How to Check Which Snap Apps Are Running on Ubuntu

Snap packages have become a staple of modern Ubuntu installations, but they can also leave you guessing about what’s actually active under the hood. Whether you’re troubleshooting performance, freeing up memory, or just curious, knowing which snap apps are running is surprisingly easy once you get the hang of a few commands.

Why Look at Running Snap Processes?

Snap applications run in isolated containers, each with its own set of processes. This sandboxing improves security but adds a layer of abstraction that can hide resource‑hungry services from the usual ps or top views. Spotting a rogue snap that’s hogging CPU or RAM can save you a reboot later.

Basic Command: snap services

The quickest way to list snap services that are currently active is:

snap services

This output shows the service name, its status (active, disabled, etc.), and the corresponding snap. For example:

Service           Snap      Current
snap.modem-manager.modemmanager  modem-manager  active
snap.lxd.daemon                 lxd           active

If you see “active” next to a service, it’s running in the background, even if you haven’t launched the GUI yet.

Digging Deeper with snap ps

Ubuntu 22.04 introduced snap ps, a handy wrapper that mirrors the familiar ps output but filters for snap processes only.

snap ps

The result includes PID, user, and command line, making it simple to spot a misbehaving snap:

PID   USER   COMMAND
1245  root   /snap/lxd/2505/bin/lxd
2158  ubuntu /snap/spotify/60/usr/bin/spotify

Notice the “/snap/” prefix – that’s your visual cue that the process belongs to a snap.

Using systemctl for Snap Services

Since each snap service is also a systemd unit, you can query them just like any other service:

systemctl list-units --type=service | grep snap

This command returns a more detailed view, showing load state, active state, and description. It’s especially useful when a snap provides multiple services and you need to pinpoint a specific one.

Filtering by Snap Name

Sometimes you only care about a single snap, say telegram-desktop. Combine snap ps with grep:

snap ps | grep telegram

Or, if you prefer systemd:

systemctl status snap.telegram-desktop.telegram-desktop.service

Both approaches reveal whether the app is lurking in memory, even if the window is closed.

Quick One‑Liner for Resource Checks

If you’re hunting for the biggest snap consumers, this pipeline does the trick:

ps -eo pid,comm,%cpu,%mem --sort=-%cpu | grep snap | head -n 5

It lists the top five CPU‑intensive snap processes, letting you act before system slowdown becomes noticeable.

Stopping Unwanted Snap Services

Identifying a runaway snap is only half the battle; you’ll often want to stop it. Use systemctl:

sudo systemctl stop snap.snap-name.service

Replace snap-name and service with the actual identifiers you saw in snap services. To prevent the service from starting again on boot, run:

sudo systemctl disable snap.snap-name.service

When to Trust the Output

• Transient processes: Some snaps launch short‑lived helpers that appear and vanish quickly. A single snapshot may miss them.
• Multiple instances: Certain applications (e.g., browsers) can spawn several processes, each showing up separately.
• User vs. system snaps: Snap services run as root, while user‑level snap apps appear under the regular username. Keep an eye on both.

Putting It All Together: A Mini‑Workflow

1. Run snap services to get a quick health check.
2. If something looks odd, drill down with snap ps or systemctl.
3. Identify the culprit, then stop or disable it as needed.
4. Re‑run the commands to confirm the change took effect.

That’s the entire loop—no need for third‑party tools or complex scripts.

Bonus Tip: Monitoring Snap Activity Over Time

For the persistently curious, a simple cron job can log snap activity daily:

*/30 * * * * /usr/bin/snap ps >> /var/log/snap-activity.log

Review the log whenever you suspect a pattern, such as a nightly spike that coincides with a backup routine.

Understanding what’s running under the snap umbrella demystifies a lot of the “why is my laptop slow?” questions. With the commands above, you’ll have a clear line of sight into every containerized process, making maintenance feel less like guesswork and more like a purposeful tune‑up.