Ubuntu May Remove ‘Archive Manager’ from Default Install

Should Ubuntu drop the Archive Manager app from the default install?

That’s the idea being put forward for community discussion by one prominent Ubuntu developer. The reason? That since Nautilus lets users create/extract commonly-compressed archive formats (including the ubiquitous .zip and tarballs) there’s no need to ship a second app that does the same thing (albeit with more features).

And there is a precedent for such a move: GNOME 41 dropped the the Archive Manager app (often referred to by the package name file-roller) from GNOME Core. Their reasoning was similar: Nautilus now does it, so why duplicate functionality in the standard seed? Users with advanced needs can install the app themselves.

Want to try this change? You can in daily builds of Ubuntu 23.04 ‘Lunar Lobster’, under active development. In current Lunar builds you can uninstall the Archive Manager app without the rest of the desktop being removed in the process (file-roller is is hard dependency in earlier versions thus removing it removes core stuff too).

With the app gone, go about your normal workflow to see if not having it preinstalled affects your day-to-day needs. For most, probably not. Nautilus and the Desktop Icons NG GNOME extension extract ZIPs and Tarballs (though neither can extract .DEB files, mind – but do home users really need to extract these?).

Of course, Archive Manager not being in the default install doesn’t affect anyone who wants to use it: it will remain in the Ubuntu repos, and thus an apt install away. I’d imagine developers (of every shade) will opt to install the app of their own accord, but home users will, I’d imagine, never notice it gone…