How to Uninstall Softwares From Ubuntu?

Ubuntu packages are available from different sources. As Ubuntu’s official repository contains a limited number of packages, therefore, the other packages are installed from different sources, i.e., using PPA, using .deb files, and using AppImage. If the installed package is no more useful, then it must be removed to vacate some space on the system and get rid of the useless dependencies. To do so, the user must follow the appropriate uninstallation method for that particular type of software. Considering this, we have compiled this post to demonstrate all the possible methods to uninstall the software from Ubuntu.

The content of this write-up is as follows:

Let’s get started.

How to Uninstall apt Based Packages From Ubuntu?

In Ubuntu (Debian-based distributions), the apt package manager is used to handle the packages of Ubuntu. These packages can be uninstalled using CLI (or GUI).

Let’s check these methods to uninstall the apt packages in Ubuntu:

Using CLI

There are various apt-based commands that are used to remove packages. This section will demonstrate all those commands with their practical implementation. Let’s get into it:

Remove the Package (only executable files)

The following command will only remove the executable files of curl utility, while it will keep the dependencies and the configuration files:

$ sudo apt remove curl

Remove the Software With its Configuration Files

To remove the apt packages with their configuration files, apt purge command can be used. In our case, we are applying this command on “audacity” software:

$ sudo apt purge audacity

Remove the Software Alongside its Dependencies

Apart from that, the autoremove command can also be used to remove the dependencies and libraries associated with that package. For instance, the below command will remove the “woeusb” package with all its dependencies: 

$ sudo apt autoremove woeusb

Remove the Package with dependencies/libraries and Configuration Files

There is on combo command provided by the apt package manager. When the “autoremove” and “purge” options are used in a single command, all the package’s associated files are removed. As an example, we used the following command to remove all the associated files and the “woeusb” package itself:

$ sudo apt autoremove woeusb --purge

Moreover, if you want to list down the installed softwares, you can run the below-stated command:

$ apt list --installed

Note: When any package is installed using the PPA repository, then its removal is the same as of any apt package. Therefore, you can uninstall any PPA-based package using one of the methods mentioned above. 

Using GUI

The GUI support of the packages obtained from the official repository is available in the Ubuntu Software Center. The steps to uninstall the package using Ubuntu Software Center are demonstrated below:

Open Ubuntu Software Center from the Dock Panel as follows:

Go to the “Installed” tab and locate the package you want to remove:

 Once the package is found, click on the “Uninstall” button placed with the name of the package: 

Confirm the uninstallation by clicking on the “uninstall” option from the pop-up:

The respective software will be uninstalled from the system.

How to Uninstall Debian Packages From Ubuntu?

The Debian package files are available to install for any Debian-based distribution. They are installed using the “dpkg” or the “apt” package manager. Similarly, they can also be installed using the “dpkg” and “apt” package managers. Let’s dig into the practical implementation of these package managers to remove/uninstall the Debian package files.

Using CLI

The Debian package file can be removed using the “dpkg” and the “apt” package manager. Let’s have a look at these methods separately:

Using dpkg

To remove any Debian package using the dpkg command, the following syntax is utilized:

$ sudo dpkg -r [package-name]

For instance, the command provided below will remove the “skype” from the system:

$ sudo dpkg -r skypeforlinux

Using apt

The apt package manager can also be utilized to uninstall applications from Ubuntu following one of the syntaxes provided below:

To remove executable files of a package only:  

$ sudo apt remove [package-name]

To remove configuration files and executables:

$ sudo apt purge [package-name]

To remove dependencies and executables:

$ sudo apt autoremove [package-name]

To remove everything (configuration files, dependencies, libraries, and executables) about the Package:

$ sudo apt autoremove [package-name] --purge

Let’s see how a “.deb” file can be removed using GUI.

Using GUI

The “GDebi” utility removes the “.deb” files from Ubuntu. This utility is not installed by default. To install it, use the below-stated command:

$ sudo apt install gdebi

Once it is installed, it can be searched from the applications menu as follows:

Open the GDebi Package:

Click on the file tab and open the .deb file of the application and then click on the remove package button:

It will ask the password of your operating system to uninstall the package:

The Debian package will be removed as shown in the below image:

How to Uninstall Snap Packages From Ubuntu?

Snap packages are applications that don’t require any modifications to use them. Snaps (packages available at the snap store) can be uninstalled using the CLI or the Ubuntu software center. Below is the guidance for both methods.

Using CLI

The command syntax to remove any snap from Ubuntu is provided below:

$ sudo snap remove [snap name]

The “snap name” represents the name of the package installed from the snap store. As an example, the VLC package is being removed using the following command:

$ sudo snap remove vlc

You can get the list of installed snaps on your system via the following command:

$ sudo snap list

Using GUI

Ubuntu Software Center offers the GUI support to install/remove snap packages. To uninstall a snap package, use the following step-by-step procedure:

Open Ubuntu Software Center by searching it inside the Applications menu:

Now, you may either search for the package from the search bar of the Ubuntu Software Center or you can go to the “Installed” tab and manually search the package then click on the delete icon:

Click on the “Uninstall”:

Uninstallation will require the authentication of the user:

Once the authentication is successful, the respective package will be removed from the system.

How to Uninstall Flatpak Packages From Ubuntu?

Flatpak is another utility that can fetch the applications from the flathub remote and install them on the respective Linux distribution. To uninstall any Flatpak package from Ubuntu, the following syntax is used:

$ sudo flatpak uninstall [Applicaion id]

For instance, the command provided below will uninstall the telegram application from Ubuntu:

$ sudo flatpak uninstall org.telegram.desktop

You can list down all installed flatpak packages using the following command:

$ sudo flatpak list 

That’s it from this guide.

Conclusion

In Ubuntu, the terminal is the main utility through which the packages/software are uninstalled. The uninstallation commands vary from package to package. Like, the packages installed from the official repository can be removed using the “apt remove” command. Whereas the “.deb” packages can be removed using the “apt remove” and “dpkg ” package managers. Similarly, the snap packages can be uninstalled using the “snap remove” command. The flatpak packages can be removed using the “flatpak uninstall” command. This post has briefly explained the uninstallation method of all the above-stated packages.