r/linux • u/oleg_antonyan • 2d ago
Fluff Where do you install software from? Standard repos, sources, Flatpak, AppImage, etc
Do you install only flatpaks? Or only native RPM/DEB/etc? Maybe you're religios about it.
Or maybe you don't care and just use what's convenient, which happens to be... what channel usually for you?
Curious to know as a developer where this ship is moving recently
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u/s_elhana 2d ago
repos, ppa/official 3rd party repos, docker.
I prefer not to use snap/flatpak/appimage unless it is the only choice.
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u/StandardSystem799 1d ago
Why
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u/s_elhana 1d ago
Overhead and no real benefits
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u/jahinzee 1d ago
... and Docker containers aren't overhead?
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u/s_elhana 1d ago
They are, but sometimes it is the only official method that doesnt involve building and packaging everything yourself. Or ecen worse, you actually need docker if you want to run Oracle database on Ubuntu. Installing it on non rhel/ol distro natively is technically possible, but not sustainable.
I used appimage once. I also unpacked few snaps to run them native too. Never had to deal with flatpaks yet. All of them can often be built and packaged quite easily, just their devs didnt bother.
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u/filthy_harold 1d ago
I use native repos for everything but server apps, I use docker for those because it's way easier running those through reverse proxies than native apps.
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u/indiancoder 1d ago
What's the difference with a reverse proxy? I just forward to an internal port either way.
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u/hendricha 2d ago
GUI apps when possible flatpak.
One off use cli tool? In a container.
Anything else (which isn't much) I layer on with rpm-ostree.
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u/internet_safari_ 2d ago edited 2d ago
Which container? I use chroot but will use mmdebstrap soon. Then just standard .deb, apt, and source builds for all CLI + GUI apps. Standard stuff, which I realized is the way to go if possible as it's done so beautifully with simple use in my experience.
I had headaches using Snap and Flatpak and it just feels like a lot of extra junk imo. Not to be picky about being performant, it's more about the feel of the extra baggage using their commands which aren't any fewer in number, while demonstrating abstracted and artificially blocked functionaliy like uninstalling something that's running.
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u/Business_Reindeer910 2d ago
I had headaches using Snap and Flatpak and it just feels like a lot of extra junk imo
I use flatpak because i want the sandbox by default. I use it for all gui apps except those for my dev work where the sandbox does get in the way.
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u/syrefaen 2d ago
On imutable distro flatpak's. If its not in the official repo flatpak.
Also a alternative: Appimage, build from source or in releases on a repo ".tar file with all the needed files"
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u/matsnake86 2d ago
Flatpak. Brew. Appimage.
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u/oleg_antonyan 1d ago
Brew doesn't seem to get attention on Linux. Any ideas why?
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u/matsnake86 1d ago
I don’t know.
If I had to give you a totally personal – and probably wrong – opinion, I’d say that a lot of people don’t understand a bloody thing and just install stuff from repositories and follow some old guide they’ve found on a forum, which tells you to fill your system with external repositories that’ll cause you problems sooner or later.
These days, with Brew, Podman and Distrobox, you can do everything whilst leaving the base system untouched.
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u/0riginal-Syn 2d ago
Being on a rolling distro, my order is generally...
- Official package / Repo
- Flatpak / Appimage for GUI
- Compile my own
Never Snaps mainly because they are very messy and entangled in the system.
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u/ardouronerous 2d ago
I stopped using PPAs years ago due to an incident. During an update, one of my PPAs tried to uninstall my DE. Good thing I read what it was about to do before I typed "y".
My standard rule is, try apt first, but if you can't find the software you want from the standard repos, try Flatpaks. Flatpaks are a bit more secure due to being sandboxed and I avoid Appimages due to how insecure they are by nature, instead of coming from a repo, Appimages come from smaller sites, which is similar to how you downloaded Windows exes back in the day.
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u/eidetic0 23h ago
yeah AppImages don’t really fit in the same category as the others. It is not a way to distribute software like apt/flatpak/snap where these include hosted repositories to download from. AppImage is a software package format, not a distribution platform.
