Can you uninstall and completely remove Firefox

[karlchen]

When uninstalling any software through the APT software management tools (e.g. uxing MXPI, Synaptic, apt-get, apt, aptitude), the application itself will be uninstalled from the system.
In no case, anything will be removed from any user's home directory as well.
This is by design.

[Eadwine Rose]

If you use synaptic, complete remove including config files, usually deletes it all. But cannot hurt to check if hidden files are indeed gone.

[Stevo]

If you want to get rid of its settings, cache, etc., you'll need to also remove the hidden .mozilla folder in your home directory.

Code: Select all

rm -rf ~/.mozilla

I find this disturbing, 'Synaptic --> right click on Firefox and mark for complete removal' wont do that?!

*nux was designed as a multi-user system from the start. I would find it disturbing if some other user on the system that had admin privileges could wipe out my personal settings by default. Don't other operating systems also preserve user settings by default, though?

The Bleachbit program allows you to clean out most personal browser stuff from there. Don't run it as root unless you really know what it does.

[RedGreen925]

If you want to get rid of its settings, cache, etc., you'll need to also remove the hidden .mozilla folder in your home directory.

Code: Select all

rm -rf ~/.mozilla

I find this disturbing, 'Synaptic --> right click on Firefox and mark for complete removal' wont do that?!

The system knows nothing about user generated files, it only deletes the files it installed then only completely with the --purge option used. If the --purge, complete removal Synaptic terminology, is not used when removing on command line then it leaves those system configuration files around too.

[Pretty Vacant]

only completely with the --purge option used.

Thanks for the explanation. In my world 'completely remove' means, well , 'completely remove'. But yeah i'm not an OS.

[RedGreen925]

only completely with the --purge option used.

Thanks for the explanation. In my world 'completely remove' means, well , 'completely remove'. But yeah i'm not an OS.

It is in the man apt page but no one ever reads them things.

Removing a package removes all packaged data, but leaves usually
small (modified) user configuration files behind, in case the remove
was an accident. Just issuing an installation request for the
accidentally removed package will restore its function as before in
that case. On the other hand you can get rid of these leftovers by
calling purge even on already removed packages. Note that this does
not affect any data or configuration stored in your home directory.

There it clearly states the behavior to expect when removing package.

[DukeComposed]

Thanks for the explanation. In my world 'completely remove' means, well , 'completely remove'.

Note that this does not affect any data or configuration stored in your home directory.

apt and apt-get are old tools from the era before every Tom, Dick, and Harry had their own personal Linux install on a desktop. System package management software, especially the really ancient stuff, was built for system administrators in the era when an entire department or company might all share one machine. Removing a package can happen accidentally -- I've certainly uninstalled software I never intended to touch and it damaged the client's system[0]. It's one thing to explain to all your users that the program is gone and needs to be reinstalled. It's another conversation entirely to tell them the data they had in that program is gone, too.

You can delete someone's browser by accident and they'll forgive you. You can't delete their bookmarks.

[0] While upgrading iptables with some custom kernel modules for IPSec I got a nice, threatening warning about dependencies from aptitude. Something along the lines of "This will uninstall important packages. This is a bad idea, so type 'Yes I am aware this is a bad idea and I take full responsibility' in all capital letters to continue." I absolutely did not type that, or anything for that matter, and canceled the upgrade. Then, while re-attempting it later with a slightly different[1] syntax, aptitude started removing the important packages anyway. I killed aptitude, but by then the damage was already done. For weeks afterward, whenever I spoke with my coworkers they would ask "Well... did you type 'Yes I'm aware this is a bad idea'?".

[1] By "slightly different", I mean testing if I could install B before A instead of A before B, not running anything with a --force or --yes or --no-confirm argument.