Despite putting so much weight behind Snap, Ubuntu continues to lose in the race of 'universal Linux packaging'.
While all kinds of distros are adopting Fedora's Flatpak, Ubuntu's Snap is being rejected even by Ubuntu-based distros like Linux Mint and elementary OS.
Nitrux, Vanilla, gLinux, and many more distros have ditched Ubuntu for Debian, and Snap probably played a role in the decision-making.
This continued rejection has disheartened the Snap team, who worked hard to force people into liking Snap by disguising Snap apps as apt packages.
So, in a recent discussion at UbuntuCon, Canonical management decided to phase out Snap development and its integration into Ubuntu core.
After the initial resistance, some Linux users have started liking Snap, just as few people got attached to Unity. This is a scary situation for us. From Ubuntu One to Unity and Mir, we have abandoned projects in the past. We can do it again for the greater good.
The development is ceased immediately and the work will begin to decouple Snap from Ubuntu. The next LTS release, 24.04 Naughty Nightingale, will see no traces of Snap.
Not everyone is happy with the decision, of course.
In an anonymous Reddit post, a Snap developer shares:
Snap is a craft and we have crafted the Snap to perfection. We worked so hard that if anyone searches for 'how to install xyz application on Linux', the Snapcraft pages comes up first to suggest using Snap packages. And now our effort is being discarded in a Snap.
The Canonical management is aware of the concern. They are considering open sourcing Snap so that others can pick up the project to continue the development, just like Ubuntu Touch and Unity.
If someone wants to develop a 'Ubuntu Snap Remix', we could even consider awarding it official flavor status, Canonical revealed.
This decision has left all the Snap fans in shock and denial. But the decision has been made and this date will become part of history. Mark the date.
You can read the official discussion and announcement on the page below.
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