Firefox uninstalled itself :|
from LEVI@feddit.org to linux@lemmy.ml on 12 Feb 11:53
https://feddit.org/post/7892456

Firefox the flatpak version crashed and decided to remove itself from the system, is this common on Linux??

I checked thru Discover and terminal using whereis firefox and all I got is user/lib64/firefox

I should be mad, but I find this too hilarious to be mad… lol… files disappear not entire apps

#linux

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Strit@lemmy.linuxuserspace.show on 12 Feb 11:56 next collapse

If firefox is still in /usr/lib64/firefox, then it should still be there. Maybe just the .desktop file is removed?

Neptr@lemmy.blahaj.zone on 12 Feb 15:38 collapse

OP mentioned that it was the Flatpak version, which doesnt add anything to root owned parts of the filesystem.

kionite231@lemmy.ca on 12 Feb 11:56 next collapse

It’s… weird, did you do something that accidentally deleted firefox?

[deleted] on 12 Feb 12:55 collapse

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originalucifer@moist.catsweat.com on 12 Feb 11:57 next collapse

what distro?

[deleted] on 12 Feb 12:20 collapse

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whaleross@lemmy.world on 12 Feb 12:12 next collapse

Be honest. What did you say that offended Firefox so bad it decided to leave?

Diplomjodler3@lemmy.world on 12 Feb 12:37 next collapse

That he prefers Edge’s mother’s cooking.

ViscloReader@lemmy.world on 13 Feb 22:27 collapse

I too prefer to edge over his mom cooking

wewbull@feddit.uk on 12 Feb 12:39 collapse

When the questions you ask chatGPT even offend the browser you’re using!

papercut@lemmy.ml on 12 Feb 12:20 next collapse

You still have the binary then. Type firefox into the terminal.

[deleted] on 12 Feb 12:26 collapse

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Fisch@discuss.tchncs.de on 12 Feb 12:40 next collapse

What this person told you was wrong, you need to use flatpak run [package id] to run flatpak apps. You can do flatpak list to see all installed flatpaks with their ids. An id looks something like org.example.app and you’d run it with flatpak run org.example.app.

Also, is it shown as being installed in Discover? If it’s not you could try just installing it again and if it is, you can try uninstalling it first. The user data for Firefox should stay intact.

BlueSquid0741@lemmy.sdf.org on 12 Feb 19:57 collapse

And if ever unsure, look up Firefox on flathub; every app page shows the command line instructions for installing and for running it.

atzanteol@sh.itjust.works on 12 Feb 13:50 next collapse

Bash will cache command locations so it doesn’t need to scan your path too frequently. You can clear it with “hash -r”.

See the other comment about running flatpaks - it’s their fatal flaw imho.

notanapple@lemm.ee on 13 Feb 18:18 collapse

its flatpak run org.mozilla.firefox

asudox@lemmy.asudox.dev on 12 Feb 12:23 next collapse

Did it really uninstall itself? Run this command and check whether you can see Firefox’s ID or not:

flatpak list
just_another_person@lemmy.world on 12 Feb 12:29 next collapse

More than likely it was a failed package transition that failed. You were running one version, an update triggered, something went wrong, and your data folders got orphaned. You can try running a repair on the package, but they usually fail the same way.

[deleted] on 12 Feb 13:24 collapse

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just_another_person@lemmy.world on 12 Feb 13:57 next collapse

No. Sometimes package managers run into issues though. It’s rare, but it’s possible. If you had been updating on the CLI you would have seen the problem.

stevedice@sh.itjust.works on 13 Feb 16:48 collapse

Fedora discourages updating through the CLI.

just_another_person@lemmy.world on 13 Feb 16:49 collapse

Not true at all. It wouldn’t matter anyway, because the GUIs in Fedora shell out to the underlying CLI anyway.

stevedice@sh.itjust.works on 13 Feb 17:06 collapse

First, it’s true. Secondly, it matters a lot because there’s no fool proof way to update through the CLI that takes into account all of the software delivery methods that exist today so you could do use dnf to upgrade daily and still have old flatpak or viceversa. That’s exactly why Fedora recommends updating through the GUI.

irotsoma@lemmy.blahaj.zone on 12 Feb 14:50 collapse

Anytime there is an update, files are often deleted during that process so they can be replaced with new files or because those files are no longer part of the new version being installed. If an error occurs during this process, it is possible that an application will appear not to be installed because it’s broken.

