Snap (package manager)

Snap is a software deployment and package management system developed by Canonical for the Linux operating system. The packages, called snaps, and the tool for using them, snapd, work across a range of Linux distributions allowing distribution-agnostic upstream software packaging. Snap was originally designed for Ubuntu Touch. The system is designed to work for internet of things, cloud and desktop computing.[3]

snapd
Developer(s)Canonical Ltd.
Initial release9 December 2014 (2014-12-09)[1]
Stable release
2.45.1[2] / 8 June 2020 (2020-06-08)
Repository
Written inGo, C
Operating systemLinux
LicenseGPLv3 (client), proprietary (server)
Websitesnapcraft.io

Functionality

Snap application packages of software are self-contained and work across a range of Linux distributions. This is unlike traditional Linux package management approaches, like APT or YUM, which require specifically adapted packages for each Linux distribution therefore adding delay between application development and its deployment for end-users.[4][5]

Snaps themselves have no dependency on any "app store", can be obtained from any source and can be therefore used for upstream software deployment. When snaps are deployed on Ubuntu and other versions of Linux, the snap store is used as the back-end. Snaps introduces channels which define which release of a snap is installed and tracked for updates.

Developers can use snaps to create command line tools and background services as well as desktop applications.[6] With snap applications, upgrades via atomic operation or by deltas are possible.[1][7][8][9] With the use of ‘content snaps’ developers can enable snaps to share programs and data so to reduce library, framework and in general dependency redundancy.[10]

In June 2016, snapd was ported to a wide range of Linux distributions to enable snaps to be used across any Linux distribution, not just the all-snap Ubuntu Core. snapd is also available or in progress for Arch Linux, CentOS, Debian, Fedora, Solus, Manjaro Linux, Linux Mint, OpenEmbedded, Raspbian, OpenWrt and openSUSE. Each distribution is able to interpret the snap metadata to implement the security or other expectations of the snap in a distribution-specific fashion.

Snapcraft
snapcraft
Developer(s)Canonical Ltd.
Initial release29 October 2015 (2015-10-29)[1]
Stable release
4.0.7[11] / 22 June 2020 (2020-06-22)
Repository
Written inPython
Operating systemLinux
LicenseGPLv3
Websitesnapcraft.io

Snapcraft is a tool for developers to package their programs in the Snap format.[12]

.snap file format

The snap file format is a single compressed filesystem (based on squashfs format) that is mounted dynamically by the host operating system, together with declarative metadata that is interpreted by the snap system to set up an appropriately shaped secure sandbox or container for that application. The file format extension is .snap.

Usage

Programmers have deployed Snap packaging in internet-of-things environments, ranging from consumer-facing products[13] to enterprise device management gateways.[14] Ubuntu desktop images from version 16.04 onwards have included Snap by default. Software from Microsoft, i.e. .NET Core 3.1, for Linux is also distributed in the snap format.[15] Snapcraft also plans to support Windows OS itself (it already supports macOS).[16]

Criticism

The developer of the screen capture tool Peek discontinued support for Snap packages in March 2018,[17][18] while continuing support for Flatpak and AppImage, stating that

  • Snap is "still mainly an Ubuntu show", criticizing the fact that snapd is no longer available in the official Arch Linux repository, even though it is available in the community repository of Arch Linux based distribution, Manjaro, and can be installed via pacman or Manjaro's GUI pamac.[19]
  • Using snap is more time-consuming than Flatpak or AppImage for developers,
  • Ubuntu Software Center doesn't take advantage of AppStream data, requiring separate entry data.

