snapcraft.io | Ubuntu

Igor Ljubuncic
3 September 2021

Snapcraft 6.0 is around the corner

Article Ubuntu

A good sign of maturity and confidence in software is when said software utilizes its own components for future development and enablement. Snapcraft is a command-line utility that allows developers to package and distribute their applications as snaps. But Snapcraft itself is also distributed as a snap, and built in...

Igor Ljubuncic
3 September 2021

Igor Ljubuncic
20 August 2021

Snap usage metrics now available on the command line

Article Ubuntu

For years now, developers and publishers could view how well their snaps are performing in terms of usage and popularity through the Snap Store Web interface, using the metrics tab. This functionality allows people to examine the cause and effect of their work, like software updates, marketing campaigns, or other...

Igor Ljubuncic
20 August 2021

Igor Ljubuncic
13 August 2021

Snapcraft for Windows – Preview

Article Ubuntu

Two weeks ago, Snapcraft reached its fifth milestone release, 5.0. This version brings in a number of significant changes, including the removal of the base (core) snap, which has been relegated to the 4.X channel track. For snap developers, especially those working in mixed environments, the availability of the first...

Igor Ljubuncic
13 August 2021

Igor Ljubuncic
14 July 2021

How to cache snap downloads and save bandwidth

Article Cloud and server

For many people, fast broadband connection and unlimited data are a reality. For others, they are not. If you have several Linux hosts in your (home) environment, and you’re using snaps, each of these systems will separately communicate with the Snap Store and periodically download necessary updates. This can be costly...

Igor Ljubuncic
14 July 2021

Igor Ljubuncic
2 July 2021

How to ensure your snap uses the correct theme

Article Ubuntu

An app is an app is an app. But in the world of Linux, things are a little more nuanced. Take VLC as an example. The software may be packaged ever so slightly differently in various Linux distribution archives, even different releases of the same distribution – the av01 codec is an interesting use case

Igor Ljubuncic
2 July 2021

Holly Hall
30 June 2021

Top 10 apps for a fresh Linux install in 2021

Article Desktop

Are you struggling with too much lag? Is it time for a spring clean and a fresh Linux install? Ready to upgrade to Focal Fossa (LTS) or Hirsute Hippo? Whatever situation you are in, get started quickly with some of the most popular apps you need for a fresh Linux install. Here are all the

Holly Hall
30 June 2021

Holly Hall
24 June 2021

A technical introduction to the Snap Store Proxy

Article Internet of Things

In the world of IoT, it is crucial to be fully in control of your devices. Over-the-air (OTA) updates are essential for a distributed set of devices. This must be carefully managed to ensure that an update is not pushed at a time where the device is active and operation should not be interrupted. To

Holly Hall
24 June 2021

Igor Ljubuncic
18 June 2021

How’s my snap faring on different distributions?

Article Ubuntu

The life of an application can roughly be divided into two: everything that happens before it goes live – building, packaging, publication – and then, everything that happens after that milestone. Traditionally, on Linux, developers didn’t always have an easy way of deriving useful numbers on how their software was...

Igor Ljubuncic
18 June 2021

Igor Ljubuncic
11 June 2021

What has snapd ever done for other distros?

Article Ubuntu

Snaps are self-contained applications designed with ease of use, security and portability in mind. They bundle their necessary dependencies, so they can work and run without modifications across numerous Linux distributions. How many? More than 40. Yet, often when technology is strongly associated with a particular...

Igor Ljubuncic
11 June 2021

Igor Ljubuncic
4 June 2021

The magic behind snap interfaces

Article Ubuntu

Snaps are confined, self-contained applications, designed with portability and security in mind. By default, strictly confined snaps run in isolation, with minimal access to system resources. For instance, they cannot access home, network, audio, or display. To make their snaps usable, developers and publishers can...

Igor Ljubuncic
4 June 2021

Igor Ljubuncic
28 May 2021

Hey snap, where’s my data?

Article Desktop

Snaps are self-contained applications, isolated from the underlying operating systems by several layers of confinement. This mechanism introduces security benefits, but it may also create confusion for people who are less familiar with how snaps work and behave, especially when it comes to filesystem access. Today, we’d...

Igor Ljubuncic
28 May 2021

Igor Ljubuncic
13 May 2021

How to troubleshoot application issues and crashes with snapd gdbserver

Article Apps

Sometimes, applications may not run well, or they could even crash. When such issues occur, it is useful to have a consistent, reproducible method of triggering the problem, so that developers can have a reliable way and sufficient data to troubleshoot the issues and produce a fix. In the software world, the GNU Debugger (gdb)

Igor Ljubuncic
13 May 2021

Igor Ljubuncic
7 May 2021

The snap developer’s guide on how to migrate to new bases

Article Apps

A couple of weeks ago, we published an article about Ubuntu 16.04 entering Extended Security Maintenance (ESM), and the implications of this change for snap publishers. We talked about the different options available to developers and publishers who still may rely on the older bases in their build process – free Ubuntu...

Igor Ljubuncic
7 May 2021

Igor Ljubuncic
23 April 2021

Better snap metadata handling coming your way soon

Article Ubuntu

Open the Snap Store, click on any application you like – you will now see a page full of useful tidbits – screenshots and videos, application description, last update, license, contact data, and other information. The data shown here is often the first impression the user gets about the software, and can be a deciding

Igor Ljubuncic
23 April 2021

Blog posts tagged “snapcraft.io”

Blog posts tagged
“snapcraft.io”