Anyway, most software does at least partially “uninstall” when it is updating, so if the install fails, then it’s always possible that an update will have uninstalled something. That’s just updates regardless of operating systems, package managers, etc.

Xiisadaddy@lemmygrad.ml on 12 Feb 18:36 next collapse

i avoid using flatpaks if i can. recently had to migrate mine from the root partition to home partition cuz they had filled my root partition space.

Broadfern@lemmy.world on 12 Feb 18:47 next collapse

I don’t have any advice for this exact problem but if it’s any consolation Firefox has randomly gotten offended at my video drivers and bricked my build. Multiple times. I use Librewolf when I can now.

That is hilarious though, sending frustrated IT vibes your way in both empathy and hopes it’ll help you reach the critical mass of superstition for the problem to fix itself before you have to threaten to take a hammer to it.

Artopal@lemmy.ml on 12 Feb 20:25 next collapse

And that’s why I don’t use flatpaks. Nothing like that has ever happened to me.

[deleted] on 12 Feb 21:24 collapse

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Neptr@lemmy.blahaj.zone on 12 Feb 22:30 collapse

Actually, in the case of a web browser, Flatpak weakens both Firefox’s and Chromium’s internal sandboxing, possibly allowing for breaking of cross-site or site-host boundaries. Firefox is even weaker then Chromium as a Flatpak because it can’t use the zypak fork server. Both are weakened, best to avoid.

For basically any other app, Flatpak can be beneficial as a sandbox.

Basically, don’t sandbox browsers because its like wearing 2 condoms. The only sandboxing tool I know that doesn’t interfere with the browser’s sandbox (and also doesnt allow for the possibility of privilege escalation, like Firejail) is Bubblejail

PS: Since you mentioned you are on Fedora, Bubblejail is offered through this COPR repo from the Secureblue team. It provides a sandbox without interfering with the browser’s sandbox. It comes with profiles for Firefox and Chromium. Only issue ive experienced is that the sandbox works, aka it means I can’t access files from my home directory unless explicitly given permission to a folder.

[deleted] on 13 Feb 17:53 collapse

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corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca on 12 Feb 21:06 next collapse

As someone formerly involved in security at the enterprise OS development scope, I consider one less Flatpak to be an improvement in security and consistency.

Well done!

[deleted] on 12 Feb 21:38 next collapse

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sunzu2@thebrainbin.org on 13 Feb 05:30 next collapse

It would be nice if @corsicanguppy clarified

communist@lemmy.frozeninferno.xyz on 13 Feb 06:03 collapse

people say this all the time but the reasons they give are always nonsense in my experience, sandboxing alone makes flatpak better

Itsapersonn@lemmy.dbzer0.com on 13 Feb 23:22 collapse

I would be interested in knowing why. Isn’t the sandboxing supposed to make security better?

AndrewZabar@lemmy.world on 13 Feb 14:37 next collapse

Firefox is still extremely messy on Linux. It’s split between multiple platform types (flatpak, deb, snap) and I’ve seen multiple parts start to branch off on their own due to some fault. It’s really weird. Can’t even describe it. Why can’t they just do things simply.

Decker108@lemmy.ml on 13 Feb 14:44 next collapse

Damn, that’s tough. Have you heard about our lord and savior Ubuntu and it’s blessed snap version of Firefox?

mvirts@lemmy.world on 13 Feb 16:22 next collapse

🤣

[deleted] on 13 Feb 17:50 collapse

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the_doktor@lemmy.zip on 13 Feb 17:18 collapse

No, because it doesn’t happen. Guaranteed your storage device or some other hardware component is having problems that is corrupting your drive.

[deleted] on 13 Feb 17:42 collapse

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