Collectd dependency on libnotify4 installs entire gnome desktop environment
* Version of collectd: collectd (5.9.2.g-1ubuntu5 Ubuntu:20.04/focal [amd64]
* Operating system / distribution: Ubuntu 20.04
* Kernel version (if applicable): 5.4.72-
## Expected behavior
Installing `collectd` and `collectd-core` should not also depend on the entire gnome desktop environment. I am under the impression that most users of collectd would be running it under a server context and not expecting a full gnome desktop to be installed with this utility.
## Actual behavior
```
sudo apt-get --dry-run install collectd collectd-core
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
The following additional packages will be installed:
acl apg aptdaemon aptdaemon-data aspell aspell-en avahi-daemon avahi-utils bluez bubblewrap cheese-common colord
colord-data cracklib-runtime crda cups-pk-helper dconf-cli desktop-file-utils dictionaries-common docbook-xml
emacsen-common enchant-2 evolution-
gir1.
gir1.
gir1.
gir1.2-mutter-6 gir1.2-nm-1.0 gir1.2-nma-1.0 gir1.2-notify-0.7 gir1.2-pango-1.0 gir1.2-polkit-1.0 gir1.2-rsvg-2.0
gir1.2-secret-1 gir1.2-soup-2.4 gir1.2-
gnome-
gnome-menus gnome-online-
gnome-
gstreamer1.
gstreamer1.0-x hunspell-en-us ibus ibus-data ibus-gtk ibus-gtk3 iio-sensor-proxy im-config ippusbxd iw
language-
libavahi-glib1 libavc1394-0 libbluetooth3 libboost-
libcanberra-
libclutter-1.0-0 libclutter-
libcogl-path20 libcogl20 libcolord-gtk1 libcolord2 libcolorhug2 libconfuse-common libconfuse2 libcrack2 libdaemon0
libdbi1 libdbus-glib-1-2 libdbusmenu-glib4 libdbusmenu-gtk3-4 libdv4 libebackend-1.2-10 libebook-1.2-20
libebook-
libedataserve
libfprint-2-2 libftdi1-2 libganglia1 libgbm1 libgck-1-0 libgcr-base-3-1 libgcr-ui-3-1 libgd3 libgdata-common
libgdata22 libgdm1 libgee-0.8-2 libgeoclue-2-0 libgeocode-glib0 libgjs0g libgles2 libgnome-autoar-0-0
libgnome-
libgoa-
libgsound0 libgssdp-1.2-0 libgstreamer-
libgtk-3-0 libgtk-3-bin libgtk-3-common libgtop-2.0-11 libgtop2-common libgupnp-1.2-0 libgupnp-av-1.0-2
libgupnp-
libi2c0 libibus-1.0-5 libical3 libiec61883-0 libieee1284-3 libimobiledevice6 libinput-bin libinput10
libjack-jackd2-0 libjansson4 libjavascriptco
libmediaart-2.0-0 libmemcached11 libmicrohttpd12 libmm-glib0 libmodbus5 libmongoc-1.0-0 libmosquitto1 libmozjs-68-0
libmp3lame0 libmpg123-0 libmtdev1 libmutter-6-0 libmysqlclient21 libndp0 libnl-genl-3-200 libnl-route-3-200 libnm0
libnma0 libnotify4 libnss-mdns libopenipmi0 libopenjp2-7 liboping0 libopus0 liborc-0.4-0 libow-3.2-3 libowcapi-3.2-3
libpam-fprintd libpam-
libpolkit-
libqpid-proton11 librabbitmq4 libraw1394-11 librdkafka1 librest-0.7-0 libriemann-client0 librrd8 librte-eal20.0
librte-ethdev20.0 librte-kvargs20.0 librte-mbuf20.0 librte-mempool20.0 librte-meter20.0 librte-net20.0
librte-ring20.0 librygel-core-2.6-2 librygel-db-2.6-2 librygel-
libsane libsane-common libsbc1 libsecret-1-0 libsecret-common libshout3 libsmbclient libsnapd-glib1 libsnappy1v5
libsnmp-base libsnmp35 libsoup-gnome2.4-1 libsoxr0 libspeex1 libspeexdsp1 libstartup-
libtag1v5-vanilla libtalloc2 libteamdctl0 libtevent0 libtheora0 libtokyocabinet9 libtokyotyrant3 libtwolame0
libudisks2-0 libupower-glib3 libusbmuxd6 libv4l-0 libv4lconvert0 libvarnishapi2 libvirt0 libvisual-0.4-0 libvpx6
libvte-2.91-0 libvte-2.91-common libwacom-bin libwacom-common libwacom2 libwavpack1 libwayland-cursor0
libwayland-egl1 libwayland-server0 libwbclient0 libwebkit2gtk-
libwhoopsie-
libxcb-
libxenforeign
libxkbcommon-
mousetweaks mutter mutter-common mysql-common network-manager network-
p11-kit p11-kit-modules pinentry-gnome3 policykit-1 ppp pptp-linux pulseaudio pulseaudio-
python3-aptdaemon python3-
python3-ibus-1.0 python3-
sane-utils session-migration sgml-base sgml-data switcheroo-control system-
system-
ubuntu-
whoopsie-
xfonts-utils xml-core xserver-common xserver-xephyr xserver-xorg xserver-xorg-core xserver-
xserver-
xserver-
xserver-
xserver-
Suggested packages:
aspell-doc spellutils avahi-autoipd collectd-dev librrds-perl libregexp-
apache2 apcupsd bind9 ceph chrony default-
olsrd pdns-server postgresql redis-server slapd varnish zookeeper colord-
docbook-xsl docbook-defguide evolution gnome-orca gnome-software | gnome-packagekit gnome-user-share realmd
libcanberra-
gnome-backgrounds gir1.2-
ibus-clutter ibus-doc indicator-
libvisual-
snmp-
network-
pavucontrol paman paprefs ubuntu-sounds gstreamer1.
