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I need to install fuse on Ubuntu 22.04. I've tried installing via snap install fuse but that didn't work, so what is the safest way to install fuse on Ubuntu 22.04? Thanks!

Guy
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alexanderjsingleton
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3 Answers3

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See this: https://github.com/AppImage/AppImageKit/wiki/FUSE

For example, on Ubuntu (>= 22.04):

Warning: Do not install the fuse package as of 22.04 or > you may break your system

sudo add-apt-repository universe
sudo apt install libfuse2
ile
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  • It seems that this may not work very well. I could not run one AppImage app. I got these: "error: ac63-[2022-06-06 13:59:07] GPU process crashed" – ile Jun 06 '22 at 14:22
  • For me it did work.
    Tried with BalenaEtcher and worked fine. We never know :)     – Lv2eof Sep 13 '22 at 17:49
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    Yes, libfuse2 NOT fuse for >= 22.04 If you already installed fuse remove it. Then reinstall ubuntu-gnome-desktop. Don't forget to reselect the Gnome window manager at login (which disappeared when you installed fuse causing logins to FAIL.) – Birkensox Nov 07 '23 at 23:32
  • @Birkensocks I think that's the reason why my ubuntu 24 stuck on boot and cant reach login page, I ended up installing ubuntu 22 :( I thought it was my attempt to fix webcam, now after visiting AppImage page I show that sentence and your comment confirm it. – yusufmalikul Jun 23 '24 at 15:14
  • Snap, fuse and appimages have a lot of problems. Best to avoid if you can. – Birkensox Jun 27 '24 at 19:24
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Update november 2024 WARNING: The information below is not anymore applicable for versions of Ubuntu > 24.04. Installing either fuse or fuse2 on more recent versions of Ubuntu may break the system.

fuse is present in the Ubuntu repositories, and therefore can be safely installed.

However, it conflicts with a newer version of fuse, fuse3, which is installed by default. If you choose to use fuse rather than fuse3, you will lose some functionality that depends on fuse3.

Installing fuse indeed will cause the removal of

fuse3 gnome-shell-extension-desktop-icons-ng gvfs-fuse ntfs-3g
  xdg-desktop-portal xdg-desktop-portal-gnome
  xdg-desktop-portal-gtk

In addition, the metapackages ubuntu-desktop and ubuntu-desktop-minimal will be removed.

fuse is in the software repository. Installation therefore is safe:

sudo apt install fuse

but you have to accept the consequences on functionality of the default desktop.

vanadium
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    doing so will even remove xwayland and more; ubuntu sucks – france1 Nov 15 '22 at 12:23
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    This answer is useful even to repair the system in case you install "fuse" on Ubuntu>22.04. Removing the package "fuse" and reinstalling the packages "fuse3 gnome-shell... and so on" will fix the problem. Thanks @vanadium! – CipherX Feb 05 '23 at 10:08
  • This ought to ask for a switch such as --just_do_it and not allow inadvertent removal of packages required for proper desktop operation! I inadvertently installed fuse then gnome-settings disappeared and I wondered why until I checked /var/log/apt/history.log and saw the error of my ways... – AnthonyK Mar 20 '23 at 04:06
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    @AnthonyK Then you will end up with a borked system. That is why we have a package manager: to ensure that installed packages are compatible with each other. – vanadium Mar 20 '23 at 09:15
  • That's true @vanadium - this was exactly my point. I've seen before where the system asks you provide a switch - such as what rm -rf / asks you to do to avoid damaging your system - so that a user doesn't inadvertently uninstall packages as important as ubuntu-desktop on a desktop. – AnthonyK Mar 20 '23 at 09:55
  • @vanadium too right you are. Installing fuse on gnome will bork gdm and prevent login (removes the Gnome option for login). Dropping to the command line you can sudo apt reinstall ubunutu-gnome-desktop then login again BUT make sure you select the Gnome window manager from the GDM settings. Also "GDM" lol - obvious anagram. – Birkensox Nov 07 '23 at 23:28
  • I haven't seen the problem myself but multiple reports suggest that package fuse or fuse2 should be marked Conflicts or Breaks with gdm3 but isn't. See https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gdm3/+bug/1717878 for details. – Mikko Rantalainen Nov 08 '24 at 10:33
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If the fuse package did break your system, you can recover as follows:

  1. After starting Ubuntu, enter the console by pressing Alt+Ctrl+F1. Then log in with your user account.
  2. Or boot into the Recovery Mode (https://wiki.ubuntu.com/RecoveryMode). Then chose network and root.
  3. Execute the command sudo apt purge gdm3 && apt install gdm3 && reboot
eFee
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