Error launching 2.3.2 on Ubuntu 19.04

Audacity Help Forum GNU/Linux
1

I get the following error when I try launch 2.3.2 on Ubuntu 19.04:

$ audacity
cannot update snap namespace: cannot open directory “/snap/audacity/303”: permission denied
snap-update-ns failed with code 1: File exists

What I’ve done:

  • Upgrade to 2.3.2
  • Check for updates to 19.04 Ubuntu
  • Completely remove audacity and reinstall ($ sudo apt-get remove --autoremove audacity audacity-data)
  • Check/changed permissions on the directory /snap/audacity
  • Created the 303 directory (with a slightly different message, “cannot write to directory…”)

I’m not sure if this is Ubuntu, Snap, or Audacity, but I have a feeling it’s OS related. Still, can anyone help me? Thanks.

2

How did you do that? If you’re using diddledan’s Snapcraft package, contact diddledan at the email address provided on this page: Install Audacity on Linux | Snap Store

Let us know how you get on. Although we’re not able to offer support for Snapcraft, you may be able to provide information that could help other Audacity users.

3

How did you do that?

I followed the instructions here, which was a link in the Audacity linux download page.

4

Did you previously have a “snap” version of Audacity installed?

5

New clue: when I launch as the superuser from the command line

$ sudo audacity

it opens. I get a lot of warnings, but at least it works. It must be the way permission are set somewhere, but I don’t know where.

At least I have a workaround now.

6

You should never run anything as superuser (“root”) unless you want to make changes to the system.

7

Huh. I just tried it again as a normal user, and it launched without error. I wonder if launching it as root got some permissions written correctly. No idea.

Thanks steve for your help.

8

I don’t think the problem was directly related to Audacity. The error message that you received appears to indicate that your permissions were confined to a “snap confinement level” (https://docs.snapcraft.io/snap-confinement).
Whatever you did appears to have got you out of that confinement so that you were then able to run Audacity.

9

I got some interesting information by typing

$ snap info --verbose audacity

Thanks for the pointer. I’m still a novice with the Linux desktop.