How to remove a snap package

Removing a snap package unmounts the application revision and removes the package from the installed snap list. The operation may also create an automatic data snapshot unless the remove command uses --purge.

The package removal only targets the named snap. Base snaps such as core22, content snaps, and other application snaps remain installed when another package still depends on them or when they were installed separately.

A completed removal should leave snap list <name> without the package and any snap-owned services absent from snap services. Check snap saved after removal when application data might need to be restored later.

1. Check the package before removing it.

   $ snap list hello-world
   Name         Version  Rev  Tracking       Publisher  Notes
   hello-world 6.4      29   latest/stable  canonical  -

2. Check whether the snap provides services.

   $ snap services hello-world
   error: snap "hello-world" has no services

   Stop service snaps during a maintenance window when clients depend on them.

   Related: How to control snap services

3. Remove the snap package.

   $ sudo snap remove hello-world
   hello-world removed

   Without --purge, snapd may keep an automatic data snapshot for a limited retention period.

4. Confirm that the package is no longer installed.

   $ snap list hello-world
   error: no matching snaps installed

5. Check for an automatic removal snapshot.

   $ snap saved
   Set  Snap         Age    Version  Rev  Size   Notes
   12   hello-world  2m40s  6.4      29   4.0kB  auto

   Use snap restore <set-id> only after reinstalling a compatible snap.

   Related: How to back up and restore snap data snapshots

6. Remove a snap without keeping a snapshot when data recovery is not needed.

   $ sudo snap remove hello-world --purge
   hello-world removed

   --purge skips the automatic snapshot and removes recoverable snap data for that package.