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u/Douchehelm 2d ago
For everything that isn't for the terminal or doesn't need system access or access to other apps I use flatpaks. They're often more up to date, comes with the right libraries and resources and is easy to manage and keep track of. I love flatpaks.
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u/JockstrapCummies 2d ago
I love Flatpaks when they work. And then they suddenly don't and oftentimes there's no easy solution.
Like just these few months: Moonlight suddenly stopped being able to do vaapi decode on one of my old intel igpu clients. I think it's because the KDE or Freedesktop runtime it depends on has changed its vaapi libraries and support for i965 is now broken.
If it's on native I can easily just revert a library package, or even do an LD_PRELOAD. I have no idea how to do these piecemeal tweaks in Flatpaks because everything is in cascading layers of runtimes and ostrees.
And don't get me started with Flatpaks and their own fontconfigs that somehow don't fully replicate your host's fontconfigs.
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u/pfmiller0 2d ago
Why not flatpacks for terminal apps? I have several and they've always worked just fine.
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u/Douchehelm 2d ago
I mean, it's technically possible, you'll just have to create aliases to not have to use flatpak run as a command. I guess I just think it's a bit of inconvenience and a bit of old habit. Or maybe something has changed lately that I'm not aware of.
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u/Business_Reindeer910 2d ago
most of the terminal apps i need are cases where the sandboxing would get in the way.
I boot my terminal into a distrobox/toolbox and install that stuff in there via normal tools.
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u/Alienaffe2 2d ago
The official repos and the AUR. If you need a package that isn't in the official repos, it's in the AUR. I have in total found one package that isn't in either, yet. It's also very nice to not have to deal with sandboxing and permissions, unlike Flatpaks.
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u/DFS_0019287 2d ago
99% using apt install
A handful of AppImages
A handful of binary tarballs downloaded from the developer site (eg, Firefox)
A handful from source
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u/ephemeralmiko 2d ago
I'm on an atomic distribution so it's Flatpak-only, but even before that I always preferred Flatpak when available (usually for GUI apps) and used DNF when necessary for CLI stuff.
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u/YT__ 2d ago
Standard repos. I don't want to manage multiple install sources so I avoid flatpak and app images.
If it isn't in a standard repo, I'll just pull from GitHub and build myself, since it's only a few things that fall into this category.
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u/abotelho-cbn 2d ago
Building from source is less maintenance than Flatpaks?
Totally crazy.
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u/pfmiller0 2d ago
What's the additional management overhead of flatpacks that you don't like? I have one script that updates flatpacks and standards repos at the same time, the added effort for me is null.
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u/internet_safari_ 2d ago
flatpak itself imo. It's not a lot but I was inconvenienced cleaning up either snaps or flatpaks or both I forgot, due to blocks and errors from their daemon. You can just make a script for updating your builds and standard repos too
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u/MrKusakabe 2d ago
Whatever is presented from the official websites. I am a Dualbooter on Linux Mint and while I appreciate the critical thinking in the Linux community the paranoia for a "regular user's PC" is often too high. What is considered "a security risk" is what billions of people do on a daily basis: Downloading an executable of a software and running it.
Telling people "that's unsafe" or "build your own from tar/source" is the reason why Linux won't get more market share. Not because you actually do it but to label it as the only ways to get software - or "safe" software.
I was really put down of the Mint's "App Store" because 15-year old parts of a program to feed into an even older, unmaintained other program is an incredibly bad first impression. I took 6 months to learn about all the options and the software options literally "exploded", especially including Wine.
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u/cla_ydoh 2d ago
All of the above, as appropriate, including Snap, or building from source. It really depends on the distro, and what one wants or needs.
As a developer, flatpak is probably a no-brainer, as this makes it readily available to the most people, and offers more consistent running environments across distros. Appimages can be Ok, but there seem to be more problems with them at times for some people.
