Linux packaging

[flukejones]

While it has its uses AppImage isn't very ideal for packaging in most cases due to it not integrating well with most Linux desktops (such as Gnome). While the 3 main distro packaging formats rpm, deb, and pkg (arch) exist, it can be a pain to build for all three.

A good argument can be made to add flatpak (and possibly snap) packaging, where the flatpak can be hosted in an Outrun owned server, and so provide automatic updates.

• Almost all distros support flatpak in some way
• Guaranteed stable environment
• Offers better security and safety to the user via permissions handling
• Integrates well with all main desktop environments (app icons, actions etc)
• Can be installed to users home dir via flatpak install --user <app> in cases where the user does not have wider permissions

However, a possible pain point can be the permissions management, particularly as this app can be used somewhat as an IDE. An IDE often requires access to more parts of a file system, things like headers etc. I'm not sure how this is managed, but a good example app which is also an IDE is gnome-builder.

[bryphe]

Thanks for logging the issue, @flukejones ! This is on my radar in terms of handling auto-update #559

[flukejones]

@bryphe is there any progress at all on this? AppImage is not a suitable format for the majority of distros.

[flukejones]

The appimage no-longer works in fedora 35.