Firefox cannot be started after upgrading to Kubuntu 22.04 release

[zoli62]

After upgrading to Kubuntu 22.04 Firefox could not be started. When I started Firefox in terminal I got this error message. ERROR: not connected to the gnome-3-38-2004 content interface. I found a solution here. https://askubuntu.com/questions/1410...n-ubuntu-22-04 Firefox could then be started normally.

Here comes the surprise. I uninstalled the Firefox snap version, and Firefox did not disappear from the KDE menu, but I was able to start it the same way as before. I then deleted Firefox from the KDE menu and reinstalled the snap version of Firefox. After the reinstallation, Firefox did not appear in the KDE menu, but I found it in the search field. Then I reproduced this error: I removed Firefox again. In the search field of the KDE menu I found the Firefox web browser, which I was able to launch again, even though the Firefox snap version was uninstalled. What could be the reason for this?

[jlittle]

If you run "firefox" in a konsole, you may get more information.

[zoli62]

Yes, I mentioned what the error message was in my opening post.

[jlittle]

Sorry, I (somewhat absent-mindedly) confused your problem with another.

I expect you've got a non-snap firefox installed, and that when you install the snap, it is found in your path ($PATH in bash) ahead of the non-snap version. On my desktop PC the firefox.desktop files have the line beginning "Exec=firefox" (except one that runs /snap/bin/firefox), which means "firefox" is looked up in your path. If you start a konsole, and run type firefox you will see what firefox that is, assuming your login scripts don't muck about with your path much (mine do a lot).

Typing "firefox" into to krunner (alt-space) can give hints, too.

[zoli62]

Sorry, I (somewhat absent-mindedly) confused your problem with another.

I expect you've got a non-snap firefox installed, and that when you install the snap, it is found in your path ($PATH in bash) ahead of the non-snap version. On my desktop PC the firefox.desktop files have the line beginning "Exec=firefox" (except one that runs /snap/bin/firefox), which means "firefox" is looked up in your path. If you start a konsole, and run type firefox you will see what firefox that is, assuming your login scripts don't muck about with your path much (mine do a lot).

Typing "firefox" into to krunner (alt-space) can give hints, too.

When I run Firefox in a terminal, it says it is the snap version. When I uninstall the snap-based Firefox, I think the normal, deb Firefox is running, but I don't remember that for sure, I'll check.

Update1: I deleted everything related to Firefox.

sudo purge firefox*.

After that, only the snap version remained. They say the snap version of Firefox is slower than the packaged version, but much more secure. I didn't notice a significant speed difference between the two. What do you think about this?

[kc1di]

The snap is usually slower to launch on the first run after that the difference here is not noticeable. The reason I believe is because on the initial run it's setting up the sandboxing, etc.

[zoli62]

The snap is usually slower to launch on the first run after that the difference here is not noticeable. The reason I believe is because on the initial run it's setting up the sandboxing, etc.

We will see how Firefox will behave in the future. I rarely use it, rather only when there is a website that looks best in Firefox. We will also see how Cannonical will use snap instead of apt in the further development of Ubuntu.