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I updated Ubuntu last night (sudo apt get update && sudo apt get upgrade) and to my surprise this morning I didn't find the 'Ubuntu Software' app and there's a new entry called 'Snap Store' which when opened looks just like the old 'Ubuntu Software' app.

So has 'Ubunu Software' been renamed to 'Snap Store'? And if yes, why?

Garrett
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AnotherOne
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5 Answers5

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There are two different software apps in Ubuntu 20.04, Software enter image description here and Snap Store enter image description here . The Snap Store and the Software app can be installed alongside each other without removing either app. If Ubuntu Software got removed in 20.04 it can be reinstalled by running sudo apt install gnome-software. If the snap-store is not currently installed it can be installed if by running sudo snap install snap-store.

Ubuntu Software icon in Ubuntu 22.04: enter image description here

GNOME Software icon in Ubuntu 22.04: enter image description here

All the apps in the Snap Store are snap packages. If you're searching for a snap package it's more convenient to search for it in the Snap Store, because sometimes the same app has two packages in Ubuntu Software, an apt package and a snap package, but the same app has only one snap package in the Snap Store. If you're searching for an apt package and don't want to use the terminal you may want to install the old Ubuntu Software app with sudo apt install gnome-software. When you install the gnome-software package in Ubuntu 20.04 it is named Software, and the app that was named Ubuntu Software in the default installation is renamed as Snap Store. In Ubuntu 22.04 and later the Software app's name has been changed back to Ubuntu Software and clicking the orange shopping bag Ubuntu Software icon launches the Snap Store instead.

The Snap Store itself is a snap package, so it can be installed in any Linux distribution that supports snap packages without causing package management issues. snapd has been ported to a wide range of Linux distributions to enable snaps to be used across any Linux distribution, including Debian, Kali Linux, Raspbian, Fedora, CentOS, Arch Linux, Manjaro Linux, and openSUSE.

enter image description here
Snap Store

karel
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  • But why is 'Ubuntu Software' gone then ? sorry for the late response. – AnotherOne Jun 20 '20 at 09:42
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    @MekacherAnis Installing the Snap Store app will not remove the Ubuntu Software app. Ubuntu Software and the Snap Store can both be installed alongside each other. – karel Jun 20 '20 at 09:45
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    Thank you for taking the time to explain and I understand what you said, but I didn't remove the ubuntu software center, it got removed all by itself after the update and the snap store -which I didn't have before- got installed. So my question is wy would they do that ? – AnotherOne Jun 20 '20 at 09:50
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    If Ubuntu Software got removed for any reason such as a bug in 20.04 it can be reinstalled by running sudo apt install gnome-software. – karel Jun 20 '20 at 09:53
  • thank you, I will reinstall it <3 – AnotherOne Jun 20 '20 at 09:55
  • In a default Ubuntu install, only the Snap store is installed! I assume this is by design. Only during the beta phase, the two were present at some time. – vanadium Jun 20 '20 at 11:03
  • Ubuntu is just pushing snap packaging system, but other distros don't want to use it because it is based on proprietary software.

    @karel I wouldn't say it is so widely supported. https://www.zdnet.com/article/linux-mint-dumps-ubuntu-snap/

