Safe to uninstall all these Discovery store apps in Desktop Mode?

[VEEJ]

Every time I go to the Discovery app in desktop mode there's always a bunch of files that need to be updated. The files are titled Mesa, GNOME, Breeze GTK theme, and a bunch of other stuff I never installed.

If I click "Remove" on these files, will the Deck automatically add these back to prevent me from having broken things? I'm on a tight connection, and having these apps download GBs of data for stuff I'm not using would be great to just have them removed

[WarnerCK]

Originally posted by VEEJ:

If I click "Remove" on these files, will the Deck automatically add these back to prevent me from having broken things?

It's not "the Deck" that would automatically add them back, but rather all the other applications that you've installed as flatpaks that need them. By default the Deck doesn't have any of them. But you install a flatpak application that says "I need this thing to draw to the screen" and "I need this thing so I can have buttons" and so on, and those come as other flatpaks. Those additional flatpaks get shared between the flatpaks you've installed, although if one flatpak application says "I need bar version 1.8" and another flatpak application says "I need bar version 2.3" then you get both versions so that both applications work.

[Mahjik]

Some of those are SteamOS packages though. Breeze is the default theme for SteamOS Desktop Mode for example. Either way, there is a dependency tied to them.

That being said, I don't recall Discover updating automatically by default. The only updates on the Deck that are mandatory are game updates (unless the developer has a special branch) and Steam Client updates. The others can be postponed or not done until you are ready.

[VEEJ]

Thanks, guys. I'll probably just update them less frequently. I wonder, though, if I remove a "main" app, will it automatically remove the independants, or will they stay as a form of bloatware until manually removed

[Thomastronaut]

Isn't mesa the graphics driver?

[ReBoot]

Originally posted by Thomastronaut:

Isn't mesa the graphics driver?

It is. Well, not EXAXCTLY a graphics driver but close enough. Either way, the OP really shouldn't uninstall it.

[MUD]

Don't uninstall anything you didn't install yourself.