GNOME Bugzilla – Bug 743485
Do not delete web app's profile or cache directories when removing web apps
Last modified: 2018-01-24 16:55:15 UTC
When I delete a web app with GNOME Software, it just changes the desktop file from NoDisplay=false to NoDisplay=true. When I delete a web app with Epiphany, it deletes the app's desktop file and also deletes its profile directory, so that the user's cookies, localstorage, history, etc. isn't kept on disk forever. For example, if the desktop file has the following Exec line: Exec=epiphany --application-mode --profile="/home/mcatanzaro/.config/epiphany/app-epiphany-duolingo-55f0d44bf9217fa2c4eaf7c958f50dcd257d4e05" https://www.duolingo.com/ Then the directories /home/mcatanzaro/.config/epiphany/app-epiphany-duolingo-55f0d44bf9217fa2c4eaf7c958f50dcd257d4e05 and $XDG_CACHE_DIR/app-epiphany-duolingo-55f0d44bf9217fa2c4eaf7c958f50dcd257d4e05 should be recursively deleted when removing the web app. This, of course, would conflict with Software's desire to keep the empty profile directory around with app-icon.png so that it can continue to display it in search results. At least everything except the app icon should be deleted.
*** Bug 711770 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
I guess the easy solution is: * Teach GNOME Software to delete those directories. * Teach Epiphany to ignore web apps with NoDisplay=true for about:applications.
Are we sure we want to nuke all the profile info? I mean it would be useful to keep my logins around and it's not really that much space.
What do you think, Carlos? It would not be that much space if not for adblock filters stored redundantly in each profile dir (1.7 MB per web app, bug #755379). On the other hand, it clutters the config dir unnecessarily. I don't think there's much value in keeping old profile dirs.
I think it makes sense to not delete the profile dir, the same way when you uninstall a program the config dir is not removed either.
In that case, reassigning to Epiphany. We should add the line NoDisplay=true when "uninstalling" a web app, and remove it when "reinstalling" it.
(In reply to Carlos Garcia Campos from comment #5) > I think it makes sense to not delete the profile dir, the same way when you > uninstall a program the config dir is not removed either. Hm, I don't agree with this anymore. Deleting a web app should be clean slate; users probably expect removing a web app to remove all trace of it on disk. Reassigning back to Software.
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