Flathub

Flathub aka Flatpak aka xdg-app

Flathub is a central Flatpak repository.

Flatpak was formerly called xdg-app are the software available from Flathub as well as other sources.

Flatpak is a package format that works and is supported on most major linux distributions.

Snap aka Snapcraft is an alternative to Flatpak. They essentially are competing systems to provide the same thing. Both are part of a concept where version control of dependencies is handled by a great deal of redundancy. Rather than having binaries compiled for a specific linux kernel, distribution, and libraries, the pack contains redundant copies of all dependencies necessary for the specific compiled version of the binary itself.

Bloatware - an example where the efficiency of the linux architecture is bypassed for the purpose of simplifying the application developer's burden to create compatible binaries for various distributions -or- make it unnecessary for the end user to have to compile a software from source. Flatpak does allow developers to directly provide updates to users without going through distributions, and without having to package and test the application separately for each distribution.

Linux purists are opposed to bloatware packaged applications like Flatpak and Snapcraft. Also, the promise of compatibility across all distributions and versions has never been achieved, far from it. An example where the cure is possible worse than the disease itself.

On many distributions due to security restrictions Flatpaks run isolated from your system; they run with restrictions on what they can see and access and ship with their own libraries instead of using your system's libraries.

Flathub, a repository (or remote source in the Flatpak terminology) located at flathub.org, has become the central place for getting applications packaged with Flatpak.

To see if you currently have any flatpaks installed

flatpak list

Tired of seeing flatpak listings in the Mint Software Manager? Even when flatpak is not installed, the listings still show up in software manager. You can purge them with the following command:

sudo apt-get remove --purge libflatpak0

Only do this if you are not using flathub at all, and you no longer with to see flatpak software listed in the Mint Software Manager.

usage

install and configure

sudo apt update
sudo apt install flatpak

install package

If the flatpak is in flathub then install this way:

flatpak install flathub name-of-app

Apps in the flathub repository are available to install using the command above. There are many more apps outside of the flathub repository. They may be installed by adding an additional repository to your repository list, or by downloading the flatpak file and installing it directly.

Install local .flatpakref (or .flatpak) file

flatpak install /PATH/TO/filename.flatpakref

Without downloading the .flatpakref file, user may select to copy the download URL

flatpak install url-link-to-flatpakref

list installed packs

flatpak list

execute an installed app

flatpak run name-of-app-or-id

update all packs to the laterst

flatpak update

If you have Flatpak 1.5.0 or later, you can also prevent the app from being included in updates (either manual or automatic):

flatpak mask org.gnome.exampleapp

delete/remove an app

flatpak uninstall name-of-app

repository management

flatpak install REPOSITORY_NAME PACKAGE_ID