Flatback

This is a simple script utility to back up and restore Flatpak applications for offline transfer.

Packages a Flatpak app together with its runtime into a single .tar.gz archive (or directory), including a YAML manifest. Ideal for moving apps to offline computers or preserving deprecated packages.

Install

pip install flatback

Requires flatpak to be installed on the system.

Usage

Backup

flatback backup org.popular.emulator
flatback backup org.popular.emulator -o emulator-backup.tar.gz
flatback backup com.slack.Slack --no-tar
flatback backup com.google.Chrome --system
flatback backup org.popular.emulator --data

Restore

flatback restore org.popular.emulator.tar.gz
flatback restore emulator-backup.tar.gz
flatback restore com.slack.Slack/
flatback restore com.google.Chrome.tar.gz --system
flatback restore org.popular.emulator.tar.gz --data
flatback restore org.popular.emulator.tar.gz --no-data

How It Works

Backup bundles the app and its runtime into .flatpak files using flatpak build-bundle, then packages everything with a flatback.yml manifest into a .tar.gz.

Restore extracts the archive, reads the manifest, and installs the runtime and app bundles using flatpak install --bundle.

Manifest Example (flatback.yml)

app:
  app_id: org.popular.emulator
  arch: x86_64
  branch: stable
  installation: user
  origin: flathub
app_bundle: app_org.popular.emulator_x86_64_stable.flatpak
flatback_version: '1.0'
has_data: true
runtime:
  app_id: org.kde.Platform
  arch: x86_64
  branch: 5.15-23.08
  installation: user
  origin: flathub
runtime_bundle: runtime_org.kde.Platform_x86_64_5.15-23.08.flatpak
version: mainline-0-1734

Arguments

flatback backup

Argument	Description
app_id	Flatpak application ID (e.g. org.popular.emulator)
-o, --output	Output path (default: <app_id>.tar.gz)
--no-tar	Save as directory instead of tar.gz
--data	Include user data (~/.var/app/<app_id>) in backup
--system	Use system installation instead of user

flatback restore

Argument	Description
source	Path to backup .tar.gz or directory
--data	Restore user data without prompting
--no-data	Skip user data restore without prompting
--system	Install to system instead of user