I build a handful of small Linux desktop apps. They started out Arch and Omarchy only, because that's what I run, but as of this week every release also ships an AppImage, so seven of them now run on Ubuntu, Fedora, Debian and the rest.
A few things I ran into:
- glibc is the real floor. Building against 2.34 gets you roughly Ubuntu 22.04, Debian 12 and newer.
- The Python and Qt apps carry their own Python and Qt inside, so there's nothing else to install.
- An AppImage that doesn't install a .desktop file and icons feels broken in docks and launchers, so each one now has an --install-desktop-entry flag.
- Fedora's Quickshell package was too old for one app, so the AppImage is now the only way to run it there.
Flatpak bundles come next, attached to the release page rather than Flathub for now.
If you run Linux on the desktop: which format do you actually reach for when a small dev offers several? And is Flathub worth the review process for tiny apps?
Write-up with the details: https://blog.ninepointlabs.com/2026/10/appimages-for-every-linux/
I'm literally struggling against this right now for my apps https://github.com/andunieee/flipflop, https://github.com/andunieee/twain, https://github.com/andunieee/cathode
I looked into publishing to flathub, but it's so cumbersome and annoying, and I'm not sure people browse that normally, it's so full of useless apps anyway, and it doesn't have many of the great ones
and I have no idea of how to get my apps into the normal package managers, if that is even possible
I like the
--install-desktop-entryflag, is that a common pattern?What do you think about the
curl | shpattern?--install-desktop-entry is a flag we built into our own AppImages. It just writes the menu entry and icon so people don't need Gear Lever or AppImageLauncher. I'm not sure how common it is elsewhere, most apps leave that job to those tools. On curl | sh: it's handy, but you're asking people to run a script they almost never read. If you offer it, keep the script short and readable and put a plain download right next to it.
How would people manage all of their AppImages without Gear Lever / Shelly / AppImageLauncher / etc? Those manager apps usually keep AppImages in one place (usually
~/AppImages).are you sure there are many people using Gear Lever and whatnot? I had never heard about these things, they don't show up easily on google and have very few stars on github
Gear Lever’s Flathub page has a high monthly download rate
https://flathub.org/en/apps/it.mijorus.gearlever
Fair point. The flag doesn't manage anything, it just adds the menu entry for wherever you keep the file. If you want one folder and auto updates, a manager like Gear Lever is still the better pick, and I'd keep the flag as a fallback for people who don't run one.
For universal packaging systems, I prefer Flatpak over AppImages. AppImages are ok because tools like Shelly and Gear Lever exist to enable system menu integration and automatic updates (and some AppImages self-update).
As for the Flathub argument, I think more developers should try hosting their own Flatpak repos. Flatpak has a guide in their docs and it seems like Flatpak repos can be hosted statically.
or perhaps someone could host an alternate flatpak repo that is less annoying?
I like the more decentralized approach of developers hosting their own repos, but if we had another Flathub but without the wokeness of the GNOME foundation maybe that would be good too
just found this, but I'm not sure whta to think of it:https://github.com/Letdown2491/orchard