Linux Format

Install and manage apps in Ubuntu distros

What is Linux without the various applications and programs you run on it? There’s a rich collection of programs covering just about every aspect of your computing life waiting to be discovered, and in this tutorial we’ll reveal everything you need to know about tracking down apps and installing them, along with removing unwanted programs when you’re done with them and ensuring Ubuntu (and its spin-offs) cleans up behind itself.

Where to find apps

The first place to start looking for apps is your distro’s software centre; in Ubuntu it’s easily accessible from the Favourites bar. This provides a convenient graphical frontend to all the software repositories installed on your PC. Repositories are convenient storage locations for finding, installing and updating software on your PC, and come in the form of ‘package lists’, which include the package names and version numbers.

When you first launch you’ll see a home page providing shortcuts to six categories of application, along with some recommendations. Click one to read a description and view ratings and reviews – pay particular attention to the Details section, where you’ll be warned if an app requires ‘unconfined’ access to all personal files and

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