Recommendation for running an old program

Posted Dec 11, 2025 16:39 UTC (Thu) by abatters (✭ supporter ✭, #6932)
Parent article: Mix and match Linux distributions with Distrobox

So I want to keep an old version of a specific gnome application (gthumb) working on modern Ubuntu while giving it access to files in my home directory. What is the best way? Distrobox, snap, flatpack, docker, linux containers, etc.?

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Recommendation for running an old program

Posted Dec 11, 2025 18:20 UTC (Thu) by jzb (editor, #7867) [Link] (10 responses)

My first questions would be "how old?" and "how specific a version?" Probably Distrobox is the best option unless you want a super-specific version (e.g., not one present in an Ubuntu or another distribution). I tried this to see if I ran into any problems:

distrobox create -i ubuntu:20.04 -n oldbuntu -H ~/Distrobox/oldbuntu --additional-packages gthumb

It seems to work just fine. You might want to omit the "-H ~/Distrobox/oldbuntu" option though, and change the Ubuntu release to a different LTS that has a version that you want.

Recommendation for running an old program

Posted Dec 11, 2025 19:38 UTC (Thu) by abatters (✭ supporter ✭, #6932) [Link] (9 responses)

It is a very old version from another old Ubuntu version. I don't have it here right now but I think it is around version 3.2 or 3.3, which are 10-15 years old. For years I have been recompiling the old source on newer distros but it isn't working so well anymore. (Without being too negative about it, I just like the old version much better than the new versions.)

Recommendation for running an old program

Posted Dec 11, 2025 19:50 UTC (Thu) by jzb (editor, #7867) [Link] (5 responses)

A quick search suggests that it'd be 3.2.x, it looks like 3.3 had a UI change and Ubuntu stuck with 3.2 for a bit. What I'd do is create a distrobox from, say, Ubuntu 20.04 (assuming it compiled from source cleanly there) and then compile from source in that distrobox and keep that. Should work just fine.

Recommendation for running an old program

Posted Dec 11, 2025 19:53 UTC (Thu) by abatters (✭ supporter ✭, #6932) [Link]

Thanks, I'll try that over the weekend.

Recommendation for running an old program

Posted Dec 12, 2025 22:41 UTC (Fri) by jmalcolm (subscriber, #8876) [Link] (3 responses)

If gThumb 3.4.3 is old enough for you, Distrobox has your back.

distrobox create -n gthumbbox -i docker.io/ubuntu:16.04
distrobox enter gthumbbox
export GDK_BACKEND=x11
export CLUTTER_BACKEND=x11
sudo apt install gthumb
gthumb &

Keep in mind that running libraries from old distros like this may be a security concern. 16.04 LTS is still getting EMS updates though.

If you are behind a firewall and only running gthumb, it does not seem like big deal but some folks would disagree. One of the benefits of Distrobox is that you get to make that decision vs. Flatpak that will pull old runtimes even if you have apps that depend on them.

If you are ok with no security updates, you can try 14.04 as well. I was able to run gThumb 3.2.7 via the following:

distrobox create -n ggg -i docker.io/ubuntu:14.04 --pre-init-hooks "mv /usr/bin/apt /usr/bin/apt.back && touch /usr/bin/apt && chmod +x /usr/bin/apt"
distrobox enter ggg
sudo apt-get install gthumb
gthumb &

The --pre-init-hooks thing is required as otherwise Distrobox fails to setup the container as it tries to run apt and fails. You should "sudo mv -v /usr/bin/apt.back /usr/bin/apt" once you are in the container to put apt back.

Running very old Linux versions requires a bit more futzing around. Still, this shows the power of Distrobox. The version of gThumb above was compiled with GCC 4.8.4 against eglibc 2.19 and for x11. It ran flawlessly on my musl native, Wayland native Chimera Linux install via Distrobox. I love it.

Recommendation for running an old program

Posted Dec 13, 2025 1:47 UTC (Sat) by abatters (✭ supporter ✭, #6932) [Link] (2 responses)

Yes, gthumb 3.2.7 is the version I like, although even with that version I have to apply a few of my own patches to revert some changes that were already annoying me. Thanks for all the info. Looks like I have several options to try.

Recommendation for running an old program

Posted Dec 13, 2025 3:14 UTC (Sat) by abatters (✭ supporter ✭, #6932) [Link] (1 responses)

I got it working. Compiled from source with a few tweaks on distrobox Ubuntu 20.04. Amazingly easy, given that I already did all the work to get it working on Ubuntu 20.04 previously. Thanks for all the suggestions!

Recommendation for running an old program

Posted Dec 14, 2025 23:47 UTC (Sun) by jmalcolm (subscriber, #8876) [Link]

This is really the best solution. I am glad you got it working so easily.

I love that you can use old distros though. That would allow running a tool that no longer builds easily with modern toolchains or even binaries for which you do not have source code.

The latter case may even be for something recent. For example, I may have a proprietary binary for RHEL. With Distrobox, I can run that anywhere without weird bugs from using the wrong libraries.

Welcome to the Distrobox club. I think you are going to love it.

Recommendation for running an old program

Posted Dec 11, 2025 21:51 UTC (Thu) by jmalcolm (subscriber, #8876) [Link] (2 responses)

In my experience, it will be a bit of work to try to create a Distrobox from a distribution that old. It can probably be done but it will fight you. I ran into a few roadblocks trying to create a Distrobox for a version pre-Fedora Red Hat Linux.

You are also going to have trouble finding a container registry with something that old in it. So, you would at be at least creating and managing your own container.

If you have had luck running your app on "old" but not "ancient" versions of Ubuntu, I would target that version instead. If that works for you, Distrobox will be fantastic.

Recommendation for running an old program

Posted Dec 11, 2025 22:01 UTC (Thu) by jzb (editor, #7867) [Link] (1 responses)

FWIW the Docker registry still has versions of Ubuntu going back to 14.04. All LTSes, I think. I didn't have any trouble whatsoever with the example I gave using 20.04 here. But, yeah, I'd suggest going with the newest old version that works for compiling gthumb without headaches if that's the goal.

Recommendation for running an old program

Posted Dec 12, 2025 22:48 UTC (Fri) by jmalcolm (subscriber, #8876) [Link]

Ubuntu 14.04 did not install right out of the box for me. See my comment above for how I worked around it. Ubuntu 14.04 has gThumb 3.2.7 in it which I think is the UI he is looking for.

I think I replied to the wrong comment. He may not even see my post.