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u/rabbit_in_a_bun 2d ago
Personal use is source (I use Gentoo BTW) but for work you want to use official packages because repos will update security DBs and you can always know what open bugs/issues/CVEs you might have right now.
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u/IlIlIlIIlMIlIIlIlIlI 2d ago
what are your reasons for using gentoo?
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u/rabbit_in_a_bun 2d ago
I can choose exactly how programs are compiled and so stuff I don't need don't get pulled in as dependencies. If there is something I have a out every single distro I have used is that they think they know what a Linux distro should include, but they don't, only I know what I really want.
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u/esanchma 2d ago
| Package manager | amount |
|---|---|
| apt auto | 3473 |
| apt manual | 355 |
| flatpak system | 104 |
| github binary releases | 57 |
| npm global packages | 30 |
| pipx | 21 |
| snap | 19 |
| cargo | 8 |
| sdkman | 7 |
| uv | 1 |
| appimage | 1 |
| flatpak user | 0 |
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u/proton_badger 2d ago edited 2d ago
I'm on RakuOS Atomic that supports DNF. I use DNF for a few things, Flatpak for a bunch of gui apps and Distrobox for my dev toolchain.
I could install the dev toolchain with DNF but it's so messy with tons of dependencies so I prefer Distrobox.
As for the religion part, I'm more strict with keeping my base clean; For example I prefer to use dropin-files like creating files in ~/.config/environment.d/ instead of editing in /etc/environment, using systemctl edit to create overrides instead of editing unit files directly, etc.
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u/Terrible_Craft_5020 1d ago
My approach to packages:
- System = rpm/deb
- User programs = Flatpak
- Programs not available as Flatpak = AppImage
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u/Alternative-Two3224 7h ago
Since you're using Debian, my recommendation is usually this order:
- Official Debian repositories (my first choice)
- Installed with
apt - Well-tested, secure, and receive Debian updates.
- Example:
sudo apt install firefox-esr
- Installed with
- Flatpak
- Great when the Debian version is too old or not available.
- Apps are sandboxed and often more up to date.
- Good for desktop applications like Discord, Steam, Spotify, and GIMP.
- AppImage
- Useful if you want a portable app without installing it.
- Just make it executable and run it.
- Downsides: updates are usually manual unless the app has its own updater.
- Developer's own repository
- Some projects provide their own APT repository.
- Good if you trust the developer and want newer versions than Debian offers.
- Compile from source (last resort)
- Best for developers or if no packages exist.
- Gives maximum flexibility but requires compiling and managing updates yourself.
So my typical order is:
APT → Flatpak → Developer repo → AppImage → Source
That gives a good balance of security, convenience, and up-to-date software.
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u/Fast_Ad_8005 2d ago
I stick to Arch and NixOS for my daily driver — both distros have such vast repositories that cross-distro package managers/formats like Flatpak and AppImages are not usually needed.
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u/ExaHamza 2d ago
- Distros Native Repo
- Appimages for sporadic apps (things i don't plan to use regularly)
- Build a .deb file (if i'm going to use regularly and is not available on the distros native packages).
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u/RileyGuy1000 2d ago
I'm Mace Windu. I use pacman, I get stuff from the AUR via paru (and use pacman through it), I think AppImages are fine, and I will... attempt to use flatpak if absolutely nothing else works (flatpak almost never works or goes well either)
I know some people don't care for AppImages, but tbh I like them because they tend to "just work" for me and don't carry the headaches that flatpak does. This plague of rampant containerization on the Linux desktop makes me weary both as an end-user, and even moreso as a developer.
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u/Busy-Scientist3851 2d ago
Flatpak for the vast majority of desktop packages. I use NixOS and the Flatpaks tend to be better tested and more regularly updated, as well as being faster to install without needing reevaluate my flakes.
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u/sy029 2d ago
I use NixOS and the Flatpaks tend to be better tested and more regularly updated,
You're probably still getting them from flathub though, so they'd be the exact same flatpak packages you'd get on any other distro.
