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Flatpak (Flathub) — mostly GUI apps (Band B, tier 6)

Permanent, user-local install (no sudo with --user). Flathub is the default remote. Strongly biased toward GUI applications — most CLI tools are not on Flathub. Only use Flatpak when a confirmed app-id exists for the tool you need.

Consent gate. This is a durable change to the user's machine — an app plus, often, a multi-hundred-megabyte runtime. Propose it: the command, the install path (~/.local/share/flatpak/), the download size if you know it, the removal command (flatpak uninstall --user <app-id>), and any needed sandbox override. Then wait for the go-ahead.

Always pass -y. The agent's shell has no TTY, so an unattended flatpak install hangs on its confirmation prompt.

Declarative equivalent: services.flatpak / the Home Manager Flatpak module can declare the app-id in the host config. See declarative.md.

Syntax

# Install from Flathub (user-local)
flatpak install --user -y flathub <app-id>

# Run
flatpak run <app-id> [<args>]

Key notes

  • App-ids are reverse-DNS: org.inkscape.Inkscape, org.gimp.GIMP, com.github.tchx84.Flatseal.
  • The --user flag installs into ~/.local/share/flatpak/ — no sudo. Without --user, Flatpak defaults to a system-wide install that does need root.
  • Flatpak apps run sandboxed. They may not see files outside their declared filesystem permissions unless overridden.
  • For CLI-first tasks, Guix/Nix/Cargo/Homebrew will almost always be a better fit. Reach for Flatpak only when the tool is specifically a desktop GUI app.

Examples

Most useful Flatpak entries are GUI apps. Example invocations:

# Image editor
flatpak install --user -y flathub org.gimp.GIMP
flatpak run org.gimp.GIMP

# Vector graphics
flatpak install --user -y flathub org.inkscape.Inkscape
flatpak run org.inkscape.Inkscape

# Browser
flatpak install --user -y flathub org.mozilla.firefox
flatpak run org.mozilla.firefox

# Generic pattern for any app
flatpak install --user -y flathub <app-id>
flatpak run <app-id>

Extras

Ensure Flathub remote is configured

flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists --user flathub \
  https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

Override sandboxing (e.g. grant home-directory access)

flatpak override --user --filesystem=home <app-id>

# Revoke the override
flatpak override --user --reset <app-id>

List installed flatpaks and their permissions

flatpak list --user
flatpak info <app-id>

Update installed flatpaks

flatpak update --user

Lookup

Cleanup

flatpak uninstall --user <app-id>

# Remove unused runtimes too
flatpak uninstall --user --unused

Tell the user what was installed and how to remove it — Flatpak is a permanent manager (Band B in the priority chain; AppImage and Snap rank below it).