Developers and IT systems administrators have voiced complaints that snap is highly unsuitable for mission-critical applications since auto-updates cannot be turned off. This basic feature missing is a design choice of the snap developers, but has led to unexpected downtime when services restart or when buggy software enters the snap distribution system.[20]

Red Hat employee Adam Williamson, while acknowledging his own bias, has criticized Snap for keeping the server side closed-source,[21] not having a mechanism for using third party servers,[22] and having to sign a contributor license agreement to contribute to its development.[23]

Clement Lefebvre (Linux Mint founder and project leader[24][25]) has written that Snap is biased and has a conflict of interest. The reasons he cited include it being governed by Canonical and locked to their store, and also that Snap works better on Ubuntu than on other distributions.[26]

LeFebvre, in the May 2020 edition of the Linux Mint Blog, announced that in Linux Mint 20, the next version of Mint, the APT software package management software would forbid installation of snapd.[27] The decision resulted from Canonical's decision in 2019 to change the method for installing the Chromium web browser from APT to Snap. Instead, the Mint developers will instruct users how download and install Chromium themselves, without using Snap.[28]

See also

References
  1. Shuttleworth, Mark (9 December 2014). "Announcing Ubuntu Core, with snappy transactional updates!".
  2. "Releases · snapcore/snapd". GitHub. Retrieved 2020-06-08.
  3. "Snapcraft - Snaps are universal Linux packages". Snapcraft.
  4. Upgrading packaged Ubuntu application unreasonably involves upgrading entire OS Bug #578045 on bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu by John King (2010-05-10)
  5. Linus Torvalds on the problems of distro packaging Linus Torvalds on DebConf 2014
  6. "Canonical unveils 6th LTS release of Ubuntu with 16.04". Ubuntu Insights. Canonical Ltd. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  7. Willis, Nathan (28 January 2015). "Ubuntu Core and Snappy". Linux Weekly News. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  8. "Ubuntu Core". Ubuntu.
  9. Vaughan-Nichols, Steven J. "Ubuntu Snap takes charge of Linux desktop and IoT software distribution". ZDNet.
  10. "The content interface". Snapcraft. Retrieved 2020-04-29.
  11. "Releases · snapcore/snapcraft". GitHub. Retrieved 2020-06-25.
  12. Brodkin, Jon. "Adios apt and yum? Ubuntu's snap apps are coming to distros everywhere". Ars Technica. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  13. Vaughan-Nichols, Stephen J. (11 May 2015). "Ubuntu jumps into Internet of Things with Acer, GE, and Microsoft". ZDNet. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  14. Sherman, Jordana. "Snappy Core unlocks IoT value within the Dell Edge Gateway 5000 Series". Ubuntu Insights. Canonical Ltd. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  15. .NET Core 3.1.0 Preview 2, .NET Foundation, 2019-11-08, retrieved 2019-11-08
  16. "Release notes: Snapcraft 3.8 | Snapcraft documentation". Snapcraft. Retrieved 2019-11-08.
  17. "Snap support for Peek screen recorder discontinued". Reddit. March 25, 2018. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
  18. "Peek Gif Screen Recorder Drops Support for Snap App". OMG! Ubuntu!. Retrieved 2018-04-05.
  19. "Installing snap on Manjaro Linux". Snapcraft (Documentation for snaps: Universal Linux packages). Retrieved 2019-04-27.
  20. "Disabling automatic refresh for snap from store". Retrieved July 31, 2019.
  21. "Why Canonical views the Snap ecosystem as a compelling distribution-agnostic solution". techrepublic. Retrieved August 7, 2019. So, if we were to open source the Snap store, does that actually benefit us in any meaningful way? History shows that perhaps it doesn't. That's not to say that we may not open source in the future. We'll just have to see.
  22. "Snapd should support custom servers". Launchpad. Retrieved June 5, 2019.
  23. "On Snappy and Flatpak: business as usual in the Canonical propaganda department". Happyassassin. Retrieved June 5, 2019.
  24. "Q&A: Clement Lefebvre: The man behind Linux Mint". techworld.com.au. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  25. "Teams". linuxmint.com. Retrieved January 7, 2020.
  26. "Monthly News – June 2019". blog.linuxmint.com. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  27. LeFebvre, Clement. "Monthly News – May 2020". The Linux Mint Blog. The Mint Team. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
  28. Anderson, Tim (2 June 2020). "Snapping at Canonical's Snap: Linux Mint team says no to Ubuntu store 'backdoor'". The Register. Situation Publishing. Biting the Hand that Feeds IT. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
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