when i install a software in user1 (requires root). it is seen in both user1 and user2.
when i install 2 DE’s {say, gnome n kde} few software’s appear in both users.
is there a way to install software’s in user directory (/home/user1&2).
so that i have 2 unmatched users.
conflicts will be greatly reduced.
AFAIK the package manager will always install packages system-wide.
Technically, you can download any software outside the package manager and put them anywhere you want. Just download the compiled archive (from the official website presumably) and extract it where you want ; or download the source and compile it locally if no compiled version is available. The software can be run from its folder.
But do keep in mind you then won’t benefit from the package manager, regarding among others :
- dependency management
- automatic update checks
- automatic entry to your DE’s app launcher
- security : packages from the repositories are usually malware free since “hand-picked” by the maintainers
Alternatively, if your issue is mainly about conflicts, you can simply use self-contained packages instead (Flatpak or Snap). Do note those packages will still be available to all users, and those take more disk space upon installation.
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No. All the independent DE applications installed on the same system will be accesible by any user, unless you manually set up different rules and rights for each. Only DE specific settings and Window Manager configuration settings will not be accesible in another DE or another Window Manager.
Conflicts can appear only between branches, but you can’t have 2 branches on the same system. Some conflicts happen between DE configurations for the same user, reason why we do not encourage mixing DEs, but not between two separate users.
Digging a bit.
It seems you can install Flatpak software per user, though you then likely need to use Flatpak directly, rather than through Pamac.
https://docs.flatpak.org/en/latest/using-flatpak.html#system-versus-user
If you install using the package manager - then no.
As @maycne.sonahoz points out some applications may be runable from the users home when downloaded as flatpak - but most applications will require some level of direct system interaction to install and run without issues.