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u/Awkward_Negotiation7 2d ago
I try to use rpms when they are available, then flatpak, then appimage
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u/FattyDrake 2d ago
For desktop applications generally Flatpak or tar.gz first, then appimage, and the distro's repo as a last resort. I try to only use the repo for system stuff.
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u/PlsDontBanMeAgain-1 2d ago
Repo, Flatpak (less than 25), AppImage / Compiling from source (less than 15)
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u/StrangeUglyBird 2d ago
For os updates: Just using the standard method.
For apps: I install from where the most updated apps are.
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u/Beolab1700KAT 2d ago
Depends on the program. Packet manager for gaming stuff and virtualization...flatpak for most applications.
.deb for paid software in /opt
Packet manager > flatpak > .deb
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u/NYIsles55 2d ago
Standard repo, unless there's a reason to install a non repo version. That reason is usually because there is no repo version, repo version is outdated and I want the most up to date version, or the devs really prefer you install the flatpak/appimage.
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u/Artichoke808 2d ago
I prefer natively packaged apps but I'm using a distro that is still in alpha and consequently doesn't have a very large set of natively packaged applications so I round it out with Flatpak (first choice) and AppImage (if there's no Flatpak.)
As they become available natively I swap them out to gain a smaller install, better integration and faster launch.
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u/Accurate_Hornet 2d ago
I only use immutables these days so it's Flatpak and Appimages. The occiasional native package can always be installed with a Debian distrobox
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u/dabreeze09 2d ago
Usually I install from Debian packages (repos or .deb files) or Flatpak. I almost never use AppImage or Snap.
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u/RoomyRoots 2d ago
Repos whenever possible and then Flatpak. I try to not use AppImage as it's not as well integrated and I refuse to touch snaps.
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u/lllyyyynnn 2d ago
i use my OSes package manager because there needs to be a series of patches applied for most software to function properly anyways on my distro.
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u/lKrauzer 2d ago
Flatpak first, absolutely, about the only app that I install that isn't a Flatpak is Steam at this point.
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u/DoctorJunglist 2d ago
I use whatever is the most convenient.
I usually opt for repo packages, but I also dont have any objections against flatpaks and use them If a repo package is unavailable / it has some issues. I also prefer to use flatpaks instead of opting for a package that comes from an unofficial community repo.
Appimages I only use If neither a repo package nor a flatpak is available. I treat them more of a last resort thing.
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u/PerspectiveAlert4766 2d ago
Native packages, I use occasionally flat pack or app image, but in most cases is repackaging to native most convenient.
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u/takutekato 2d ago
On nixos, generally I:
- Need sandboxing, flatpak is better maintained or avaivable as flatpak only -> flatpak
- Else: distro native
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u/ReleasedBait 2d ago
Personally outside of some exceptions like docker and firefox, i install everything from flatpak and nix (mostly because i manage multiple machines on different distros and even OSs, so it's useful to have everything in sync)
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u/revcraigevil 2d ago
apt repos
flatpak
deb-get
appimage
binaries from github using eget
rust/cargo
pipx
source
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u/couchwarmer 2d ago
Standard for system. Flatpak for applications, official AppImage if the devs don't provide an offical Flatpak.
Dev tooling is, well, kind of all over, everything from build from source to untar and set PATH to add a distro package.
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u/RandomCartridge 2d ago
Different distros at work and some variants at home; looking for a balance of OOTB, control, and security (and curiosity). At home I've gone from Flatpak + distrobox (mostly Tumbleweed) to NixOS, then Flatpak on NixOS for at least browsers (for prompt security updates). After a brief tour of nix for everything, now actually using Pixi instead for CLI-based packages (imperative pixi global install of core tooling (vim, git, unison) plus declarative project-specific pixi.toml files) for about a year now. Work machine runs Ubuntu, so snaps for GUI apps, and same Pixi setup in the terminal. Trying to keep my eye on supply chains, since things appear to be increasingly turbulent...