rygel-tracker tumbler unpaper sgml-base-doc perlsgml w3-recs opensp libxml2-utils gnome-software python3-smbc
ubuntu-
ubuntu-
ubuntu-
ubuntu-
ubuntu-
ubuntu-
xinput firmware-
The following NEW packages will be installed:
acl apg aptdaemon aptdaemon-data aspell aspell-en avahi-daemon avahi-utils bluez bubblewrap cheese-common collectd
collectd-core colord colord-data cracklib-runtime crda cups-pk-helper dconf-cli desktop-file-utils
dictionaries-
gcr gdm3 geoclue-2.0 gir1.2-
gir1.2-gcr-3 gir1.2-
gir1.
gir1.2-ibus-1.0 gir1.2-json-1.0 gir1.2-mutter-6 gir1.2-nm-1.0 gir1.2-nma-1.0 gir1.2-notify-0.7 gir1.2-pango-1.0
gir1.2-polkit-1.0 gir1.2-rsvg-2.0 gir1.2-secret-1 gir1.2-soup-2.4 gir1.2-
gkbd-capplet gnome-control-
gnome-keyring gnome-keyring-
gnome-
gnome-user-docs gstreamer1.
gstreamer1.
ippusbxd iw language-
libavahi-core7 libavahi-glib1 libavc1394-0 libbluetooth3 libboost-
libcamel-1.2-62 libcanberra-gtk3-0 libcanberra-
libcheese8 libclutter-1.0-0 libclutter-
libcogl-pango20 libcogl-path20 libcogl20 libcolord-gtk1 libcolord2 libcolorhug2 libconfuse-common libconfuse2
libcrack2 libdaemon0 libdbi1 libdbus-glib-1-2 libdbusmenu-glib4 libdbusmenu-gtk3-4 libdv4 libebackend-1.2-10
libebook-1.2-20 libebook-
libedataserve
libfprint-2-2 libftdi1-2 libganglia1 libgbm1 libgck-1-0 libgcr-base-3-1 libgcr-ui-3-1 libgd3 libgdata-common
libgdata22 libgdm1 libgee-0.8-2 libgeoclue-2-0 libgeocode-glib0 libgjs0g libgles2 libgnome-autoar-0-0
libgnome-
libgoa-
libgsound0 libgssdp-1.2-0 libgstreamer-
libgtk-3-0 libgtk-3-bin libgtk-3-common libgtop-2.0-11 libgtop2-common libgupnp-1.2-0 libgupnp-av-1.0-2
libgupnp-
libi2c0 libibus-1.0-5 libical3 libiec61883-0 libieee1284-3 libimobiledevice6 libinput-bin libinput10
libjack-jackd2-0 libjansson4 libjavascriptco
libmediaart-2.0-0 libmemcached11 libmicrohttpd12 libmm-glib0 libmodbus5 libmongoc-1.0-0 libmosquitto1 libmozjs-68-0
libmp3lame0 libmpg123-0 libmtdev1 libmutter-6-0 libmysqlclient21 libndp0 libnl-genl-3-200 libnl-route-3-200 libnm0
libnma0 libnotify4 libnss-mdns libopenipmi0 libopenjp2-7 liboping0 libopus0 liborc-0.4-0 libow-3.2-3 libowcapi-3.2-3
libpam-fprintd libpam-
libpwquality-
librest-0.7-0 libriemann-client0 librrd8 librte-eal20.0 librte-ethdev20.0 librte-kvargs20.0 librte-mbuf20.0
librte-
librygel-
libsecret-common libshout3 libsmbclient libsnapd-glib1 libsnappy1v5 libsnmp-base libsnmp35 libsoup-gnome2.4-1
libsoxr0 libspeex1 libspeexdsp1 libstartup-
libtevent0 libtheora0 libtokyocabinet9 libtokyotyrant3 libtwolame0 libudisks2-0 libupower-glib3 libusbmuxd6 libv4l-0
libv4lconvert0 libvarnishapi2 libvirt0 libvisual-0.4-0 libvpx6 libvte-2.91-0 libvte-2.91-common libwacom-bin
libwacom-common libwacom2 libwavpack1 libwayland-cursor0 libwayland-egl1 libwayland-server0 libwbclient0
libwebkit2gtk
libxatracker2 libxcb-icccm4 libxcb-image0 libxcb-keysyms1 libxcb-render-util0 libxcb-res0 libxcb-util1 libxcb-xkb1
libxcb-xv0 libxencall1 libxendevicemodel1 libxenevtchn1 libxenforeignme
libxenstore3.0 libxentoolcore1 libxentoollog1 libxfont2 libxkbcommon-x11-0 libxkbcommon0 libxklavier16 libxss1
