Flatpak*

This tutorial shows how to install a Flatpak app on Clear Linux OS using GNOME* Software and the command line.

Description

Flatpak is a framework for building and distributing desktop apps on Linux*. Flatpak allows you to build a single app and install it on different distributions of Linux. Flatpak apps are available through Flathub or the Clear Linux Store.

Prerequisites

• Clear Linux OS installed on host system

  Refer to Get started for installation instructions.

• desktop-autostart bundle installed

  Flatpak is included via desktop, which is included in the desktop-autostart bundle. The Flathub repository is pre-configured when the desktop-autostart bundle is installed.

  Install the desktop-autostart bundle with the following command:

  sudo swupd bundle-add desktop-autostart
  

Install a Flatpak app with GNOME Software

Clear Linux OS desktop comes with GNOME Software installed. Flatpak apps can be installed from within GNOME Software.

1. Launch GNOME Software from your desktop.

2. Search for the Flatpak app that you want to install, as shown in Figure 1.

   

   Figure 1: Searching for Filezilla* app in GNOME Software

3. When you find the app you want to install, click it to view application details.

4. On the app detail page, click the Install button, as shown in Figure 2.

   

   Figure 2: Filezilla Flatpak detail page in GNOME Software

5. After installation is complete, the new application will be in your GNOME applications list, as shown in Figure 3.

   

   Figure 3: Newly installed Filezilla application

6. Click the application icon to launch the application.

Install a Flatpak with the command line

Both Flathub and the Clear Linux Store provide the command line instructions for installing a Flatpak. Figure 4 shows the command line instructions to install Filezilla* from the Clear Linux Store:

Figure 4: Command line instructions to install Filezilla from the Clear Linux Store

In this example, we install Filezilla.

1. Open a terminal and enter the install command for the desired app:

   flatpak install flathub org.filezillaproject.Filezilla
   

   You may be prompted to select which repository to use:

   Looking for matches…
   Remote ‘flathub’ found in multiple installations:
   
      1) system
      2) user
   
   Which do you want to use (0 to abort)? [0-2]: 2
   
   org.filezillaproject.Filezilla permissions:
       ipc      network              ssh-auth             wayland      x11
       dri      file access [1]      dbus access [2]
   
       [1] host, xdg-run/dconf, ~/.config/dconf:ro
       [2] ca.desrt.dconf, org.freedesktop.Notifications, org.freedesktop.PowerManagement,
           org.gnome.SessionManager
   
   
           ID                                       Arch      Branch    Remote    Download
    1. [✓] org.filezillaproject.Filezilla           x86_64    stable    flathub   11.5 MB / 11.5 MB
    2. [✓] org.filezillaproject.Filezilla.Locale    x86_64    stable    flathub    4.6 kB / 3.8 MB
   
   Installation complete.
   

2. After installation, run the application with the following command:

   flatpak run org.filezillaproject.Filezilla