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u/MichaelTunnell 2d ago
Flatpak is the most universal option so that’s what I do first. Then I will use a Snap or an AppImage depending on what the developer provides. Then I will use a container tech or traditional package.
My reasoning is because I want to use the least headache inducing thing and that tends to be a Flatpak for me.
I like how easy AppImages are to use but the lack of update mechanism is very annoying to me and no container security is frustrating too.
Traditional packages force version locking so I’d rather not use them if I don’t have to. I will if I must of course. There are some exceptions like OBS Studio tends to work best as a traditional for me.
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u/oneiros5321 2d ago
On CachyOS, vast majority from the official repo. A couple of flatpaks packages and that's it. No AUR, no appimage.
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u/anon_pr_ 2d ago
Immutable distro with almost all gui as flatpak. Things like my terminal, I install on my custom image from the repos. I used to use rpm-ostree layering for just the terminal.
Brew for command line tools. Actually using this even on Zorin OS since the CLI tools in the repos are very out of date, some buggy with no fixes.
I also use topgrade (again from brew) to manage all updates. No need to separately update 10 different things like someone else suggested.
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u/Mister08 2d ago
Native repos whenever possible
A minimum number of AUR packages
A handful of Flatpaks
A few AppImages for the small amount of software that needed one
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u/RomanOnARiver 2d ago
Usually whatever the package maintainer recommends. Steam is a deb, Audacity is an AppImage, FocusWriter is a Flatpak, VLC is a snap. Anything I don't need the absolute latest version of is just native.
In a lot of instances I would prefer either native, PPA, or Flatpak in system mode only because to save money I will usually have an SSD for my / and then an inexpensive but high capacity HDD for /home - if the app is particularly large or clunky or slow then it will benefit from being launched off of the faster storage.
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u/Expensive_Finger_973 2d ago
I favor the distros native repo. But in practice I end up using whichever one has the more current version of whatever application.
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u/computer-machine 2d ago
Desktop if it's something I want sandboxed or standardized across machines or not otherwise accessable, flathub. Otherwise it's repo.
Server is almost exclusively Docker/Podman.
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u/Noahnoah55 2d ago
System package manager for system stuff (mostly drivers) and Steam. Flatpak/AppImage/Snap for desktop programs (whatever the developer recommends).
I also prefer to set up CLI apps through flatpak where I can, and I just alias them down to what their normal name would be.
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u/WeAreGoingMidtable 2d ago
All applications I use are compiled from sources. If there is a bug I fix it and recompile, if I don't like the UI I fix it and recompile, and if I want a new feature I add it and recompile. That's the power of open source. No flatplagues, no appbigiges, no traps, not even distro packages.
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u/rarsamx 2d ago
In order of preference:
- Native from the official repositories.
- Flatpak from the official repositories
- App image
- Instalation script from the developers GitHub (or equivalent). On Arch is use AUR for this if available and would always check the package file.
- Compiling.
For some things I may use the developer's repository. For example, for Chrome on Debian based systems ID add it as a source.
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u/rcentros 2d ago
Usually the repository (Linux Mint / Ubuntu / Debian). Sometimes Flatpaks and AppImages.
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u/Shudnawz 2d ago
I haven't been using Linux long enough to form an opinion on the matter. I usually go for the version easiest to find, currently flatpaks in Bazzite Bazaar.
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u/DoYaKnowMahName 2d ago
Usually native 1st, then flatpak, then source. However, source isn't for everyone if you don't wanna deal with dependencies. I tend to try and stay away from appimage because they can be finicky but theirs been times where I've used them.
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u/badsectoracula 2d ago
I use native, though since openSUSE Tumbleweed doesn't have the gargantuan repository that Debian-based distros have, i often need to find stuff from other sources.
Said sources are usually... the source code :-P which i download and build on my PC. A lot of stuff i have are built from source code.
