Do I still get updates if I install from .deb file?

[dop@lemmy.world]

If I install software from .deb file, do I still get the updates & upgrades when I run sudo apt update / upgrade ? Or is flatpak the way to go? I'm not very familiar with flatpak, so I'm trying to avoid, but it seems that cons are limited.
I'm currently running mint cinnamon (how original, I know), and asking because i can't seem to add mullvad-vpn stable repo.
Thank you for your help,

[bizdelnick@lemmy.ml]

I’m currently running mint cinnamon (how original, I know), and asking because i can’t seem to add mullvad-vpn stable repo.

What's the problem? Mint is based on Ubuntu, use the corresponding Ubuntu repo (noble in case of Mint 22.1).

[abrasiveteapot@sh.itjust.works]

Doesn't always work - for example the mullvad browser won't install on mint with the ubuntu instructions as OS version gets reported as Xia not noble (if I'm recalling the issue correctly it was 6-9 months ago)

Yes you can amend the commands to get it to work but it's definitely not beginner level, I had to faff around for an hour or so before I worked it out

[mybuttnolie@sopuli.xyz]

Mullvad repo doesn't work in mint. The .deb does not update automatically. You have to download it manually every time you want to update it.

[makazzz@lemmy.dbzer0.com]

I did get to install the Mullvad repo on Mint.
The thing is they use the "lsb_release -cs" command which give the codename of Mint and not Ubuntu.

But if you use

awk -F= '$1=="UBUNTU_CODENAME" { print $2 ;}' /etc/os-release

It will give the codename for Ubuntu used by Mint.

Try this from the Mullvad instruction with this change :

# Download the Mullvad signing key
sudo curl -fsSLo /usr/share/keyrings/mullvad-keyring.asc https://repository.mullvad.net/deb/mullvad-keyring.asc

# Add the Mullvad repository server to apt
echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/mullvad-keyring.asc arch=$( dpkg --print-architecture )] https://repository.mullvad.net/deb/stable $(awk -F= '$1=="UBUNTU_CODENAME" { print $2 ;}' /etc/os-release) main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mullvad.list

# Install the package
sudo apt update
sudo apt install mullvad-vpn

[bizdelnick@lemmy.ml]

What do you mean by "won't install"? If you install it with apt from repo, apt doesn't check the distro codename, it just checks if the package dependencies are satisfied.

[abrasiveteapot@sh.itjust.works]

Further to this, mullvad vpn and browser are now in the Mint store.

Download and install from there

EDIT

Apols, they're not, I checked on the machine I had faffed around with to get the mullvad repo working. Please ignore

[abrasiveteapot@sh.itjust.works]

Really sorry, it's too long ago to remember the exact error,

but IIRC

when you followed the ubuntu instructions for adding the repository it would kick an error because the command included a reference to noble and mint os name is xia so the contents of the osrelease when checked didnt match and it threw an error.

Could be wrong, I didnt document it.

The work around was to edit the commands.

All a moot point now as

a) the instructions now on the mullvad site don't reference noble and

b) mullvad now appears to be in the mint store (which is how you should always install if possible

Not correct, only true if you've manually added the repo

[bizdelnick@lemmy.ml]

::: spoiler disclaimer
I'm a Debian user and not a Mullvad user. When installing software, I carefully read instructions and almost never follow them because in most cases I know how to deal with my distro better than developers.
:::

There is a repo for noble, I've checked this before writing my answer. It is always possible to edit apt sources config manually and specify any repo you want regardless your distro codename. IDK what is Mint Store, isn't it about flatpacks that TS doesn't want to use?

[jjlinux@lemmy.ml]

I'm already married, but, would you marry me? I'm guessing you're probably very useful to have around.

[jjlinux@lemmy.ml]

I love how this went from ".deb" to "Mullvad VPN repo configuration"