Debloat Ubuntu 26.04: Remove Snaps (App Store), MOTD, Software Updater, Help, and Ubuntu Pro / ESM messages in apt

debloat-ubuntu.sh

#!/usr/bin/env bash

# --- 1. Disable MOTD News ---
systemctl stop motd-news.timer motd-news.service
systemctl disable motd-news.timer
chmod -x /etc/update-motd.d/50-motd-news

if [ -f /etc/default/motd-news ]; then
    sed -i 's/^ENABLED=1/ENABLED=0/' /etc/default/motd-news
fi

# --- 2. Clean Up Snapd ---
# Unmount active snap mounts if any remain
if grep -q '/snap/' /proc/mounts; then
    for m in $(grep '/snap/' /proc/mounts | awk '{print $2}'); do
        umount -l "$m"
    done
fi

if [ -d /snap ]; then
    umount /snap
fi

if [ -d /var/snap ]; then
    umount /var/snap
fi

# Stop services if they exist
systemctl stop snapd.socket snapd.service snapd.seeded.service
systemctl disable snapd.socket snapd.service snapd.seeded.service

# Purge snapd package if currently installed
if dpkg -l | grep -q "^ii  snapd "; then
    apt purge -y --autoremove snapd
fi

# Pin snapd so APT ignores it completely
cat <<'EOF' > /etc/apt/preferences.d/no-snapd.pref
Package: snapd
Pin: release *
Pin-Priority: -1
EOF

# Clean leftover Snap directories
rm -rf /snap ~/snap /var/snap /var/cache/snapd /var/lib/snapd

# --- 3. Remove Software & Update Managers ---
# Check which target packages are installed first so APT doesn't throw 'not installed' warnings
PKGS_TO_REMOVE=()
for pkg in update-manager update-notifier unattended-upgrades yelp ubuntu-docs gnome-user-docs; do
    if dpkg -l | grep -q "^ii  $pkg "; then
        PKGS_TO_REMOVE+=("$pkg")
    fi
done

if [ ${#PKGS_TO_REMOVE[@]} -gt 0 ]; then
    apt purge -y --autoremove "${PKGS_TO_REMOVE[@]}"
fi

# --- 4. Completely Neutralize Ubuntu Pro / ESM in APT ---
# Disable APT news
pro config set apt_news=false

# Clean up any leftover file from previous dpkg-divert run
if [ -f /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/20apt-esm-hook.conf.distrib ]; then
    rm -f /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/20apt-esm-hook.conf.distrib
fi

# Disable ESM hook by moving the file (avoids APT invalid extension warnings)
if [ -f /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/20apt-esm-hook.conf ]; then
    mv /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/20apt-esm-hook.conf /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/20apt-esm-hook.conf.disabled
fi

# Mask background ESM and APT news generation services
systemctl mask apt-news.service esm-cache.service

# --- 5. Reload Systemd Daemon & Final Cleanup ---
systemctl daemon-reload
apt autoremove -y --purge