-core
  vanilla-gnome-desktop
  ubuntustudio-desktop-core
  ubuntustudio-desktop
  ubuntukylin-desktop
  ubuntu-unity-desktop
  ubuntu-snappy-cli
  ubuntu-snappy
  ubuntu-mate-desktop
  ubuntu-mate-core
  ubuntu-core-launcher
  ubuntu-budgie-desktop
  snapd-xdg-open
  snapcraft
  snap-confine
  qml-module-snapd
  plasma-discover-backend-snap
  lxd
  lubuntu-desktop
  libsnapd-qt1
  kubuntu-desktop
  ember
  cyphesis-cpp
  chromium-browser
  ubuntu-server
  ubuntu-desktop-minimal
  ubuntu-desktop
  ubuntu-core-snapd-units
  livecd-rootfs
  maas
  apparmor
  libsnapd-glib1
  gnome-software-plugin-snap
  command-not-found

Any of these packages is going to pull snapd in if installed. Soon after writing the above comment, I decided to install chromium, and ... snapd got installed as well as a result. I guess I should double check each claim I am about to make, BEFORE making it.

sigh...

Edit: Please note that many of these are "leaf" packages, by which I mean that no other packages depend on them.

[usr1106]

> Now, this is embarassing, here the list of reverse dependencies on snapd:

Not at my computer now, but that cannot be correct. Could recommended packages be included in that list?

I did apt-purge snapd on my xubuntu 20.04 and it did not pull out anything unrelated.

When you install something later an it tries to pull in something later you can always try --no-install-recommends.

In the worst case there is eqivs https://wiki.debian.org/Packaging/HackingDependencies but it has been 3+ years that I needed to use that the last time.

[wiredfool]

Many of those are also the main meta packages for specific flavors.

[waltpad]

Which means that removing them (when removing snapd) doesn't matter much.

[pbhjpbhj]

Can't you hold snapd, and then install with force-depends?

[RMPR]

Give them credits to fix what they have broken?

[waltpad]

Well, tbh, that sounds a bit far fetched. I meant that we should cut them some slack (English is not my first language).

That being said, it's not as bright as I thought it was - see my other comment.

[viraptor]

It's not broken. People prefer not to use snap and want to remove it. But overall snap works, and apps installed via snap work.