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Snap Package Manager Guide

The purpose of this guide is to explain how to use Snap, a package manager for installing, updating, and managing software packages in a secure and sandboxed environment on Linux distributions.

1. Install Snap (if not already installed)

If Snap is not already installed on your system, use the following command based on your Linux distribution.

For Debian/Ubuntu-based distributions:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install snapd

For Fedora distributions:

sudo dnf install snapd

For Arch-based distributions:

sudo pacman -S snapd

Once installed, the systemd unit that manages the main snap communication socket needs to be enabled:

sudo systemctl enable --now snapd.socket

2. Test the Snap installation

To verify that Snap is installed correctly, run the following command:

snap version

The output should display the Snap version information.


3. Install software packages

To install a software package using Snap, use the snap install command followed by the package name.

sudo snap install <package-name>

For example, to install the htop package:

sudo snap install htop

4. Remove software packages

To remove a software package installed via Snap, use the snap remove command followed by the package name.

sudo snap remove <package-name>

For example, to remove the htop package:

sudo snap remove htop

5. Update installed packages

To update all installed Snap packages to their latest versions, use the snap refresh command:

sudo snap refresh

6. Search for software packages

You can search for software packages available on the Snap Store using the following command:

snap find <package-name>

For example, to search for the VLC media player, run:

snap find VLC

7. Run applications

To run an application installed via Snap, use the following command:

snap run <application-name>

For example, to run the VLC media player, run:

snap run VLC

8. Update applications

To update an application installed via Snap, use the following command:

sudo snap refresh <application-name>

For example, to update the VLC media player, run:


sudo snap refresh VLC

9. List installed Snap packages

To list all installed Snap packages, use the following command:

snap list

10. Troubleshooting

If you encounter any issues while using Snap, refer to the Snap documentation for troubleshooting tips and solutions.