snapcraft | Ubuntu

Igor Ljubuncic
25 February 2022

Three ways to package your Electron apps as snaps

Article Ubuntu

Software comes in many shapes and forms. One of the popular cross-platform, cross-architecture frameworks for building and distributing applications in Electron, which combines the Chromium rendering engine and the Node.js runtime. This makes Electron-based applications relatively easy to create. If you want to deploy...

Igor Ljubuncic
25 February 2022

Igor Ljubuncic
8 February 2022

How Snapcraft helps developers map out their application dependencies and efficiently build snaps

Article Ubuntu

One of the core concepts of snaps is cross-distro compatibility. Developers can build their snaps once, and they should run well on more than 40 different Linux distros. But how does one take care of all the required runtime dependencies? By providing them inside the snap, as part of the bundle. In the snap ecosystem,

Igor Ljubuncic
8 February 2022

Igor Ljubuncic
21 January 2022

Let’s build a snap together – a complex snapcraft.yaml walkthrough

Article Ubuntu

It has been a while since we talked about how to build snaps. In the past, we went through a number of detailed examples, focused on different programming languages and the use of various useful components that can be declared in snapcraft.yaml, like extensions, stage packages, layouts, and more. Today, we want to give you

Igor Ljubuncic
21 January 2022

Igor Ljubuncic
7 January 2022

The Future of Snapcraft

Article Ubuntu

System hysteresis, when applied to software, can roughly be defined as an overall lag between desired implementation of code and actual implementation of said code. Ideally, this delay should be minimal, and programmers would be able to make instantaneous changes and improvements to their applications. In reality,...

Igor Ljubuncic
7 January 2022

Igor Ljubuncic
3 December 2021

Ubuntu Frame – A picture is worth a thousand snaps

Article Internet of Things

The development of graphical applications intended for use on IoT devices isn’t trivial. The complexity goes beyond the usual challenges that exist in the classic desktop and server domains. One, the IoT world is much less mature. Two, developers need to take into consideration various edge cases that do not apply to...

Igor Ljubuncic
3 December 2021

Igor Ljubuncic
26 November 2021

Craft Parts – Reusable code, Snapcraft style

Article Ubuntu

Throughout the ages, humans have always used simpler tools and materials to create more complex ones. Wood and stone for smelting bronze and iron; iron to create steel; vacuum tubes to create logical gates; logical gates to create advanced arithmetic engines, and so on. Modern software is no different. With Snapcraft in...

Igor Ljubuncic
26 November 2021

Igor Ljubuncic
12 November 2021

Snapcraft offline mode – Build snaps while saving data

Article Ubuntu

As part of the snap creation cycle, the Snapcraft tool creates isolated build instances inside which all of the necessary work – download of sources, compilation, packaging, etc. – is done in a safe manner, without touching the host system. While there are many advantages to the use of the virtual machines (via Multipass) or

Igor Ljubuncic
12 November 2021

Igor Ljubuncic
20 October 2021

Snapcraft experimental login – new, secure Web-based authentication method

Article Ubuntu

Some Snapcraft operations mandate that users identify themselves. For example, if you want to push your snap to the Snap Store, you need to login on the command line. The process relies on the internal login mechanism built into Snapcraft. A preview functionality for a new Web-based authentication flow is available as...

Igor Ljubuncic
20 October 2021

Igor Ljubuncic
8 October 2021

How to make snaps faster

Article Ubuntu

A great user experience is (or at least, should be) an integral part of any software that involves user interaction. On the desktop, this starts with the application launch, and continues through the session. The overall time to completion of tasks as well as interactive responsiveness are a core element in this...

Igor Ljubuncic
8 October 2021

Igor Ljubuncic
3 September 2021

Snapcraft 6.0 is around the corner

Article Ubuntu

A good sign of maturity and confidence in software is when said software utilizes its own components for future development and enablement. Snapcraft is a command-line utility that allows developers to package and distribute their applications as snaps. But Snapcraft itself is also distributed as a snap, and built in...

Igor Ljubuncic
3 September 2021

Igor Ljubuncic
20 August 2021

Snap usage metrics now available on the command line

Article Ubuntu

For years now, developers and publishers could view how well their snaps are performing in terms of usage and popularity through the Snap Store Web interface, using the metrics tab. This functionality allows people to examine the cause and effect of their work, like software updates, marketing campaigns, or other...

Igor Ljubuncic
20 August 2021

Igor Ljubuncic
13 August 2021

Snapcraft for Windows – Preview

Article Ubuntu

Two weeks ago, Snapcraft reached its fifth milestone release, 5.0. This version brings in a number of significant changes, including the removal of the base (core) snap, which has been relegated to the 4.X channel track. For snap developers, especially those working in mixed environments, the availability of the first...

Igor Ljubuncic
13 August 2021

Igor Ljubuncic
7 May 2021

The snap developer’s guide on how to migrate to new bases

Article Apps

A couple of weeks ago, we published an article about Ubuntu 16.04 entering Extended Security Maintenance (ESM), and the implications of this change for snap publishers. We talked about the different options available to developers and publishers who still may rely on the older bases in their build process – free Ubuntu...

Igor Ljubuncic
7 May 2021

Igor Ljubuncic
23 April 2021

Better snap metadata handling coming your way soon

Article Ubuntu

Open the Snap Store, click on any application you like – you will now see a page full of useful tidbits – screenshots and videos, application description, last update, license, contact data, and other information. The data shown here is often the first impression the user gets about the software, and can be a deciding

Igor Ljubuncic
23 April 2021

Blog posts tagged "snapcraft"

Blog posts tagged
"snapcraft"