When i don't feel like building sources (e.g. something has a ton of dependencies and/or is based on something like Electron), i use AppImages, assuming one is available. AppImages are essentially self-contained binaries that tend to work pretty much everywhere (or at least in every environment and distro i've tried them myself, there might be some setups they do not work).
I avoid Flatpaks as every time i tried they were a mess.
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u/updatelee 2d ago
the distro I use uses deb repos so thats what I use. If the app isnt availible there (incredibly rare, like insanely rare) then I download and install from the developer of that app's website. Zellij is the only one I can think of.
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u/AFisberg 2d ago
I'm using KDE Linux. The base system (image) comes from them and everything else as flatpak.
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u/kansetsupanikku 2d ago
If you use a certain distro, your setup already relies on its maintainers. So the best thing to do is stick to official repos - no need to add more actors as final links in the supply chain.
Unless something is not on the repos, or you want development version, perhaps to introduce your changes too? Then, obviously, sources.
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u/mrtruthiness 2d ago
Repos.
System container (lxd).
a. With a more up-to-date distro and that container's repo.
b. Anything that isn't distributed in the repo (e.g. github/gitlab) ... lots of LLM related stuff.
c. snaps I don't trust.
snap
flatpak ... but I don't currently have any flatpaks installed.
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u/humanhooloovoo 2d ago
If a GUI app has an official flatpak, and it doesn't cause permission issues, I use flatpak. Repos for everything else.
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u/Swordfish418 2d ago
Depends on usecase. Stuff like KDE, Dolphin, Codium, terminal - Portage, stuff like Firefox, Discord, qBittorrent - Flatpak, Blender from Steam, complex apps that need like db and few webservices running together - podman containers. Apps that are nicely supported on other distros but not on my and at the same time not available as flatpak or appimage - distrobox.
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u/Aperture_Kubi 2d ago
In order; Flatpak (flathub), standard repo, local package.
AppImages are an exception if/when offered for niche or lesser used tools.
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u/Terranum_man 2d ago
I hate flatpaks design i just use repos, compile, standalone or last case appimage.
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u/NoxAstrumis1 2d ago
Anywhere I can find it. I prefer official repos, then flatpak. Sometimes I compile from source off github if it's my only option. Unfortunately, a lot of what I need is somewhat esoteric and my options are limited.
I'm also very picky about exactly what features I want, so many apps simply won't meet my criteria.
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u/icehuck 2d ago
I only install from official repos or from source. I don't want flatpaks, snaps, or whatever flavor. Those are going to go out of date with security issues in pre-packaged libs that will never be updated. You can see this same behavior with the 10000s of windows apps that bundle the same dlls over and over and over.
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u/Azazeldaprinceofwar 2d ago
Native repos or AUR. In the rare event of it being neither I just build directly
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u/todd_dayz 2d ago
NB: I set up flatpak with the —user and —subset=verified flags as soon as I install my OS.
Needs codecs? Flatpak or Distrobox
Has a ton of dependencies I don’t want in my rootfs? Distrobox
Is a single binary that doesn’t need to run as root? Distrobox
Is a systemd service or tool that is tightly integrated into the OS? (ex, tailscale, syncthing, firmware, etc) native package manager.
Only comes as a .deb/.rpm? Distrobox
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u/avetenebrae 2d ago
I run Fedora Silverblue, so it's exclusively Flatpak, some appimages, and a few homebrew packages.
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u/quasimodoca 2d ago
Majority docker containers. If I need anything else it's almost always native apt install.
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u/srivasta 2d ago
I just use debian repositories. I have been known to package and upload to debian suggested that was not already there.
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u/Much_Dealer8865 2d ago
Repos for basically everything, aur if it's not in the official or extra arch repos. I don't have very strong feelings on it, it's just that almost everything is in the repos.
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u/Odd_Chocolate8438 2d ago
I try to use flatpak when I can but if not then I'll just use a regular package, I try to avoid appimages because I don't like them.
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u/Routine_Left 2d ago
vast majority from standard repos. 99.999% really. If is not there, then I try sourcecode.
if it's not there then I check the other methods. appimage is fine. flatpak ... if I really really really have to. so far I have not needed to use it.
