Flatpak, formerly known as xdg-app, is a utility for software deployment and package management for Linux. It is advertised as offering a

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environment in which users can run application software in isolation from the rest of the system.

Features

Applications using Flatpak need permissions to have access to resources such as Bluetooth, sound (with PulseAudio), network, and

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. These permissions are defined by the maintainer of the Flatpak and can be added or removed by users on their system. Another key feature of Flatpak is that it allows application developers to directly provide updates to users without going through distributions, and without having to package and test the application separately for each distribution. ''Flathub,'' a repository (or remote source in the Flatpak terminology) located at , has become the de facto standard for getting applications packaged with Flatpak. Packages are added to it by both the Flathub administrators and the developers of the programs themselves (though the admins have stated their preference for developer-submitted apps). Although ''Flathub'' is the de facto source for applications packaged with Flatpak, it is possible to host a Flatpak repository that is independent of Flathub.

Support

Theoretically, Flatpak apps can be installed on any existing

Linux distribution A Linux distribution (often abbreviated as distro) is an operating system made from a software collection that includes the Linux kernel and, often, a package management system. Linux users usually obtain their operating system by downloading one ...

including those installed with the Windows Subsystem for Linux compatibility layer.

Supported out-of-the-box

Here is a list of the distributions where Flatpak is installed by default: *

CentOS CentOS (, from Community Enterprise Operating System; also known as CentOS Linux) is a Linux distribution that provides a free and open-source community-supported computing platform, functionally compatible with its upstream source, Red Hat En ...

Clear Linux Clear Linux OS is a Linux distribution, developed and maintained on Intel's 01.org open-source platform, and optimized for Intel's microprocessors with an emphasis on performance and security. Its optimizations also affect AMD-systems. Clear ...

* elementary OS * Endless OS * Fedora Workstation * Fedora Silverblue * Linux Mint * Pop! OS * PureOS * SteamOS * Ubuntu MATE * Zorin OS

Supported

Here is a list of the distributions where Flatpak is not installed by default but can be installed: * AlmaLinux * Alpine Linux * Arch Linux *

Bodhi Linux Bodhi Linux is a light-weight Linux distribution based on Ubuntu that uses an Enlightenment DR17-based fork called Moksha window manager. The philosophy for the distribution is to provide a minimal base system so that users can populate it with t ...

Debian Debian (), also known as Debian GNU/Linux, is a Linux distribution composed of free and open-source software, developed by the community-supported Debian Project, which was established by Ian Murdock on August 16, 1993. The first version of D ...

* Deepin * EndeavourOS *

Gentoo Linux Gentoo Linux (pronounced ) is a Linux distribution built using the Portage package management system. Unlike a binary software distribution, the source code is compiled locally according to the user's preferences and is often optimized for the ...

KaOS KaOS is a desktop Linux distribution that features the latest version of the KDE desktop environment, the LibreOffice office suite, and other popular software applications that use the Qt toolkit. History The first version of KaOS was released ...

* KDE neon *

Kubuntu Kubuntu ( ) is an official flavor of the Ubuntu operating system that uses the KDE Plasma Desktop instead of the GNOME desktop environment. As part of the Ubuntu project, Kubuntu uses the same underlying systems. Kubuntu shares the same repositor ...

* Mageia * Manjaro * MX Linux * NixOS * OpenMandriva Lx * OpenSUSE * Pardus * PCLinuxOS * Peppermint OS * Raspberry Pi OS * Red Hat Enterprise Linux * Rocky Linux *

Solus Solus may refer to: *Solus or Soluntum, an ancient city of Sicily * ''Solus'' (comics), an American comic book series *Solus (operating system), an operating system based on the Linux kernel * ''Solus'' (moth), a genus of moths in the family Saturn ...

* SparkyLinux * Ubuntu * Void Linux * Zenwalk It can also be used on

Linux kernel The Linux kernel is a free and open-source, monolithic, modular, multitasking, Unix-like operating system kernel. It was originally authored in 1991 by Linus Torvalds for his i386-based PC, and it was soon adopted as the kernel for the GNU ope ...

-based systems like ChromeOS.

References

{{freedesktop.org Free software Free software programmed in C Freedesktop.org Linux installation software Linux package management-related software Operating system technology Software distribution Virtualization software

Features

Support

Supported out-of-the-box

Supported

See also

References