How to Remove Old Snap Revisions on Linux

What Causes This?

Snap keeps older package revisions on your Linux system so you can roll back if an update causes problems. Over time, these disabled revisions build up and take unnecessary disk space, especially if you have many Snap apps installed or apps that update often. This is normal behavior, but the retained files can become a storage problem on smaller drives.

Common Symptoms

• Your Linux system is low on disk space for no obvious reason
• The /var/lib/snapd/snaps folder is using several GB of storage
• You see multiple old revisions listed for the same Snap app
• Disk usage tools show Snap packages taking more space than expected
• You get storage warnings after regular app updates

How to Fix It Manually

1. Open a terminal.

   • On Ubuntu and many Linux desktops, press Ctrl+Alt+T.

2. List all installed Snap packages and their revisions.

   • Run:

     snap list --all

   • Look for entries marked disabled. These are old revisions that are no longer active and can usually be removed safely.

3. Remove old disabled Snap revisions.

   • Run this command to remove all disabled revisions automatically:

     snap list --all | awk '/disabled/{print $1, $3}' | while read snapname revision; do
       sudo snap remove "$snapname" --revision="$revision"
     done

   • Enter your password if prompted.
   • This removes only disabled revisions, not the currently active version of each app.

4. Check how much space Snap is using after cleanup.

   • Run:

     du -sh /var/lib/snapd/snaps

   • Compare the result to what you had before, if you checked earlier.

5. Reduce how many old revisions Snap keeps in the future.

   • By default, Snap may retain multiple old revisions.
   • To keep only 2 revisions, run:

     sudo snap set system refresh.retain=2

   • This helps prevent old revisions from piling up again.

6. Verify your current retention setting.

   • Run:

     snap get system refresh.retain

   • If it shows 2, Snap will keep fewer old copies going forward.

7. Restart Snap apps if needed.

   • In most cases, this cleanup does not require a reboot.
   • If an app behaves oddly after cleanup, close and reopen it, or restart your system with:

     sudo reboot

Important notes

• Do not manually delete files from /var/lib/snapd/snaps unless you know exactly what you are doing.
• Removing disabled revisions is generally safe because they are old rollback copies, not the active app version.
• If you rely on rolling back updates often, consider keeping more than 2 revisions.

Fix It Automatically with Kudu

If you do not want to hunt through package revisions manually, Kudu can help identify wasted storage and clean up unnecessary app files automatically. It is a simple way to recover disk space without digging through terminal output or changing retention settings by hand.

Download Kudu Free →