3 ms·

I was running debian stable for the last few years (until a few days ago, due to a brand new laptop ...) and was perfectly happy with the Firefox linux build ta

I was running debian stable for the last few years (until a few days ago, due to a brand new laptop ...) and was perfectly happy with the Firefox linux build tarballs: 1. untar as root into /opt 2. symlink /opt/firefox/firefox to /usr/local/bin/firefox 3. compose a 13-line firefox.desktop and put in ~/.local/share/applications/ Only the first step needs to be repeated when there is a new release.

jeroenhd 3y ago
I'm on Ubuntu so I'm also using the tarballs. I wouldn't want to have to update it manually every time, though. Instead, I've extracted Firefox into ~/.local/opt/firefox and the auto-updater works as expected. I'll definitely switch to the apt distribution down the line, though. Package management is one of the main reasons why I use Linux in the first place.
- ploxiln 3y ago
  Yeah, that's a fine choice, to also get the Windows/Mac self-update experience ... as a somewhat philosophical matter, I don't like apps that self-update, I prefer if it's mostly impossible for the app to modify itself, and reserved for some separate privileged mechanism. (So the apt package repo way is also good, given a trustworthy source providing the desired versions.)
- AnonCoward42 3y ago
  Beware that on Ubuntu the apt version is actually only a shim to the snap install. (Edit: at least on latest LTS and above and default repositories)
  - Sander_Marechal 3y ago
    I think OP meant switching to the Mozilla APT when they offer stable alongside nightly. Not switching to the snap-ed Ubuntu version.
    - blacksmith_tb 3y ago
      They do offer the beta channel[1], if that's not too edgy. 1: https://launchpad.net/~mozillateam/+archive/ubuntu/firefox-next https://launchpad.net/~mozillateam/+archive/ubuntu/firefox-n...
  - jeroenhd 3y ago
    Indeed, that's why I switched to extracted binaries now and why I'm hoping to go back to Mozilla's own repo soon.
  - DistractionRect 3y ago
    Yeah, the switch was super apparent to me because the snap version is painfully slow to open and sluggish in general. Switching back to binaries was night and day.
- jancsika 3y ago
  Why switch? You're currently already using Firefox's own auto-updater. Since you've already done the manual set up, Debian's package manager would add nothing AFAICT.
  - jeroenhd 3y ago
    I have two users on my system so I have two auto-updating Firefoxes which is slightly annoying. I also use Timeshift to take snapshots every time I update software, so the more software I can integrate into that, the better. The auto-updater is better than Snap, but I'd rather use as few alternative package management solutions as possible.
Almondsetat 3y ago
> compose a 13-line firefox.desktop and put in ~/.local/share/applications/ And that’s where the problem lies. Apt has great documentation, creating .desktop files and their syntax? Not so much
- vorpalhex 3y ago
  You have an entire computers worth of example .desktop files. Copy one and change the relevant fields.
- imran-iq 3y ago
  > creating .desktop files and their syntax? Not so much This took me less than 2 seconds to find. https://specifications.freedesktop.org/desktop-entry-spec/desktop-entry-spec-latest.html https://specifications.freedesktop.org/desktop-entry-spec/de...
- e2le 3y ago
  Setting Firefox as the default browser will force it to generate a .desktop in "~/.local/share/applications/".
regularfry 3y ago
There used to be a not-inconsiderable speed benefit to building your own binaries, which I don't remember being that hard. Don't know if that's still true.
throw555chip 3y ago
I downloaded the tar to my user account Downloads dir, unpack and run from there. Created a launcher in KDE. I use Help > About and it checks for updates, pulls any and updates and tells me to restart Firefox, works great. Wish Mozilla would put Firefox in Ubuntu repos like Thunderbird. Makes me wonder if Mozilla gets a kickback from Canonical to diss Ubuntu users and make them think snap is the only way to run Firefox.

jeroenhd 3y ago

I'm on Ubuntu so I'm also using the tarballs. I wouldn't want to have to update it manually every time, though. Instead, I've extracted Firefox into ~/.local/opt/firefox and the auto-updater works as expected. I'll definitely switch to the apt distribution down the line, though. Package management is one of the main reasons why I use Linux in the first place.

ploxiln 3y ago
Yeah, that's a fine choice, to also get the Windows/Mac self-update experience ... as a somewhat philosophical matter, I don't like apps that self-update, I prefer if it's mostly impossible for the app to modify itself, and reserved for some separate privileged mechanism. (So the apt package repo way is also good, given a trustworthy source providing the desired versions.)
AnonCoward42 3y ago
Beware that on Ubuntu the apt version is actually only a shim to the snap install. (Edit: at least on latest LTS and above and default repositories)
- Sander_Marechal 3y ago
  I think OP meant switching to the Mozilla APT when they offer stable alongside nightly. Not switching to the snap-ed Ubuntu version.
  - blacksmith_tb 3y ago
    They do offer the beta channel[1], if that's not too edgy. 1: https://launchpad.net/~mozillateam/+archive/ubuntu/firefox-next https://launchpad.net/~mozillateam/+archive/ubuntu/firefox-n...
- jeroenhd 3y ago
  Indeed, that's why I switched to extracted binaries now and why I'm hoping to go back to Mozilla's own repo soon.
- DistractionRect 3y ago
  Yeah, the switch was super apparent to me because the snap version is painfully slow to open and sluggish in general. Switching back to binaries was night and day.
jancsika 3y ago
Why switch? You're currently already using Firefox's own auto-updater. Since you've already done the manual set up, Debian's package manager would add nothing AFAICT.
- jeroenhd 3y ago
  I have two users on my system so I have two auto-updating Firefoxes which is slightly annoying. I also use Timeshift to take snapshots every time I update software, so the more software I can integrate into that, the better. The auto-updater is better than Snap, but I'd rather use as few alternative package management solutions as possible.

Almondsetat 3y ago

> compose a 13-line firefox.desktop and put in ~/.local/share/applications/ And that’s where the problem lies. Apt has great documentation, creating .desktop files and their syntax? Not so much

vorpalhex 3y ago
You have an entire computers worth of example .desktop files. Copy one and change the relevant fields.
imran-iq 3y ago
> creating .desktop files and their syntax? Not so much This took me less than 2 seconds to find. https://specifications.freedesktop.org/desktop-entry-spec/desktop-entry-spec-latest.html https://specifications.freedesktop.org/desktop-entry-spec/de...
e2le 3y ago
Setting Firefox as the default browser will force it to generate a .desktop in "~/.local/share/applications/".

regularfry 3y ago

There used to be a not-inconsiderable speed benefit to building your own binaries, which I don't remember being that hard. Don't know if that's still true.

throw555chip 3y ago

I downloaded the tar to my user account Downloads dir, unpack and run from there. Created a launcher in KDE. I use Help > About and it checks for updates, pulls any and updates and tells me to restart Firefox, works great. Wish Mozilla would put Firefox in Ubuntu repos like Thunderbird. Makes me wonder if Mozilla gets a kickback from Canonical to diss Ubuntu users and make them think snap is the only way to run Firefox.