A few years ago we were able to upgrade everything (OS and Apps) using a single command. I remember this was something we boasted about when talking to Windows and Mac fans. It was such an amazing feature. Something that users of proprietary systems hadn’t even heard about. We had this on desktops before things like Apple’s App Store and Play Store were a thing.

We can no longer do that thanks to Flatpaks and Snaps as well as AppImages.

Recently i upgraded my Fedora system. I few days later i found out i was runnig some older apps since they were Flatpaks (i had completely forgotten how I installed bitwarden for instance.)

Do you miss the old system too?

Is it possible to bring back that experience? A unified, reliable CLI solution to make sure EVERYTHING is up to date?

  • cmnybo@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
    501·
    1 year ago

    There has always been the option of installing software from source. The package manager won’t update anything installed from source.

    You don’t have to use Flatpak, Snap or AppImage if you don’t want to. If you use the package manager to install everything, it will update everything.

    • BCsven@lemmy.ca
      114·
      1 year ago

      Except doesn’t ubumtu now force a snap on you even if you try installing a package app?

    • mFat@lemdro.idOPEnglish
      6·
      1 year ago

      If I use ubuntu I’m somehow forced to use them.

      Even on Fedora the average user is presented with many flatpak results when they use the GUI software manager. Not everyone is technically adept enough to check the origin of the app. So it’s kind of being forced on users.

      • Ulu-Mulu-no-die@lemm.eeEnglish
        4·
        1 year ago

        If I use ubuntu I’m somehow forced to use them.

        Yes, that’s why I stopped using it years ago (among other reasons).

        Users are not out of options, they don’t need to check the origin of the apps themselves, it’s enough to ask other users what distros don’t do the things they don’t like and use those.

  • insomniac@sh.itjust.works
    40·
    1 year ago

    I’ve used Linux since the 90s and I’ve never installed a flat pack or snap or whatever. They’re not required.

    • genuineparts@feddit.de
      6·
      1 year ago

      This. And it usually is open source, if you don’t want to install a flatpak or docker image, you can always compile it yourself, and if you feel generous, you package it up as an .rpm, .dep, or whatever your distro of choice wants and create a download for it. I also have not (yet) encountered a project i wanted to install that didn’t either provide packages or at the very least detailed instructions if I want to just install that locally.

    • bankimu@lemm.ee
      24·
      1 year ago

      I mean yeah. I mean wtf.

      I mean, if I install something compiling from source, I would not expect anyone else to manage it, right? I mean why would anyone expect that flatpak snap etc. all get managed automatically, they even forget how they installed something, it is so ridiculous.

  • Jannis@feddit.de
    434·
    1 year ago

    If you use a graphical tool like gnome software, it will update everything with one click on a button

    • baseless_discourse@mander.xyz
      71·
      1 year ago

      I would really love gnome software to add update on background feature and set update interval (update only once a month, hold update indefinitely etc.)

      But fedora software center behavior is the most intuitive and easy compare to other popular desktop OS/distros: Mac, Windows, or Ubuntu.

      • gnumdk@lemmy.ml
        71·
        1 year ago

        It does background updates for flatpak. For system, just move to Silverblue.

        • baseless_discourse@mander.xyz
          1·
          1 year ago

          I think it only downloads the update but you still need to click install to install it. I am looking for Google Play / Windows Store behavior, where the store juat keep my app up-to-date in the background, maybe push a notification after update is done or something.

          I understand this behavior is not for everyone, but I think it should be a toggle at least.

      • Gamey@feddit.de
        5·
        1 year ago

        I love and use Fedora but I still think Mints update manager is the best GUI implementation I ever used for updating, it has all the essentials, is easy to use and looks nice.

        • baseless_discourse@mander.xyz
          2·
          1 year ago

          I have never used mint, so I dont know.

          One of the thing that drived me from Ubuntu to Fedora is that Ubuntu has 3 different UI for system, apt, and snap/flatpak update. It feels really segmented.

          I personally prefer Gnome experience more than any other DE (including windows and macOS). But mint only include Gnome version on Ubuntu LTS, so it is a bit dated. But no doubt that mint is extremely user friendly.

          • Gamey@feddit.de
            2·
            1 year ago

            I prefer vanilla Gnome on Fedora too but Mint dose some things really well. Their update manager is nice but that’s a Debian tool, their file manager (Nemo) on the other hand is something I still use, I just prefer it to Nautilus.

            • baseless_discourse@mander.xyz
              2·
              1 year ago

              I like that the Mint UI show you that you are in sudo in a graphical app. It is really neat.

              IIRC, if you do a file operation in Nemo that require sudo, then the file manager can directly ask you the password and lift itself to sudo, without needing to go into terminal. It is also pretty convenient.

  • Diplomjodler@feddit.de
    391·
    1 year ago

    In Mint you can install flatpaks from the software manager and those get updated by the update manager. So it’s all still one click.

    • TheGrandNagus@lemmy.world
      21·
      1 year ago

      Same on Fedora. It’ll even do firmware too.