libxvmc1 libyelp0 mobile-
network-manager network-
pptp-linux pulseaudio pulseaudio-
python3-cups python3-cupshelpers python3-defer python3-ibus-1.0 python3-
python3-talloc python3-tz rrdtool rtkit rygel samba-libs sane-utils session-migration sgml-base sgml-data
switcheroo-
ubuntu-session ubuntu-wallpapers ubuntu-
usbmuxd wamerican whoopsie-
xfonts-encodings xfonts-utils xml-core xserver-common xserver-xephyr xserver-xorg xserver-xorg-core
xserver-
xserver-
xserver-
xserver-
The following packages will be upgraded:
libpolkit-
3 upgraded, 428 newly installed, 0 to remove and 63 not upgraded.
```
## Work Around
For now I can exclude the libnotify4 package, but I do not think this is an ideal solution.
```
$ cat /etc/apt/
Package: libnotify4
Pin: release o=Ubuntu
Pin-Priority: -1
$ sudo apt-get --dry-run install collectd collectd-core
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
The following additional packages will be installed:
libatasmart4 libbson-1.0-0 libconfuse-common libconfuse2 libdbi1 libesmtp6 libfdt1 libftdi1-2 libganglia1 libgps26
libgrpc++1 libgrpc6 libhiredis0.14 libi2c0 liblua5.3-0 libmemcached11 libmicrohttpd12 libmodbus5 libmongoc-1.0-0
libmosquitto1 libmysqlclient21 libopenipmi0 liboping0 libow-3.2-3 libowcapi-3.2-3 libpq5 libqpid-proton11
librabbitmq4 librdkafka1 libriemann-client0 librrd8 librte-eal20.0 librte-ethdev20.0 librte-kvargs20.0
librte-mbuf20.0 librte-mempool20.0 librte-meter20.0 librte-net20.0 librte-ring20.0 libsnappy1v5 libsnmp-base
libsnmp35 libtokyocabinet9 libtokyotyrant3 libvarnishapi2 libvirt0 libxencall1 libxendevicemodel1 libxenevtchn1
libxenforeign
owfs-common rrdtool
Suggested packages:
collectd-dev librrds-perl libregexp-
default-
pdns-server postgresql redis-server slapd varnish zookeeper libnotify4 snmp-mibs-
Recommended packages:
libnotify4
The following NEW packages will be installed:
collectd collectd-core libatasmart4 libbson-1.0-0 libconfuse-common libconfuse2 libdbi1 libesmtp6 libfdt1 libftdi1-2
libganglia1 libgps26 libgrpc++1 libgrpc6 libhiredis0.14 libi2c0 liblua5.3-0 libmemcached11 libmicrohttpd12
libmodbus5 libmongoc-1.0-0 libmosquitto1 libmysqlclient21 libopenipmi0 liboping0 libow-3.2-3 libowcapi-3.2-3 libpq5
libqpid-proton11 librabbitmq4 librdkafka1 libriemann-client0 librrd8 librte-eal20.0 librte-ethdev20.0
librte-kvargs20.0 librte-mbuf20.0 librte-mempool20.0 librte-meter20.0 librte-net20.0 librte-ring20.0 libsnappy1v5
libsnmp-base libsnmp35 libtokyocabinet9 libtokyotyrant3 libvarnishapi2 libvirt0 libxencall1 libxendevicemodel1
libxenevtchn1 libxenforeignme
mysql-common owfs-common rrdtool
0 upgraded, 60 newly installed, 0 to remove and 66 not upgraded.
```
Question information
- Language:
- English Edit question
- Status:
- Answered
- For:
- Ubuntu collectd Edit question
- Assignee:
- No assignee Edit question
- Last query:
- Last reply:
Can you help with this problem?
Provide an answer of your own, or ask Tom Stewart for more information if necessary.