Cassidy James   
I kind of feel like Flathub should ship an app store as a Snap. Then your Ubuntu instructions become, "install the Flathub app store, then you get all these apps"
Oct 12, 2023 at 4:29pmWeb
Show threadCassidy James   Oct 12, 2023

That was basically what the original idea behind #AppCenterForEveryone was; not a Snap app store necessarily, but what if we could ship the whole-ass app store on any distro??

The fact that everyone (except Ubuntu) adopted Flatpak meant elementary could pivot to using a Flatpak Authenticator instead of a whole app store for those distros... but that still hasn't shipped, I guess. At least you can add the AppCenter Flatpak remote!

Show threadDomenico LambertiOct 12, 2023
@cassidy malicious compliance, i love it
Show threadTheEvilSkeleton 🇮🇳 🏳️‍⚧️Oct 12, 2023

@cassidy can you elaborate? As far as I know, Snap doesn't allow you to add an additional repository

Not entirely related, but there was a discussion in the Flatpak Matrix about packaging Flatpak as a Snap. It didn't go anywhere, but it was an interesting discussion regardless

Show threadCassidy James   Oct 12, 2023
@TheEvilSkeleton I assume this would require the `--classic` escape hatch, but my entirely not-well-thought-out idea would be to package up a GNOME Software build or something as a Snap with Flatpak bundled in however it need to be, so you could just browse THAT as the Flathub store and install apps and everything just like on any other distro.
Show threadTheEvilSkeleton 🇮🇳 🏳️‍⚧️Oct 12, 2023

@cassidy clever workaround 👀, but wouldn't it be better to package Flatpak, Flathub and the Flatpak GNOME Software plugin as a single Snap package? Assuming the Snap Store is a fork of GNOME Software and supports plugins, it should theoretically work.

Arch Linux ships Flathub in the flatpak package: https://gitlab.archlinux.org/archlinux/packaging/packages/flatpak/-/blob/8a46a29927dccbbd9f0beb20bcef484e2e380f3f/PKGBUILD#L130 , so shipping Flathub should technically be possible if Snap isn't limiting

PKGBUILD · 8a46a29927dccbbd9f0beb20bcef484e2e380f3f · Arch Linux / Packaging / Packages / flatpak · GitLab

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Show threadCassidy James   Oct 12, 2023

@TheEvilSkeleton "Assuming the Snap Store is a fork of GNOME Software that supports plugins,"

Canonical is rewriting the world with Flutter, including the new Snap store. It's no longer an old, outdated, heavily patched GNOME Software.

Show threadTheEvilSkeleton 🇮🇳 🏳️‍⚧️Oct 12, 2023
@cassidy lol, okay then. I guess GNOME Software doesn't sound that bad then
Show threadLeafletOct 12, 2023
@TheEvilSkeleton @cassidy I wonder how repository js defined. Steam is a store that has a repository of apps. So if that's allowed, why not Flathub?
Show threadCassidy James   Oct 12, 2023
@that_leaflet @TheEvilSkeleton yep, exactly. Bundle it up as a store, not as a "system repository" if you need to.
Show threadpopeyOct 12, 2023
@that_leaflet @TheEvilSkeleton @cassidy that’s too simplistic a view. It’s not just that it’s a repo. It has value that Flathub does not, thousands of games and a well established brand with existing customers. Flathub is basically a competing storefront. Very different from a political point of view. Indeed early on steam wasn’t even allowed in.
Show threadpopeyOct 12, 2023
@cassidy hah! That kind of thing has been discussed countless times over the years. The hard part would be getting it in the snap store. I suspect steam and Lutris are very special cases. A case could be made for such a snap, but would need some work.
Show threadMathieu ComandonOct 12, 2023
@popey @cassidy Lutris can be used as a frontend for Flathub. We filter by the game category but that's easy to change. I wonder if the Flathub integration can be made to work inside a Snap though...
Eventually, we'll also have an integration with the Snap store.
Show threadpopeyOct 12, 2023
@mathieucomandon @cassidy hah! Flathub by the back door!
Show threadAmy 🇹🇭🏳️‍⚧️Oct 12, 2023
@cassidy hehe, I wanted to do that but I still need to learn things