      We’re nowhere near the absolute shitshow that is updating the system and and programs on windows.

      • intelati@programming.dev
        1·
        1 year ago

        The individual pop up for upgrades on windows is probably the single biggest bother… (except the Microsoft bloatware/spyware of course)

    • Fonzie!@ttrpg.network
      1·
      1 year ago

      I’d like to add that it’s even better than that!
      You can install apt, flathub and snap (if you want to install it) packages from the same installer, complete with full package info, screenshots and reviews!
      You can even compare them by switching quickly via the drop-down!

      The updater also checks all three, allowing you to scrutinise every part you want, or just updating it all with one button!

      The installer and updater are actually better than using the command line, in my opinion, and I am by no means a stranger to the command line!

  • fishr@lemmy.ml
    391·
    1 year ago

    IMHO the killer feature of linux is that you aren’t getting shit straight into your mouth every day by some corporation that decices to squeeze more cash money out of you.

    And as others have pointed out most gui applications update all sources automatically.

  • Limitless_screaming@kbin.social
    38·
    1 year ago

    alias update='sudo pacman -Syu && flatpak update' or just use one of the trillion GUI app stores like pamac, discover, or gnome’s thing whatever they call it.

    • LeFantome@programming.dev
      1·
      1 year ago

      What you suggest works for Arch distros only of course. Actually, yay -Syu will do the pacman stuff for you first anyway so you can skip that.

      If you are using EndevourOS, check out eos-update. I just discovered it. It is basically the same thing but it will automatically handle keyring updates and db.lck issues if you have ever run into those. Basically, it is what yay should be.

      Another EndevourOS gem is eos-shifttime. It will set your system to whatever pacman would have done on a specific date. You can use it to roll-back to a specific date. Or, if it has been forever since you upgraded, it lets you upgrade more incrementally than catching up all at once. Pretty cool. I guess you could also mimic the Manjaro experience by always upgrading to whatever was in the Arch repositories 3 weeks ago.

      • IuseArchbtw@feddit.de
        1·
        1 year ago

        Of course those commands only work for arch-based distros, but it is completely possible to adapt them to fedora or debian-based distros

      • andruid@lemmy.ml
        4·
        1 year ago

        I think a lot of people just won’t endorse snap as long as it’s backend is proprietary

        • voxel@sopuli.xyz
          2·
          1 year ago

          snaps are terribly, terribly slow, especially if you still have a mechanical drive.

  • gamer@lemm.ee
    352·
    1 year ago
    #! /bin/sh
#update_everything_in_one_command.sh
set -e
apt update
apt upgrade -y
flatpak update -y

    $ sudo update_everything_in_one_command

    Tada!

  • grean@lemmy.mlEnglish
    32·
    1 year ago

    Every problem can be solved by adding another layer of abstraction.

  • pizzaboi@lemm.ee
    302·
    1 year ago

    You’re using Linux. It took me about an hour to create a script that will upgrade all packages, Snaps, and flatpaks, complete with flavor text. The fact that I could do that, with total control over how and when to run those updates, is still a killer feature to me.

  • gnumdk@lemmy.ml
    271·
    1 year ago

    Silverblue here with automatic upgrades enabled, I do not care anymore, it just works.

    • CjkOvPDwQW@lemmy.pt
      4·
      1 year ago

      This, super love that distro !!! Perfect for users that don’t have a lot of needs.

      Personally, I never got used to the container workflow :(

    • baconicsynergy@beehaw.org
      4·
      1 year ago

      Yes! The automatic updates are great for me and my family’s machines. System and Flatpak upgrades are done automatically, I never ever think of them.

      Universal Blue has it too. They also have the “just” wrapper for not just system and flatpak, but containers as well.

  • namingthingsiseasy@programming.dev
    25·
    1 year ago

    A few years ago we were able to upgrade everything (OS and Apps) using a single command. I remember this was something we boasted about when talking to Windows and Mac fans. It was such an amazing feature. Something that users of proprietary systems hadn’t even heard about. We had this on desktops before things like Apple’s App Store and Play Store were a thing.

    If this actually were Linux’s killer feature, then Linux would have had a much higher market share by now.

    Make no mistake, this is my favourite feature of Linux as well, and I have never used a snap/flatpack/appimage in my entire life. But it doesn’t have the kind of broader public appeal that you seem to be suggesting.

    • Gamey@feddit.de
      5·
      1 year ago

      It’s not really lost ether tho, just add a simple bash alias and you are ready!

  • Endorkend@kbin.social
    241·
    1 year ago

    Don’t generalize whatever distro you’re running as “Linux”, especially when we’re talking package management.

    • mFat@lemdro.idOPEnglish
      08·
      1 year ago

      Isn’t this the case with all major distros at least?

      • cyanarchy@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        91·
        1 year ago

        As far as I know, Ubuntu is unique in its insistence on snaps. I can’t really speak for any others but my system runs fine entirely on native or locally compiled packages known to my package manager.