Re: How to install a browser (epiphany) without affecting mailcap etc.?

[Greg <curtyshoo@gmail.com>]

On 2025-02-13, Chris Green <cl@isbd.net> wrote:
> Max Nikulin <manikulin@gmail.com> wrote:
>> On 13/02/2025 01:26, Greg Wooledge wrote:
>> > Now Debian has*two* completely separate
>> > ways to specify a default application for a role.
>> 
>> I believed there are at least 4 ways (besides settings specific to 
>> particular applications)
>> - *browser alternatives
>> - BROWSER environment
>> - mailcap for text/html
>> - XDG configuration
>> 
>> sensible-browser, "open", and xdg-open just use some of these options.
>
> There's also all the MIME confguration.

Maybe you can see exactly what's going on by examining Epiphany's post install
script in /var/lib/dpkg/info/.

For firefox-esr, it's

#!/bin/sh -e

if [ "$1" = "configure" ] || [ "$1" = "abort-upgrade" ] ; then
    update-alternatives --install /usr/bin/x-www-browser \
        x-www-browser /usr/bin/firefox-esr 70 \
        --slave /usr/share/man/man1/x-www-browser.1.gz \
        x-www-browser.1.gz /usr/share/man/man1/firefox-esr.1.gz
    update-alternatives --remove mozilla /usr/bin/firefox-esr
    update-alternatives --install /usr/bin/gnome-www-browser \
        gnome-www-browser /usr/bin/firefox-esr 70 \
        --slave /usr/share/man/man1/gnome-www-browser.1.gz \
        gnome-www-browser.1.gz /usr/share/man/man1/firefox-esr.1.gz
fi

if [ "$1" = "configure" ] ; then
    rm -rf /usr/lib/firefox-esr/updates
fi

Good luck.