Request: add flatpak support

[psinagra]

This app looks like amazing! It is soooo much better than the default snap store. Perhaps this is the wrong place to ask, but is there any way that we can use this for flatpaks as well? This app just looks so good the way it runs and organizes snaps and deb packages.

[Feichtmeier]

Hi @psinagra - nice that you like the app!

Since flatpaks are not enabled by default in Ubuntu I currently see not much value in adding support to search/manage flatpak apps in here.

I leave this issue opened for others.

[walking-octopus]

This app is amazing. All the software stores I've tried have been mostly broken. gnome-software memory leaks and has a few other bugs, KDE Discover get's stuck fetching updates on my system, and adding PopShop/ElementoryOS Store from their repos can lead to some weird results. This app seems to be beautifully designed, well performant, and surprisingly stable for an alpha.

[o-kotb]

+1 for Flatpak support. All the GNU/Linux software centers have Flatpak except for this. It should definitely be considered in the near future.

[Git-Fal7]

Would like to see flatpak support as an installable module/build argument.

[JeremiahCornelius]

An additional upvote for flatpak support. The Ubuntu default is snap, and snap is used for installing some core and desktop packages since 22.04, notably Firefox. However, Ubuntu maintains support for flatpak as an option in the Ubuntu Software Store and thus excluding flatpak is a clear regression, versus the Ubuntu/Gnome default.

[NateNate60]

I would also like to remark that Flatpak isn't supported on the current Snap Store either, but as it currently stands, it seems difficult to recommend this project as a full replacement for GNOME Software until then.

I'll also paste a comment I made about this on Reddit:

Personally, my opinion on the project is positive, but I'm concerned about the lack of Flatpak support. Currently, plans to add Flatpak support to it are in the "discussion" phase, but I would really not find it usable for me until it's implemented. An issue has already been opened on their repository for this.

It's true that Flatpak doesn't come by default on Ubuntu, but most other Linux distributions will have it and the winds seem to be blowing in the direction of Flatpak over Snap for the foreseeable future. I understand that the project is mainly designed with Ubuntu in mind, but the fact that other distributions (or potentially even GNOME itself) might adopt this store should nonetheless be at least a consideration in development.

[GloriousEggroll]

I would love to adopt this for Nobara. We've already swapped kde-discover and gnome-software in favor of yumex-dnf + bauh (gnome-software and kde-discover still remain available to install and use for those that want them), and while they are efficient for individually managing distro packages (yumex-dnf) and flatpaks/snaps (bauh), they have their own set of bugs, are not as frequently maintained, and the gui for them is nowhere near as nice or as intuitive as this is.

[Neocamelus]

The Ubuntu default is snap. But some Ubuntu flavors do not hesitate to use flatpak.
Offering this possibility to users would be a very positive point for the application.

[kenvandine]

I understand the desire to have a “one-stop shop” to find software, however the goal of this project is to provide the best out-of-the-box experience on Ubuntu. We believe that snaps provide the best combination of security and usability for Ubuntu users and our priority is to deliver a tailored, intuitive and accessible way for users of all experience levels to find the apps that they need.

For users who are looking for a more generalized store, we recommend gnome-software, which will continue to be available in the Ubuntu repository and is designed to be compatible with a wide variety of packaging formats, including Flatpak.