FLATPAK updates query

[#1]

Linux Mint 21.3 Virginia....

I keep getting notifications of FLATPAK updates which inform me that it will take up 1.6GB of disk space on my HDD.

I have a 500GB hdd installed, of which , currently it is almost half full. 

In the past few weeks I have seen several of these "flatpak" updates ( and installed them ) . but I have no idea what they do, or if I need them.... !     Assuming I get 1 per week for the rest of the year...  (35 weeks 4 days to Jan 1st 2025) then the updates will take up ANOTHER 56GB on my hdd .

Is there any way of getting rid of "old" flatpak updates, or does the new update overwrite the previous one ?   from the notice, it seems that they do not...but, I just wondered how I can make space on the hdd which may well be redundant due to the newer updates.

[#2]

Flatpak is just a distribution mechanism, so it's an installation package for the bit in bold.

[#3]

@dvorak  OK... so what about all  the ( cumulative ) 1.6GB disk space that is used everytime it updates...  ?????

[#4]

As is often the case, Mr Google has many answers if you ask him.

e.g. Flatpak updates

other search terms are possible.

[#5]

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@shutter wrote:

[...]

In the past few weeks I have seen several of these "flatpak" updates ( and installed them ) . but I have no idea what they do, or if I need them.... ! 

---

Perhaps start by looking at what flatpaks are installed with

$ flatpak list

That should give you a better idea if they've been installed by you or Mint and whether you want / need them.

I generally avoid flatpaks and snaps but on this Fedora / GNOME install some flatpaks are installed by default, including

$ flatpak info org.kde.Platform

KDE Application Platform - Shared libraries used by KDE applications

          ID: org.kde.Platform
         Ref: runtime/org.kde.Platform/x86_64/5.15-23.08
        Arch: x86_64
      Branch: 5.15-23.08
     License: GPL-2.0+
      Origin: flathub
  Collection: org.flathub.Stable
Installation: system
   Installed: 910.1 MB

At 910.1 MB that doesn't seem to be the cause of your problem.

it's worth looking at the output of

$ flatpak uninstall --unused

to see what options that gives you.

[#6]

@TheRoadCrew  Thank you for your very informative and helpful reply.

machine is ASUS ROG 752VW

the instruction   " flatpak list " gives the following

The instruction " flatpak uninstalled -- unused " gives the following

So, it seems that there is nothing to be concerned about..  but still does not clear up the  1.6 GB question...

Thank you for your time.

[#7]

I also run Linux Mint, and have a related question:

Are these three packages all separate from each other and therefore all required, or is the last one the most up to date and the other two redundant?

nvidia-535-154-05

nvidia-535-161-07

nvidia-535-171-04

I tried a web search, but TBH, didn't really understand the answers.

They are all described as "Linux x64 (AMD64/EM64T) Display Driver".

[#8]

@Mr_Paul  Yup .... Agree with you.   from the titles, it seems like they are "newer" versions ... but from the  instruction previous about uninstall, it also appears that they are separate.

I think the previous "update" notification, said that they were all going to be updated.

So confusion, does, indeed, reign, regarding them.

[#9]

ISTR that when I was running a Ubuntu system with an Nvidia graphics card it was possible to select a specific version of the nvidia driver using the 'Additional hardware' wizard. Different versions seemed to 'play' better with certain cards and versions of linux. SO it was always useful to have the packages for multiple versions installed.

[#10]

@MisterW 

When I run Mint's Driver Manager, the is the result:

So only one version of nvidia-driver-535

[#11]

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@shutter wrote:

@TheRoadCrew  Thank you for your very informative and helpful reply.

machine is ASUS ROG 752VW

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I would expect a Republic Of Gamers machine to have discrete (Nvidia) graphics yet yours only reports the integrated Intel graphics hardware. It's conceivable Nvidia could be disabled in BIOS or otherwise powered off but I'd be interested to know the output of 

$ inxi -G

You have multiple Nvidia runtime flatpaks installed which are reportedly unused but 'pinned' to prevent removal.

Installing one of them here I see

$ flatpak install runtime/org.freedesktop.Platform.GL.nvidia-535-171-04/x86_64/1.4
Looking for matches…


        ID                                             Branch  Op  Remote   Download
 1. [✓] org.freedesktop.Platform.GL.nvidia-535-171-04  1.4     i   flathub  342.6 MB / 342.6 MB

Installation complete.

 
Assuming the three you have installed are roughly the same size, upgrades to them would take you a long way to 1.6 GB.

If they genuinely aren't being used, you could 'unpin' each as in

$ flatpak pin --remove runtime/org.freedesktop.Platform.GL.nvidia-535-171-04/x86_64/1.4

 followed by

$ flatpak uninstall --unused

 I suspect they've been pinned because there are dependencies involved - removing them will probably cause other flatpaks to be removed. 

[#12]

@TheRoadCrew  & @Mr_Paul  Thanks to both for input....

here is the result of    inxi -G

 And on suggestion from @Mr_Paul   Here is a pic of the Driver Manager

 This laptop was "gifted" to me, by another PN user... and is not used for gaming, or anything that specifically needs ( I assume ) Nvidia graphics...  used for basic surfing... watching YouTube vids and not much else.   I do have a USB DVBT tv slotted in, and watch live Freeview on that, which saves running a telly at the same time !.

Not connected to any Neflix or subscription services.

Before going any further, I shall await your comments on the above,

Thanks for your time

[#13 · Accepted solution]

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@shutter wrote:

[...]

This laptop was "gifted" to me, by another PN user... and is not used for gaming, or anything that specifically needs ( I assume ) Nvidia graphics...  used for basic surfing... watching YouTube vids and not much else.   I do have a USB DVBT tv slotted in, and watch live Freeview on that, which saves running a telly at the same time !.

Not connected to any Neflix or subscription services.

---

If you're not actively using the Nvidia chip I'd suggest switching to the Nouveau driver. Reboot and if everything is working to your satisfaction look at removing the Nvidia runtime flatpaks.

[#14]

@TheRoadCrew  Thankyou for the instruction !.. have been to Driver Manager and selected the Nouveau driver, and done a reboot...

And after Re-Boot

Will set about removing the flatpaks later on this evening

Thanks very much for your help.... Much Appreciated. 

[#15]

@TheRoadCrew   Just to finalize, and complete the thread... I have now completed the uninstalls of the Nvidia drivers. and the laptop is performing as well as before.

So... Thank you for your time, your instructions and your assistance in doing all this.