Linux® From Scratch - Quality of Life (System V Edition) - Version #0a75

Chapter 2. Binary

Flatpak-1.16.0

Introduction to Flatpak

Flatpak allows you to download apps and run them in a sandbox. It downloads all of the dependencies of a given package in a sandbox and allows you to run the package as if it was not in a sandbox. Some packages only exist as a Flatpak, and some packages have a lot of dependencies that it might be worth it to install the Flatpak version instead.

Package Information

OSTree Dependencies

Required

AppStream, dbus, elogind, Fuse3, GLib2, gpgme, json-glib, libsoup3, OSTree-2025.1, p11-kit, and pyparsing

Recommended

appsteam-glib, Avahi, Bubblewrap, cURL, DConf, docbook-4.5-dtd, docbook-xml-4.5, docbook-xsl-nons, GTK-Doc, libarchive, libseccomp, libXau, libxml2, libxslt, xdg-dbus-proxy, xdg-desktop-portal, and xmlto

Optional

malcontent (for parental features), socat (for tests), and Valgrind

Installation of Flatpak

Install Flatpak by running the following commands: 

mkdir build    &&
cd    build    &&

meson setup --prefix=/usr       \
            --buildtype=release \
            -D systemd=disabled \
            -D tests=false      \
            .. &&

ninja

Now, as the root user: 

ninja install

Command Explanations

--buildtype=release: Specify a buildtype suitable for stable releases of the package, as the default may produce unoptimized binaries.

-D systemd=disabled: This parameter disables Systemd support.

-D tests=false: This parameter disables tests. Remove this parameter if you have socat installed.

Contents

Installed Programs: flatpak, flatpak-bisect, flatpak-bwrap, flatpak-coredumpctl, flatpak-dbus-proxy, flatpak-oci-authenticator, flatpak-portal, flatpak-session-helper, flatpak-system-helper, flatpak-validate-icon, and revokefs-fuse
Installed Shell Script Triggers: desktop-database.trigger, gtk-icon-cache.trigger, and mime-database.trigger
Installed Libraries: libflatpak.so
Installed Directories: /usr/include/flatpak, /usr/lib/sysusers.d, and /usr/share/flatpak/triggers

Short Descriptions

desktop-database.trigger

is a trigger that updates a flatpak's application cache

flatpak

can run containerized and sandboxed applications

flatpak-bisect

can do a git-style bisect of a flatpak application

flatpak-bwrap

is used by flatpak to utilize Bubblewrap features

flatpak-coredumpctl

can debug an application in gdb that crashed inside flatpak.

flatpak-dbus-proxy

is used by flatpak to utilize xdg-dbus-proxy features

flatpak-oci-authenticator

is used by flatpak to athenticate with the Oracle OCI SDK

flatpak-portal

is used by flatpak to access the xdg-desktop-portal

flatpak-session-helper

is used by flatpak to help with session management

flatpak-system-helper

is used by flatpak to help with the flatpak system.

flatpak-validate-icon

is used by flatpak to validate icons

gtk-icon-cache.trigger

is a trigger that updates a flatpak's GTK icon cache

mime-database.trigger

is a trigger that updates a flatpak's MIME database cache

revokefs-fuse

makes a basepath visible at a given mountpoint

libflatpak.so

contains functions used by the Flatpak utilities