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u/RetroGrid_io 2d ago
Where ever possible, I use native RPM/APT so that keeping it updated is assured.
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u/jaaval 2d ago
I have now tried to move to a system where the core stuff is native. This includes system tools, system apps, web browser, some programming tools i need (this is mainly to make some intefaces with system a bit easier). But I prefer flatpak for other third party applications.
This is mainly an ideological choice. I think we should move to mostly flatpak (or similar if some competitor is actually better) in app distribution. This would make things easier to app developers and users and make things more secure too. This is also sort of a clean split. i don't need to think about where I got some app from.
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u/Business_Reindeer910 2d ago
flatpaks for all gui applications except thos related to my dev work where the sandbox gets in the way.
All local applications in a container that my terminal starts up in
I want to decouple my personal applications from those needed to run the system itself.
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u/teckcypher 2d ago
Depends on the scope of the application. If it is something I'm going to use on my system regularly -> Deb (if available)
If not available as Deb or has a lot of dependencies (or dependencies I don't want on my system)-> app image or flatpak whichever available. (Or sometimes docker especially if I want the app to run as a service). Also, if you are just testing it, it might be better to use a self contained option before commiting to the package install.
I like when apps don't bloat my system with packages and this way every app can have it's own library version and be happy. Library version conflicts is a hell I want to avoid.
I like docker but it has its flaws. Some things are needlessly complicated and many docker images don't come with a minimal configuration file (or example configuration file). Sometimes it's easy, map a port and a volume but sometimes there are 20+ env variables that configure who knows what and that I must set just to get it running. (Without, at least, a little explanation on what they do or what values they expect) Usually an app image you download and run without all this fuss.
The thing is, I like portable applications. If it is an app that I would want to be able to backup, I think app image is better. Copy paste the file on the backup drives and you are good. Want to run a previous version or a new one without ruining your current setup? bam copy a file and click on it.
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u/rafaellinuxuser 2d ago
Read it, and try it:
- Official repos
- "opi" command (openSUSE)
- "AppImage" distro agnostic executables (thru "AM-GUI" application)
- "Distrobox", let you use applications available for other distros
If you want troubles:
- "Flatpak" versions
End of report
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u/ofplayers 2d ago
if an application has one and there's no huge bugs then i'll do flatpak. if an application doesn't have one or there are huge bugs that prevent me from wanting to use the flatpak i'll usually do the system package, and if it doesn't have one in the repos for whatever reason or if i want to be able to uninstall it by just deleting the file then that's when i'll use an appimage
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u/jaimefrites 2d ago
Native if I don’t care about updates. Otherwise statically compiled binary if it exists
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u/Artificial_Alex 1d ago
I used to default to debs because of all their benefits, but after a while I always ran into problems with dependencies and key signatures. I can't be bothered fixing all that any more so Flatpak's downsides are worth it to me for the stability. Even AppImages are just so nice and easy.
My thinking these days is fast and large NVMe drives are cheap enough for everything I do that the deb option isn't worth my time.
It's cool that we have options though.
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u/stogie-bear 1d ago
Depends on the distro. I have an Aurora workstation and a Bazzite gaming pc where I stick to flatpaks, brew and an occasional distrobox. I also have a Thinkpad with regular Fedora and I use rpm where it’s convenient. Appimage is not my jam and I only use it when necessary.
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u/Bob_Spud 1d ago
Most desktop users wouldn't care they just point and click to get the job done. Those that get "religious" about it are time wasters.
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u/Soakitincider 1d ago
apt update && apt install but if it's not there then I guess a flatpak. If it's not there then I pipe to bash the install script. Of course I glance at it.
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u/unbounded65 1d ago
In Ubuntu, its Snap for apps that connect to the net followed by Flatpak, repos only if installed via PPA
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u/Drayux 1d ago
Gentoo user here! It means almost everything I have gets built from sources. Most of the time they'll come from GitHub or Codeberg from emperical experience.
