Hi. I'm not sure if I'm posting in the correct forum but I'm a long-time user of Solus Linux. It's a really nice distro and I've found it to be very responsive on older systems. However, one aspect that's been puzzling me is the lack of a "safety switch" when removing packages. For example, if I issue the command to remove the VLC media player, i.e.

sudo eopkg rm vlc

the package will be removed immediately. There isn't any mechanism to check if a user is sure whether the package is to be removed. Also, there doesn't seem to be any mechanism to warn of any potential dependency breakages if the command is issued for a package to be removed. Are there any plans to implement this in the future? Thanks!

    kwl There isn't any mechanism to check if a user is sure

    I actually hate the confirmations when there isn't any drastic outcome at risk. "Do you really want me to do what you just told me to do?" That doesn't make sense to me.

    Some things may put your mind at rest, based on my experience with eopkg. When VLC is removed, its dependents are not. When I remove a package using eopkg, I follow it up with the command eopkg rmo, which removes any orphaned packages. That is, they are not dependents of any other package anymore.

    Eopkg will also not delete anything in your /home directory, so if you accidentally remove a package you didn't mean to, all you need to do is reinstall it. Your configuration will still be in your /home directory, so it will be as if nothing had happened at all.

    If you want to remove a package with prejudice, never wanting to use it ever again, it's up to you to search through the hidden folders in your /home directory, and remove references to them. Or just ignore them, which is a whole lot easier.

        Thanks for getting back to me. However, the issue that I'm having is not that config files are left behind when packages are uninstalled. I'm looking for a way for a prompt or something similar to kick in if I should accidentally give the command to uninstall a critical package which would cause my system to be crippled. Is there a way to enable this using eopkg? I haven't found anything in the manpages.

          WetGeek "Do you really want me to do what you just told me to do?"

          I am totally with you 👌

          Adding to the remove command, eopkg rm --help show everything that can be done with it, including --purge that remove every file modified by the program to be removed.

            kwl I'm looking for a way for a prompt or something similar to kick in if I should accidentally give the command to uninstall a critical package which would cause my system to be crippled. Is there a way to enable this using eopkg? I haven't found anything in the manpages.

            Whether you uninstall through the Software Center or through the terminal, you are required to enter your sudo password before the action is performed. That's about it, as far as I know.

            If you use the Software Center instead of the Terminal, you will be prompted for your sudo password for each and every installation/uninstallation. The Software Center might be a safer method than the terminal. The process is slower, graphical, and displays more information about the package in question, giving the user opportunity to "Think thrice, check twice, act once."

              kwl Writing out the name of the package and then confirming with your sudo password is enough for a single package, no?

              Also, if there are dependencies affected it DOES ask for additional confirmation, e.g.

              sudo eopkg rm wlroots                  
              
Password: 
The following list of packages will be removed
in the respective order to satisfy dependencies:
gamescope wlroots 
Do you want to continue? (yes/no)