Flatpak is a relatively new technology in Linux with an idea that is not new. The idea is to create “universal” applications to install on any distribution without worrying about dependencies or incompatibilities.
It is built and designed to isolate applications from each other and the rest of the system. This makes the system secure, consistent, and stable.
You can install third-party applications without worrying about dependencies while maintaining an optimal level of security. This sounds pretty good as you can have the latest stable version of GIMP on a distribution that uses KDE Plasma.
Below are some of the features of Flatpak.
- Build for every distro
- Consistent environments
- Easy build tools
- Distribution made easy
- Stable platforms
- Full control over dependencies
- Future-proof builds
- An independent project
Installing Flatpak on Ubuntu 20.04
Flatpak is supported by many Linux distributions. Just refer to this link for the complete list. Some of the distros like Fedora Workstation, Mint, Endless OS have built-in support available for Flatpak. So, no need to install it.
You can easily install it on most of the other Linux Distro using the package manager. Here, let’s see how to install it on Ubuntu Linux.
1. Seach Flatpak in Ubuntu Repository
Flatpak has gained popularity and attention, so it is available in the official ubuntu repositories of the distribution. So, log in to Ubuntu as a user having root or sudo access and open a terminal(CTRL+ALT+T).
Run the following search command.
:~$ apt search flatpak
2 Install Flatpak
Next, simply use the apt install command to complete Flatpak installation on your Ubuntu system as shown below. Enter the password and it will start the download and installation process.
:~$ sudo apt install flatpak
3. Verify installation
The installation completes in seconds if you have good internet speed. Now, check the version of Flatpak with the following command.
:~$ flatpak --version Flatpak 1.6.5
Conclusion
Thanks to Flatpak it is possible to install recent versions of very important applications such as Blender, Gimp, and others, in many Linux distributions quickly and easily.
This makes it easier and easier to distribute Linux applications. And this can also encourage more companies and developers to share their creations on Linux.
I hope this post will serve as a fundamental guide to install and use Flatpak on Ubuntu 20.04. Next, visit this welcome documentation on the Flatpak website to learn more about this technology.