Slack is not open-source software and is not, by default, included in the Ubuntu repositories - but it is available on the Snap store. Slack isn’t new to Ubuntu per se (it’s been available for Linux for a while) but you’ve needed to head out and download a package from the web and then install it manually.īut now an official Slack Snap app is available on the Ubuntu Store, meaning it’s deliciously simple to install the app on Ubuntu and (in theory) a slate of other Linux distributions too. By prioritising usability, and with the popularity of open source continuing to grow, the number of snaps is only set to rise in 2018.” “Today’s announcement is yet another example of putting the Linux user first – Slack’s developers will now be to push out the latest features straight to the user. “Slack is helping to transform the modern workplace, and we’re thrilled to welcome them to the snaps ecosystem”, said Jamie Bennett, VP of Engineering, Devices & IoT at Canonical. Even if only a fraction of those 6 million people use Ubuntu, it’ll be one less reason for them to dual-boot into their Windows or macOS partition. Over 6 million people use Slack every day so making the app easily available on Ubuntu is a great move. Third party apps bring integration with external productivity services like Dropbox, Github, Twitter, Gmail and more. One of the most compelling features of Slack is that every message and bit of communication is archived for future searching.Ĭompanies get to create their own ‘slack’ space, and create separate ‘channels’ for discussion and oversight of specific topics, and so on. It lets distributed teams of all shades keep in touch and on top of what each other is up to, using text, emoji, hashtags, files and more in real-time. It’s sort of like e-mail mashed with IRC and WhatsApp. Scores of well-known companies, teams, and creatives use it, as do many open source projects.

It’s anything but Slack is vibrant, dynamic, and fast paced.

Wikipedia describes Slack as “…a cloud-based set of proprietary team collaboration tools and services”, a description that makes the platform sound painfully dull. The real-time chat and collaboration app, which is popular with major companies all around the world, is now available as a Snap app from the Snapcraft Store on all Linux distros that support it. It just got easier to Slack on Ubuntu and other Linux distributions, without needing to download installers or run commands.

Install slack watch app