Hello,
In the settings, there is only an option to disable automatic checking and download of updates.
I tried dconf-editor, but the needed key is missing.
Automatic → Automatically checks, downloads and installs updates when possible.
Refer https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gnome-software/-/issues/2351 for more information.
Omitting to mention that softwares are automatically installed in the name of “clarity” is not the way to go in my opinion.
Also, the lack of transparency about package updates is something I regret about gnome-sofware. It doesn’t inspire trust.
For exemple, my system had been freshly updated the previous day and now there was a new Calendar update with zero details. I wanted to know what had changed in the last 24 hours, so I went on the app’s website but I couldn’t see any official change made since months ago.
Agree that this could be improved.
Feel free to open an issue in https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gnome-software/-/issues.
You can click the app row in the Updates page to see what’s changed in 'Update Details dialog.
This is not within the scope of GNOME Software though. It’s up to the respective apps / packages to provide what changed as part of their appdata / metainfo XML file. Refer this topic for more details.
Also, it could be that downstream distros (Debian / Fedora / Ubuntu etc) made a small downstream packaging change (which might have nothing to do with the actual app like Calendar) and pushed a new version. This new version will also be shown as 'Software Update' in GNOME Software with downstream changelog aka what-changed (if they provided some info) in 'Update Details' or empty otherwise.
1 Like
The annoying thing is there are never any details.
And I’ve explained above why that could happen.
And I appreciate, but Gnome might as well remove the Update Details section altogether.
Update details have valid changelog in most cases. Also, the experience varies between distros.
Fedora handles update details in a different way. Refer this comment.
GNOME Software just displays what PackageKit get from its backends. (dnf backend on Fedora / apt backend on Debian etc). Refer below.
+-----------------+
| |
| DNF |
+-----+ (Fedora/RHEL) |
+-----------------+ | | |
| | | +-----------------+
| +----+ |
|GNOME Software | | |
| | | |
+-----------------+ | | +-----------------+
| | | |
| | | APT |
| +-----+ (Debian/Ubuntu)|
| +-----------------+ | | |
| | | | +-----------------+
| | PackageKit | |
+-----------> +----------+
| | | | +-----------------+
| +-----------------+ | | |
| | | ALPM |
| +-----+ (ArchLinux) |
| | | |
+-----------------+ | | +-----------------+
| | | |
| | | |
| KDE Discover +----+ | +-----------------+
| | | | |
+-----------------+ | | ZYPP |
+-----+ (SuSE/OpenSUSE)|
| |
+-----------------+
Unfortunately, progress is slow. Maybe the developers need more free pizza.
Thanks for the clarification.