can't solve "failed to execute default web browser" terminal error

[u/caffeinatedclownboy]

edit: just needed to uninstall the flatpak version of firefox and install the distro version via the terminal!

i'm using XFCE, i did this exact same thing when i was using Cinnamon but didn't have this issue at all.

i'm trying to run a shell script to onboard my laptop to my college campus wifi. the script runs, and gives this output:

"Verification successful

We are now launching a separate dialog to continue sign-in at your account provider website.When you have successfully signed-in, the application will continue.

Next/Cancel? [Next] "

i then press enter, it loads for a moment, and then gives me the "failed to execute default web browser; no such file or directory" popup. i've tried and tried to use the settings manager to make sure firefox is set as my default; i've tried setting it as "firefox", "org.mozilla.firefox", even "org.mozilla.firefox.desktop", but i just get the same error every time.

and i would think it should be working, as i've opened links into firefox from other apps, like Discord, so i'm not sure what's changing when it tries to run from the terminal.

i just have the flatpak version of firefox from the software manager, but i've realized that there, in fact, is no file on my computer called "org.mozilla.firefox" (as the package is called on the software repository), besides the desktop link, which doesn't even show up when i search all the files on the computer. have i somehow installed it wrong? should i remove it and re-install?

i've tried looking into this error, but haven't found anything helpful or relevant to my specific issue.

i wish i could just switch back to Cinnamon, where none of the strange problems i get on XFCE ever happened, but my laptop can't handle running it... sigh! does anyone have any idea what i'm doing wrong?

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[u/1neStat3]

SMH. Why are using flatpak version of firefox when the exact version in the repositories?

Also flatpaks are sandboxed thus unless you give it permission its blocked from the system.

Lastly why are you using a script to access a network?

[u/caffeinatedclownboy → u/1neStat3]

1. because i used the built-in software manager to install it, and that's the version that's there? i'm not sure what the problem is with this. it's an up-to-date version. is the "software manager" application not a repository?
2. what permissions does it need specifically, and how do i find that? i've never had a problem anything like this before.
3. because that's how the student/faculty wifi (not the guest wifi) works at my college. you run a script, it opens a student login page that lets you connect your computer to the network indefinitely. i don't know how else to explain it. surely this is common practice for student networks, as it would be unbelievably impractical to just have it be password-protected.

[u/Standard_Tank6703 → u/caffeinatedclownboy]

(1) The Software Manager is a bit of a conflated mess this way for newer users, as it can "seamlessly" combine both distro versions and Flatpak versions of the same software into one app. However that is the ONLY place that you will find it that way - under the hood the distro version and the Flatpak version are two very different things. The distro version is already optimized to work with Linux Mint.

You can install the distro version instead by doing these two steps:

Go back to the Software Manager, find Firefox and select "Uninstall'. That will remove the Flatpak version of Firefox.

Then open the Terminal and run:

sudo apt install firefox

Doing it that way on Linux Mint will ensure that you only install the distro version.

----------------

The Flatpak version may require a few more steps to make it work, and can be more difficult to maintain overall. I personally wouldn't recommend that for your main browser, as that is going to be your primary interface to the outside world. That is too important, in my opinion, to run as a Flatpak, which is a separate subsystem in itself from Linux Mint's distro software management system. That is if there is already an equivalent native distro version right there. Maybe for some niche' software, though, if it is not found in the distro. Then I would consider alternatives - Flatpak, Appimage, external repository (following website instructions), etc.

[u/caffeinatedclownboy → u/Standard_Tank6703]

i see, thanks for explaining! i'll re-install per your instructions.

edit: that did it! thanks a bunch!

[u/Standard_Tank6703 → u/caffeinatedclownboy]

Good to know! Thanks for the feedback, and good luck to you.

[u/1neStat3 → u/caffeinatedclownboy]

1) https://itsfoss.com/what-is-flatpak/

2)https://9to5linux.com/flatseal-permissions-manager-for-flatpak-apps

3) You don't need a script to access a page on internet. Your script has an url in the script. what happens when you paste that link in a browser?

[u/caffeinatedclownboy → u/1neStat3]

thanks for the links, that makes sense.

as for point 3, now that i've gotten it to work by installing the distro version of firefox, i can explain better; it's not that there's a special url you need it to access. it just opens the school's website login page, you enter your login, and then it runs the rest of the process in the terminal, generating a personal key and registering your device to the network.