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I wish there was a right click install button for deb files
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this post was submitted on 26 Jun 2025
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I really don't understand why it's not more streamlined, it should work like an exe where I just click it and it installs and handles dependencies automatically.
Installing a random .deb comes with enormous security implications. I am not sure that making the process more beginner friendly is a really good idea.
"Beginner friendly" should be limited to things from the main repositories, and for that there is the Software Center.
What linux does and does not protect the user from is endlessly hilarious to me.
Hey linux, I want to install a file you downloaded.
Linux: Sounds risky man
I'd like my file explorer to have super user privleges.
Linux: Are you out of your god damned mind?
Hey linux, I want to delete the kernel that I'm actively using right now.
Linux: Hell yeah. I'll go to the looney bin with you.
Not any more dangerous than installing a random exe. And a GUI that opens when you click one could explain that danger much better than what currently happens: people blindly use sudo dpkg and that's it.
That is fair, I suppose being able to click and run stuff like Appimages has less security issues because in theory they are isolated? But don't the appimages get to decide their own permissions?
It's not any more secure. The point that "installing random debs is insecure" has been running around for at least the last 16 years I've been a Linux user.
While it's technically true, AppImages are as secure as random debs. Same with random repositories that are not provided by your system. Same with flatpaks.
And unless you're an extremely basic user, you'll eventually have to install an application not in your repositories. The method doesn't really matter, it's all equally (in)secure.
It's the same thing with .exe on windows. It's potentially dangerous and people need to be mindful what they download and install.
@MangoPenguin @RommieDroid It’s more so that the people working on “beginner friendly” Linux distros are pushing users towards Software Centers/App stores these days.
Those of us who are familiar with the old ways don’t really have much trouble, but there’s stuff that is a big pain, like #LibreOffice
Installing the latest version of that is easier to do in the terminal and can’t be done as conveniently as what you propose, though I wish it was that easy.
@bryceac @MangoPenguin @RommieDroid LibreOffice is certainly an exception. One deb, no problem, but a whole screen full of them? And just running dpkg -i may get you two instances depending on the update? I finally went for flatpak on this one.
@demerara @MangoPenguin @RommieDroid I just try to find the current way to uninstall the preloaded version and then run dpkg -i *.deb in the extracted directory for the latest, but I can kind of see how that can be possible.
I'm not so sure about those beginner-friendly distros, they seem a little doggy and miss out on the massive work that the Debian and Ubuntu teams do that a smaller team can not. Snap is good for small, one time use or untrusted apps. But most of the time, its performance is really slow. It needs some work.
@RommieDroid Most of them are based on Ubuntu, such as Mint and the stagnated Pop! OS.
I can’t say what they are all like, but Ubuntu and its family are all the ones adopting a software center/App store these days.
In the past, I remember using Synaptic for searching for software, which was just a GUI front end for APT.
I’ve been using Nala lately in my VMs though.