They just need to package their software once as a Snap and then publish it on Snapcraft. For Linux application developers, Snaps offer benefits too. Linux users can benefit from Snaps, because it allows them to conveniently install software (or a specific version of software) not offered by their distribution’s online package repository. You can find detailed installation instructions here.

For other Linux distributions, you just need to install the snapd package. The Ubuntu distribution supports Snaps out-of-the-box. It’s the place to go to when looking for software packaged as a Snap. They also maintain the Snapcraft website, the online Snap package repository. It just works.Ĭanonical, the developer, maintainer and publisher of the popular Ubuntu distribution, developed the packaging technology behind Snaps. As in no library or dependency conflicts. When installing a Snap package, you simply snap it on to your Linux system, without negatively effecting it. A Snap package runs in a sandbox environment, isolated from the rest of your Linux system. Snaps offer a Linux distribution agnostic method for installing software. Note that I wrote Linux system, and not a specific Linux distribution.

Think of a Snap as a software package that you can install on your Linux system in a convenient way.

This article explains how to disable this automatic Snap update feature. Snaps also have a disadvantage: they automatically update to a newer version in the background. Application developers now only need to package their software once and publish it on the Snapcraft website. Perfect when your Linux distribution’s package manager does not offer a specific application or the right version. Snap packages make it possible to conveniently install software applications on your Linux system.

Snapchat in linux