The Snap package manager is a popular package management system that is used to install and manage applications on Linux systems. Snap packages are self-contained and come with all the dependencies required to run the application, making them easy to install and manage.

In this article, we will show you how to install the Snap package manager on Rocky Linux 8 and use it to install and manage applications.

Before you start, you need to make sure that your system meets the following requirements:

• Rocky Linux 8
• Internet connection

Once you have verified that your system meets the requirements, you can proceed with the installation of the Snap package manager.

The first step is to enable the Rocky Linux 8 Extra repository, which contains the Snap package manager. To do this, you can use the dnf package manager and run the following command:

sudo dnf config-manager --set-enabled rocky-extras

This command will enable the Rocky Linux 8 Extra repository, which contains the Snap package manager.

Next, you need to update the package index by running the following command:

sudo dnf update

This command will download the latest package index from the enabled repositories and update the installed packages to the latest version.

Once the package index is updated, you can install the Snap package manager by running the following command:

sudo dnf install snapd

This command will install the Snap package manager and the necessary dependencies.

Once the Snap package manager is installed, you need to enable the snapd service and start it by running the following commands:

sudo systemctl enable --now snapd.socket
sudo ln -s /var/lib/snapd/snap /snap

These commands will enable and start the snapd service, and create a symbolic link to the /snap directory, which is used by the Snap package manager to store the installed Snap packages.

Now that the Snap package manager is installed and configured, you can use it to install applications. To do this, you can use the snap command and specify the name of the application that you want to install. For example, to install the hello-world application, you can run the following command:

sudo snap install hello-world

This command will install the hello-world application, which is a simple application that is used to test the Snap package manager.

To verify that the hello-world application is installed and working properly, you can run the following command:

hello-world

This command will run the hello-world application and print the “Hello, World!” message to the console.

In addition to installing applications, the Snap package manager can also be used to manage and update the installed Snap packages. To list the installed Snap packages, you can run the following command:

snap list

This command will list the installed Snap packages and their version numbers.

To update the installed Snap packages, you can run the following command:

sudo snap refresh

This command will update all the installed Snap packages to the latest version.

To remove a Snap package, you can use the snap remove command and specify the name of the package that you want to remove. For example, to remove the hello-world application, you can run the following command:

sudo snap remove hello

This command will remove the hello-world application from your system.

In conclusion, installing and using the Snap package manager on Rocky Linux 8 is a simple and straightforward process. By enabling the Rocky Linux 8 Extra repository, installing the Snap package manager, and using the snap command, you can easily install and manage applications on your system. With the Snap package manager, you can easily install applications and ensure that they are always up to date, without worrying about dependencies and compatibility issues.