Snap and deb packages¶

When installing apps on Ubuntu, you’ll come across two official, recommended package formats: snap and deb packages.

What a package is¶

Software is a very broad term, and is generally taken to mean a program that you can run on your computer. However, such programs often need other resources to work. When you install software, thousands of files may be required just to let the program start. When you think that they all have to be put in exactly the right location, and some of those files might need to be changed depending on what type of computer you have, it can all get very complicated.

Ubuntu uses packages to store everything that a particular program needs to run. A package, then, is essentially a collection of files bundled into a single file, which can be handled much more easily. In addition to the files required for the program to run, there are often special files called installation scripts, which copy the files to where they are needed and configure them.

Source and binary¶

Source code is written by programmers and is essentially a list of instructions to a computer which humans are able to read and write. Computers can only understand this code if it is interpreted for them into a form that they can use directly. One such way of interpreting source code for a computer is by translating or compiling it into binary, which computers can understand. This binary is then compressed into a binary package together with other resources.

Different computers use different types of binary, so if you make a binary package for one type (like an Intel PC), it won’t work on another (like an ARM system). This is why you can find the same package, or even the whole Ubuntu installation image, available in several versions for different computer architectures.

Ubuntu chooses the correct binary packages for your system automatically, so you don’t have to worry about picking the right ones.

Dependencies¶

Programs often use some of the same files as each other. Rather than putting these files into each package, a separate package can be installed to provide them for all of the programs that need them. So, to install a program that needs one of these files, the package containing those files must also be installed. When a package depends on another in this way, it is known as a package dependency. By specifying dependencies, packages can be made smaller and simpler, and duplicates of files and programs are mostly removed.

Snap and deb packages have different solutions to package dependencies.

Snap packages¶

The App Center on Ubuntu Desktop shows snaps by default, both in the search and on the category pages. Snap apps are usually sandboxed, which means that you can limit which system resources they can access.

App versions

Snaps are released independently of your Ubuntu version. You always get the latest version of the app that the authors have published.

Updates

All snaps are updated daily by default. You can update immediately on the Manage page of the App Center.

For advanced settings, refer to Manage updates.

App permissions

You can manage the permissions for sandboxed apps in Settings ‣ Apps.

For more granular control for files, camera and microphone, you can also try the experimental app permissions in the Security Center.

Some snaps, such as developer tools, use classic confinement and are not sandboxed. They have full access to your resources. The Snap Store team reviews these apps manually.

Package dependencies

When you install a snap package, it makes sure that a base snap such as core26 is installed for certain underlying resources. A base is a special kind of snap that provides a run-time environment with a minimal set of libraries that are common to most applications. A base snap is usually shared between many applications that need it.

See Bases for more details.

Resources that can’t be found in the base snap are often included directly (bundled) in the app’s snap package. For this reason, snaps often use more disk space than debs.

Package managers

On Ubuntu Desktop, you can manage snaps using the App Center. See Install or remove software.

On the command line, you can use the snap tool. See the tutorial.

Deb packages¶

When you search for deb packages in the App Center, it lists applications from the official Ubuntu repositories.

You can also use the App Center to install debs that you’ve downloaded from third-party developers. These might add their own repositories and will have unrestricted access to your resources, so make sure that you trust the developer.

Warning

Using deb apps from third-party developers is discouraged. For details, refer to Third party repository usage.

App versions

Most debs are tied to your Ubuntu release. On an LTS version of Ubuntu, certain deb apps might be outdated.

Updates

Security updates for deb packages are installed automatically by default. You can apply other updates with the Software Updater.

For extended security updates, you can enable Ubuntu Pro in the Security Center. Ubuntu Pro is free for personal use on up to 5 machines.

For advanced settings, refer to Automatic updates.

App permissions

You can’t change the permissions for apps installed from deb packages: they always have full access to your resources.

Package dependencies

When you install a deb package, it often installs many other dependency packages. Applications packaged as debs tend to be broken up into many small packages that can be efficiently reused in different combinations. Sometimes, you’ll notice that tens of packages are pulled in for your app, for example. However, many dependencies are already installed by default on Ubuntu.

Thanks to these granular dependencies, debs use up less disk space than snaps.

Package managers

On Ubuntu Desktop, you can manage debs using the App Center. See Install or remove software.

On the command line, you can use the apt tool. See the Managing your software tutorial.

Quick comparison¶

	Snaps	Debs
App versions	Usually up-to-date	Tied to your Ubuntu release
Updates	Fully automatic	Automatic security updates
App permissions	Configurable, sandboxed	Full access to your resources
Third-party apps	Protection from third parties	Discouraged
Dependencies	A base snap and bundling	Many small packages
Disk usage	Usually larger	Usually smaller

Which one to install¶

If an app is available both as a snap and a deb, we generally recommend installing the snap version, especially if the app comes from a third-party developer.

The snap usually provides a more recent version of the app and ensures stronger security.