Ubuntu 26.04: Complete Guide to Removing Snap and Migrating to Flatpak + APT

Ubuntu 26.04: Say Goodbye to Snap and Switch to Flatpak + APT

Ubuntu 26.04 LTS comes with pre-installed Snap packages. Slow Firefox startup, sluggish Software Store, and background resource usage by snapd can impact your workflow. This guide walks you through completely uninstalling Snap, installing alternatives via APT and Flatpak, and blocking Snap from returning. Reading time: ~6 minutes.

🛑 Why Say Goodbye to Snap?

#

Common pain points include:

Snap is no longer optional; Ubuntu 26.04 installs core apps like Firefox and the Software Store as Snaps, with hooks to auto-reinstall snapd.

📦 What Snaps Are Pre-installed?

#

snap list

Typical output:

Total usage: 600MB+. Switching to DEB + Flatpak can cut this by more than half.

🔧 Method 1: Manual Removal + APT/Flatpak Alternatives

#

Step 1: Remove all Snap packages

#

snap list
for p in $(snap list | awk '!/^Name|^snapd$/{print $1}'); do
  sudo snap remove "$p"
done
sudo snap remove core22
sudo snap remove snapd

Check for clean removal: No snaps are installed yet.

Step 2: Uninstall snapd + cleanup

#

sudo systemctl stop snapd
sudo systemctl disable --now snapd.socket
sudo apt autoremove --purge snapd -y
rm -rf ~/snap
sudo rm -rf /snap /var/snap /var/lib/snapd /var/cache/snapd

Step 3: Install APT alternatives

#

Firefox DEB Version:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mozillateam/ppa -y
sudo tee /etc/apt/preferences.d/mozillateam-firefox.pref << 'EOF'
Package: firefox*
Pin: release o=LP-PPA-mozillateam
Pin-Priority: 501
EOF
sudo apt update
sudo apt install firefox -y

Software Store (DEB Version):

sudo apt install gnome-software -y

Step 4: Install Flatpak

#

sudo apt install flatpak -y
flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

Popular Flatpak apps:

flatpak install flathub com.spotify.Client -y
flatpak install flathub com.obsproject.Studio -y
flatpak install flathub org.telegram.desktop -y

Step 5: Prevent Snap from returning

#

sudo tee /etc/apt/preferences.d/no-snapd.pref << 'EOF'
Package: snapd
Pin: release a=*
Pin-Priority: -10
EOF

sudo tee /etc/apt/preferences.d/no-firefox-snap.pref << 'EOF'
Package: firefox
Pin: release a=*
Pin-Priority: -10
EOF

Verify: apt policy snapd → should show (none).

⚡ Method 2: One-Click Migration with unsnap

#

unsnap automates Snap-to-Flatpak migration.

git clone https://github.com/popey/unsnap
cd unsnap
./unsnap auto   # Automatic execution

Scripts handle backup, Flatpak installation, enabling Flathub, replacing Snaps, and uninstalling snapd.

Limitations:

• Only maps ~219 apps automatically.
• Does not migrate app data.
• No rollback; backup beforehand is recommended.

✅ Manual vs unsnap

#

Tip: For most users, manually replacing Firefox and Software Store is cleanest.

📊 System Changes: Before vs After

#

📝 Quick Cheat Sheet

#

# Remove all Snaps
for p in $(snap list | awk '!/^Name/{print $1}'); do sudo snap remove "$p"; done
sudo apt autoremove --purge snapd -y
rm -rf ~/snap; sudo rm -rf /snap /var/snap /var/lib/snapd /var/cache/snapd

# Install DEB Alternatives
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mozillateam/ppa -y
sudo tee /etc/apt/preferences.d/mozillateam-firefox.pref << 'EOF'
Package: firefox*
Pin: release o=LP-PPA-mozillateam
Pin-Priority: 501
EOF
sudo apt update && sudo apt install firefox gnome-software -y

# Install Flatpak
sudo apt install flatpak -y
flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

# Block Snap
sudo tee /etc/apt/preferences.d/no-snapd.pref << 'EOF'
Package: snapd
Pin: release a=*
Pin-Priority: -10
EOF
sudo tee /etc/apt/preferences.d/no-firefox-snap.pref << 'EOF'
Package: firefox
Pin: release a=*
Pin-Priority: -10
EOF

With these steps, you can fully remove Snap in under 5 minutes and switch to a cleaner, faster, and open alternative system.