     – pktiuk Jun 20 '20 at 14:09
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    This answer doesn't appear to be correct because "gnome-software" is not the same store as "Ubuntu Software" was before. "Ubuntu Software" was snap-store snap under the hood. Following these instructions does not restore the renamed Ubuntu Software with the orange icon, it installs a different app with a THIRD icon. – Steve M Jun 20 '20 at 17:56
  • @SteveM Please upload a screenshot of the third icon and provide a link to it in a comment. My Ubuntu Software app in 20.04 is named gnome-software in the System Monitor. Its icon is an orange shopping bag with a white capital letter A on it. – karel Jun 20 '20 at 20:41
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    @karel https://imgur.com/vwh8JZO The name of it is "Software" with the mouseover. It is 'gnome-software' in System Monitor. I installed it with sudo apt install ubuntu-software. This command installed gnome-software and the snap plugin. – Steve M Jun 20 '20 at 20:59
  • @SteveM Thank you for uploading the icon image. The icon that you uploaded is named GNOME Software and I found a link to this icon at Wikipedia. The same Wikipedia article also mentions the Ubuntu Software app. – karel Jun 20 '20 at 21:38
  • @karel: It looks like the name is no longer Ubuntu Software but just Software. The ubuntu-software package has been converted to a transitional package. – Gunnar Hjalmarsson Jun 20 '20 at 22:57
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    You should edit your answer. Running snap-store in the terminal launch Ubuntu Software, Orange bag like icon.. but it is really Snap Store in the hood, the true snap store package, not an alt. Installing and running gnome-software run the "true" old software manager where you can choose between snap package and deb packages... and its icon is blue. Well done Canonical... – B. du Garay Jun 21 '20 at 23:34
  • @B.duGaray I can't edit anything yet because Snap Store still opens by clicking the blue shopping bag icon and Software still opens by clicking the orange shopping bag icon in my Ubuntu 20.04. When you think about it it's logical that Canonical should name the app the has all software (both apt and snap packages) Software and the app that has only snaps as Snap Store. – karel Jun 21 '20 at 23:43
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    Note that snaps are not just the traditional Debian packages, they are typically sandboxed (which brings a lot of other interesting side effects) – Thorbjørn Ravn Andersen Jun 22 '20 at 12:04
  • @karel I had removed all traces of snapd, and re-installed gnome-software, but have found that the package does not seem to function properly without snapd to interface with. Specifically, the gnome-software does not seem to download images, and as I further had removed fwupd, gnome-software complains about not being able to download catalogs.... – Charles Green Feb 13 '21 at 21:45
  • @CharlesGreen snapd is installed by default in Ubuntu 16.04 and later. Maybe you should try to reinstall snapd. – karel Feb 13 '21 at 21:49
  • $ sudo apt install gnome-software Reading state information... Done Package gnome-software is not available, but is referred to by another package. This may mean that the package is missing, has been obsoleted, or is only available from another source E: Package 'gnome-software' has no installation candidate This used to work, but apparently not now. Ubuntu 20.04 – zipzit Mar 21 '21 at 10:54
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    @zipzit Try this: How do I restore the default repositories?. – karel Mar 21 '21 at 11:35
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Canonical replaced the old snap store on Ubuntu with their own snap version (it was a rather controversial decision). To replace it with old version use:

snap remove snap-store
sudo apt install gnome-software

It will remove the new version of the store and install a classic one. If you still want to use snap packages, then:

sudo apt install gnome-software-plugin-snap

It will add support of snap, but if you prefer Flatpak then:

sudo apt install gnome-software-plugin-flatpak

flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

Then restart.

Pablo Bianchi
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pktiuk
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I found exactly the same issue today, no 'Ubuntu Software' after the last update on Ubuntu 20.04, but Snap Store got installed. So, it looks like a bug.

sudo apt install gnome-software

is solving the problem.

Eliah Kagan
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Evgen
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    You can remove the snap store with snap remove snap-store. It's not a bug, is the Canonical intention to move away from deb and other packaging managers to only use snap and snap store. – Pablo Bianchi Nov 07 '20 at 07:19
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    Can someone confirm this was done on purpose? Because that's Microsoft level of disrespect for users IMO. Is it so hard to ask before you force major changes on someone's whole computer system that they're not expecting? This is the sort of thing I'd leave Ubuntu for (after ~16y). – pbhj Feb 12 '21 at 22:40
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None of these answers actually restored the orange icon to refer to the snap-store snap as was originally installed, and the way it was intended to be by Canonical.

The actual way to do this if you have the "Snap Store" app with the blue-green icon is to run snap refresh snap-store --channel=stable/ubuntu-20.04

Then you will once again have an orange icon called "Ubuntu Software" which opens snap-store snap.

I think there was an update that fixed this bug on its own, but if you messed with stuff to try to fix it, you might be stuck with the "Snap Store" like I was.

Steve M
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1

As my snap store app was apparently hanging and search function was not working properly, i decided to install gnome-store in my ubuntu 20.04 and removed snap store. However, I later changed my mind and decided to re-install snap store. But to my surprise, it was showing as snap store, not ubuntu software. The steps I followed to reclaim the old ubuntu software (snap store) are:

  1. Completely removed and purged gnome-software using sudo apt purge gnome-software

  2. Then removed the snap-store using snap remove snap-store

  3. Then re-installed snap store using snap install snap-store

  4. To regain the standard ubuntu icon, use the following command:-

    snap refresh snap-store --channel=stable/ubuntu-20.04

This fixes the issue !!

aneesh_nair
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