this post was submitted on 17 Apr 2026
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(Rant) Linux really needs to do a better job with package management... (lemmy.zip)
submitted 8 hours ago by ramble81@lemmy.zip to c/linux@lemmy.world
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A sample journey when trying to install software:

  • Try your distros repos, it’s either not there or an older version
  • Oh wait, you need to add their repo to your list and try again
  • Actually, they don’t have a repo, but you can install this deb/rpm from their site
  • Nevermind, it actually needs to be installed with pip to get the latest version
  • Or wait, it was actually a rust package and needs cargo
  • Well, this package is available as a snap
  • Screw it, I’ll just build it from source…. Except the dependencies I need take me through the entire journey again

It’s crazy with a large package like mesa. It uses meson, which requires it be installed via pip, and also needs rust which is best installed via a snap, but then there are dependencies it needs that require multiple paths…

On Windows: find the msi or exe and be done with it.

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[–] Libb@piefed.social 3 points 5 hours ago

A sample journey when trying to install software:

I guess it mostly depends the type of apps one wishes to install.

On Windows: find the msi or exe and be done with it.

Linux is certainly not perfect but:

  • sudo apt install list-of-all-the apps-I-need makes it so easy to install all my apps on a new system. And for the rare few apps I need a more recent version than the one that is provided through the official repos, I can just flatpak install list-of-the-few-flatpaks-I-want. I don't even have to type those commands, I keep a text file listing them and all the apps names.
  • coupled with the ease of making backups (and of restoring them), just with with a couple command lines (be it my personal files or settings and config files)...

Well, that plus the freedom I have to do whatever I fancy with my OS, without its maker having anything to say about it, make it so much better in my eyes than the proprietary OS I used to use (I was a Mac user more than I ever was a Windows user, but it's no secret Mac apps were even simpler to install than on Windows)

I also use a PPA for a rather niche app, never had any issue with it.