The article explains How to Install Flatpak on Arch Linux. Flatpak is a package management tool that allows you to distribute, install, and manage software without worrying about dependencies, runtime, or the Linux distros. Flatpak is known as a universal package because it allows you to install software regardless of the Linux distribution.
If you’ve been using Linux for a while, you’re probably aware of how difficult it can be to install new applications. Unless it was included with the installer, you had to go through the configure, make, make install process, which usually involved hunting down missing dependencies along the way. Package managers like apt and yum made this much easier, but dependencies could still catch you off guard. You’ve probably heard of Snap, which claims to solve many of these issues. You may have also heard that it is only available on Ubuntu Linux, but this is not the case.
How to Install Flatpak on Arch Linux
Now we will commence by installing Flatpak on Linux. Flatpak can be installed on any Linux system using the below methods:
Install Flatpak on Debian/Ubuntu
On Debian/Ubuntu 18.10 and later, Flatpak can be installed as below.
sudo apt updatesudo apt install flatpak
Dependency Tree. But for older versions of Ubuntu, the recommended way to install Flatpak is by adding repositories and installing it from the added repo.
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:flatpak/stablesudo apt updatesudo apt install flatpak
Install the Flatpak plugin for the software app that enables one to install applications without the need of the command line.
sudo apt install gnome-software-plugin-flatpak
Install Flatpak on Arch Linux/Manjaro
Installing Flatpak on Arch Linux is a straightforward process. You only need to run the command:
sudo pacman –
Syy sudo pacman -S flatpak
Install Flatpak on openSUSE
Flatpak is available in the default OpenSUSE repositories currently maintained by the OpenSUSE Tumbleweed and Leap versions. Install Flatpak on OpenSUSE using Zypper as below.
sudo zypper install flatpak
Install Flatpak on CentOS/RHEL/Rocky Linux
Flatpak is available by default on CentOS 7 and newer versions when using GNOME. If not, you can get Flatpak installed on CentOS/RHEL/Rocky Linux using the command:
sudo yum install flatpak
Dependency Tree:
Reboot your system
After successfully installing Flatpak on your Linux system, reboot the system for the changes made to apply.
sudo reboot -i
Wait for the system to reboot then login and proceed to manage applications using flatpak.
Manage Flatpak applications on Linux
Flatpak applications are hosted on a repository with the popular repository being the FlatHub repository. Flathub has innumerable applications in broad categories that include audio & video, developer tools, utilities, graphics & photography e.t.c. Now you need to enable the Flathub repository on your Linux system with the below command:
sudo flatpak remote-add –if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo
Verify if the repository has been installed as below.
flatpak remotes
Sample Output:
$ flatpak remotes
Name Options
flathub system
From the output, the Flathub repository has been installed and we can now install and manage applications from Flatpak.
Install applications using Flatpak on Linux.
Once Flatpak has been installed and the Flathub repository enabled, installing an application on Linux is so easy.
First search for the application on Flatpak.
sudo flatpak search app-name
For example, searching for Skype on ubuntu will be as below.
sudo flatpak search skype
From the output, details are provided for the application. To install the application, the syntax is as below.
sudo flatpak install remotes Application-IDFor example, to install the skype client, the command will be.
sudo flatpak install flathub com.skype.ClientProceed as below.
Run Flatpak Applications on Linux.
With the application installed, you can launch it from the App Menu or by using the command-line
flatpak run Application-ID
In this case, we will launch skype as below.
flatpak run com.skype.Client
The application will be launched.
Update and Uninstall Flatpak applications on Linux
You can list all the installed Flatpak applications with the below command: Updating Flatpak applications can be done in one command as below.
$ flatpak updateLooking for updates…Nothing to do.
To uninstall a Flatpak application, use the command:
flatpak uninstall Application-ID
Final Words
We hope you like this article on How to Install Flatpak on Arch Linux. Flatpak apps operate in a separate environment. This sandbox contains everything required to run that particular programme. If you enjoyed this article, please take a moment to share it on your favourite social media platform!
I hope you understand this article, How to Install Flatpak on Arch Linux.