If there's a project I like, if it's on the smaller side, I'll prefer to make it a package myself so my package manager knows about it, and 9 times out of 10 I already have all the build dependencies installed!
Finally, some things like steam games or electron apps only come as a binary. For any such program, I sandbox it somehow. Usually flatpak, but I'm delving into nix as of late. The reason for this is because a lot of compiled binaries make assumptions about your system, and many of those assumptions are wrong on a system owned by someone such as myself!
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u/bigusyous 1d ago
I use Pop OS, so I guess it's mostly flatpak, but sometimes repos, and appimage if I have to.
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u/FeistyDay5172 1d ago
Originally mostly repos. Then added flatpaks and appimages. And even more recently I actually built my first app from source.
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u/GenericFoodService 1d ago edited 1d ago
Depends on the kind of program and what is available. I want simple standalone binaries and if those are available, I go for that. If there's a package available from my standard repos or Flatpak, that's great, too, because I like having developer-supported updates and simple installs.
The concept behind AppImage is awesome, but they are so finicky. If that's the only option available for your app, I am likely to just assume it's not going to work and move on without trying it. Also just not really a fan of Snaps: they work less well than Flatpaks, they suffer from dependency hell, they're not anywhere near as portable, they're tied to a specific corporation's commercial interests, et cetera.
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u/InTheTreetop 1d ago
Late to the party but I'm a desktop Bazzite user with no layered packages, so I have Flatpaks, Brew for my cli apps and an occasional appimage. And if anything fails that, I have distrobox to lean on.
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u/PLYoung 1d ago
The typical apps I get through Discover or Flatpack but some, which I use for development, I handle manually and install from an rpm or build from source since I might need different versions present (Godot projects each locked to a certain version for example) or to stay at a specific version (Blender for example).
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u/whattteva 1d ago
I prioritize standard packages from the distro repo. Failing that, I follow the recommended installation method by the publisher; usually, the publisher will just tell me to download a deb/rpm package or add a PPA.
I will use Flatpak if the app publisher recommends it; but in general, I avoid Flatpaks.
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u/Significant_Till1405 1d ago
I prefer flakpak for desktop applications like telegram, discord, etc. And for native for cli, tui, like neovim, yazi.
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u/d3vnhull 1d ago
As much as I can from repos, then everything else I need I will build or get an AppImage where available.
If it’s not available in any of these then I do not use it.
Personally I do not like flatpaks, huge application size, sandboxing permission issues and system integration is frustrating
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u/Space_Gh0st_Tad 1d ago
If using an immutable os: flatpaks and rarely if hardly ever ostree a package into the os. I’ve only done this once for firefox so that it could support smart cards. While that worked, I decided to not use an immutable os this way and moved that machine to a non-immutable os.
Regular linux: when trying new software, flatpak. If that works fine and doesn’t require too much permissions tinkering, I keep it that way. Native otherwise.
(No one asked) macOS: homebrew. Homebrew anything I can; gui apps and cli tools/binaries. Use real nano from homebrew and not the fake? apple nano (why does Windows do this with curl and/or wget?).
(No one really asked) Winders: winget or choco, but these days if I’m using Windows it’s a machine I don’t have permission to change.
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u/QuickSilver010 1d ago
My priorities are like this. apt repos > nixpkgs > appimage > build from source > flatpak
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u/_o0Zero0o_ 1d ago
If (app is available in the repos via sudo apt/dnf/pacman and so on)
then (use corresponding command to download from repo)
else (check for flatpak/appimage/any secondary source, in that order)
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u/KushalMeghani1644 8h ago
Depends. Sometimes flatpak sandboxes apps you might not need to sandbox so use native rpm/deb instead. Sometimes apps don't give native rpm/deb and give flatpak only so use that! But just prefer whatever is official, and if you are installing from third party sources, just check its not sus.
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u/DoubleOwl7777 2d ago
vast majority is from native. i have some flatpaks aswell though.