how to uninstall a program

English Applications
1

A few days back I was in a search for a envelope printing program. Didn’t find anything useful but I did install several programs that I no longer want.

How do I go about removing those programs with all their files, and is there a danger of messing up my system in doing so.

2

More details are required, including openSUSE version, and especially what programs you installed and how you installed them.

3

When you choose OTHER VERSION for your thread from the top menu, we hope that the fact that you are forced to do that (because you have a version that is not in the list) triggers you to tell the openSUSE version you have prominently in your thread.

4

In general,
Applications are installed either from packages or not (ie. often compiled from source, but also other means like simply copying files).
Applications which have been packaged typically as RPMs are managed by a package manager, which generally means that the installed application’s dependencies will be automatically identified and installed as well.

So, then what happens when a managed app is uninstalled?
The Package Manager will ensure that the system will continue to run after the application is removed, components which are still needed by other apps or the system are not removed. But, note that uninstalling will <not> return the system to what was prior to the app being installed, you cannot expect not to leave some extra files lying around.

Additionally, even with packaged applications, personal data (files) can be generated. These files are almost never removed automatically, you have to remove manually.

Applications that are compiled from source, for instance any apps which might require you to “make” have no means to uninstall files.

Applications that are copied, eg if you are running a script or a binary which was simply copied to your system have no means to install files.

So, if you expect you want to really wipe the application when you’re done with it, your main option probably is to make a backup prior to installing and then restore using the backup, and this can be done a number of different ways.

  • I use virtualization a lot, particularly for experimentation. Simply make a copy of the virtual machine (my preferred) or create a snapshot (if supported, but beware the complications).
  • Do an image based backup (much faster than a file based backup).
  • If the partition where the application is installed supports snapshots (like BTRFS), then note the exact time the app is installed to know what snapshot you will want to roll back to.

Any of the above are good strategies, just don’t go about ripping things out unless you really know what you’re doing… or know how you can recover from any mistakes.

HTH,
TSU

5

tsu2 wrote:

>
> Applications that are compiled from source, for instance any apps which
> might require you to “make” have no means to uninstall files.
>
If you are lucky, some of these can be uninstalled with “make uninstall”

6

How true!
<Some> makefiles contain instructions for uninstall, but I very rarely encounter them.
So, yes, that should also be tried.

TSU

7

if you used yast you can simply unselect or mark them as uninstall.:slight_smile:
if you used rpms

rpm -e or --erase PACKAGE_NAME

Cheers!