I used FastX to connect to my work-computer running Ubuntu 20.04.4 LTS and am trying to install multiple apps, e.g. Skype. I don't have sudo permissions, however I was able to install it through
snap install skype
Unfortunately, this installation has several problems. The first is that apparently FastX sets XAUTHORITY to a path which snapd ignores. As a workaround our IT suggested
cp "$XAUTHORITY" ~/fastx_authority; export XAUTHORITY=~/fastx_authority
which worked well. I am now able to start Skype through
snap run skype
or
/snap/bin/skype
However, I wanted to add it to the Launcher. Therefore I copied
cp /var/lib/snapd/desktop/applications/skype_skypeforlinux.desktop ~/.local/share/applications/
I confirmed that this works through
gtk-launch skype_skypeforlinux.desktop
which successfully opens Skype (though there are still some errors printed in the terminal). However, opening the Dash through the Super-key, typing Skype (which is properly found) and pressing enter does nothing than turn the mouse into a loading wheel for a few seconds. I modified the .desktop file to Terminal=true. Then I try again to launch Skype through the Dash and now, for a split second, a terminal opens, showing the following:
+ [ -f /home/user/snap/skype/common/.config/skypeforlinux/settings.json ]
+ export SKYPE_LOGS=/home/user/snap/skype/203/logs
+ [ ! -d /home/user/snap/skype/203/logs ]
+ exec /snap/skype/203/usr/share/skypeforlinux/skypeforlinux
No protocol specified
[43899:0304/164128.030408:ERROR:browser_main_loop.cc(1400)] Unable to open X display.
[0304/164128.031910:ERROR:scoped_ptrace_attach.cc(27)] ptrace: Permission denied (13)
I also get the same behavior with a .desktop file simply containing
[Desktop Entry]
Name=Skype
Exec=/snap/bin/skype
Icon=/snap/skype/203/meta/gui/skypeforlinux.png
Terminal=true
Type=Application
I also get a similar behavior with Evince, which I also installed through snap. However, here the terminal stays empty and just vanishes after a split second.
I actually don't mind starting Skype through the terminal since that's a one-time thing. What I really want to do is associate PDF files to open with the Evince installation.
Note that custom .desktop files generally work, the problem seems to be with snap apps.
Any ideas?
