Snap

Snap in Linux is a package format and also an application packaging ecosystem developed by Canonical (the company that develops Ubuntu).

Snap is a package format that contains an application + all its dependent libraries, so that the application can run independently on many Linux distributions.

Quick comparison:

Package type	Example	Main features
DEB	`.deb` (Ubuntu)	Classic package, system library dependencies
RPM	`.rpm` (Fedora...)	Like DEB but for Red Hat distro
Snap	No specific extension	Fully packaged, isolated, self-updating
Flatpak	`.flatpakref`	Similar to Snap, but developed by the community

Key points of Snap:

✅ Advantages:

Fully packaged: No external library dependencies → stable on many distros.
Automatic update: Snapd will automatically refresh the application (can be disabled).
Isolation (sandbox): Snap runs in a separate environment → more secure.
Easy to distribute: Developers build once, can be used on many Linux.

❌ Disadvantages:

Slower when opening the application for the first time
Takes up more space
Does not communicate well with the system (eg: ibus, some file managers)
Not friendly with GTK themes, icons...
Depends on the snapd service running in the background

If you are using Ubuntu (or Ubuntu-based like Pop!_OS, Zorin...), Snap is usually built-in. But some other distros (like Arch, Fedora) do not recommend using Snap, but prefer Flatpak or AppImage.