Installing Flatpaks in Ubuntu

By Bob Liebl | May 9, 2018

Ubuntu Quick Setup

Follow these simple steps to start using Flatpak

Link to Apps

Link to Flatpak Doc’s

  1. 1

    Install Flatpak

    The official Flatpak PPA is the recommended way to install Flatpak. To install it, run the following in a terminal:

    
      $ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:alexlarsson/flatpak
      $ sudo apt update
      $ sudo apt install flatpak
  2. 2

    Install the Software Flatpak plugin

    The Flatpak plugin for the Software app makes it possible to install apps without needing the command line. To install, run:

    
      $ sudo apt install gnome-software-plugin-flatpak
  3. 3

    Add the Flathub repository

    Flathub is the best place to get Flatpak apps. To enable it, run:

    
      $ flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo
  4. 4

    Restart

    To complete setup, restart your system. Now all you have to do is install some apps!

Install applications

To install an application, run:

$ flatpak install flathub org.gimp.GIMP

Here, flathub is the name of the remote the application is to be installed from, and org.gimp.GIMP is the ID of the application.

Sometimes, an application will require a particular runtime, and this will be installed prior to the application.

The details of the application to be installed can also be provided by a .flatpakref file, which can be either remote or local. To specify a .flatpakref instead of manually providing the remote and application ID, run:

$ flatpak install https://flathub.org/repo/appstream/org.gimp.GIMP.flatpakref

If the .flatpakref file specifies that the application is to be installed from a remote that hasn’t already been added, you will be asked whether to add it before the application is installed.

Running applications

Once an application has been installed, it can be launched using the run command and its application ID:

$ flatpak run org.gimp.GIMP

Updating

To update all your installed applications and runtimes to the latest version, run:

$ flatpak update

List installed applications

To list the applications and runtimes you have installed, run:

$ flatpak list

Alternatively, to just list installed applications, run:

$ flatpak list --app

Remove an application

To remove an application, run:

$ flatpak uninstall org.gimp.GIMP
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