Native Flatpak Integration with deepin

[lxwndr]

Description

I would like to request native Flatpak integration with deepin, integrating Flatpak applications into the system's App Store.

Currently, when accessing an application's page on Flathub and clicking Install, deepin does not automatically start the installation process. Users need to manually download the .flatpakref file or use the terminal.

Proposed functionality

deepin should recognize Flatpak application installation requests initiated from the web browser. When clicking Install on an application's Flathub page, the App Store could open and handle the installation process, without requiring users to manually download files or use the terminal.

Installed Flatpak applications should appear normally in the App Store, allowing users to:

• view installed applications;

• receive notifications when new versions are available;

• authorize and perform updates directly through the App Store interface;

• uninstall applications through the system interface.

After an application is uninstalled, the system should identify and remove runtimes, dependencies, and extensions that are no longer used by other applications, using Flatpak's own mechanisms, such as flatpak uninstall --unused. This would prevent unused components from accumulating and taking up a significant amount of disk space.

The integration should also allow users to manage Flatpak repositories, including adding and removing sources other than Flathub.

[BLumia]

I overall agree with your proposal, I'm just not sure if they plan to do so. Maybe a 3rd-party DTK-based store could be easier to achieve. We previously have dde-store from UbuntuDDE team but it doesn't seems to support flatpak...

deepin does not automatically start the installation process. Users need to manually download the .flatpakref file or use the terminal.

Sure, but you can also paste the flatpak install command and run it. deepin will still recognize installed applications.

[lxwndr]

Today, users need to know how to install Flatpak, manually add the Flathub repository, and only then install applications through the terminal. For users who are not familiar with Flatpak, this process is not very accessible.

My suggestion is to integrate this workflow into the graphical interface. Ideally, users could simply click Install on an application's page on Flathub, and deepin would handle the rest through the App Store, without requiring terminal commands or manual repository configuration.

As a reference, elementary OS has a separate application called Sideload (https://github.com/elementary/sideload), which already provides a graphical way to install Flatpak applications. I don't know exactly how it manages Flatpak repositories or updates, but it could be another interesting project to look at as a reference.