What is AppImage?

[Worzel]

[

The version that runs as is is the *.bin download. In Linux the AppImage is compressed file. Open it with Ark, and unpack it into its own directory. The file named "AppRun" should be there and already marked for execution. Double click on it.

The AppImages I use all download as a <prog-name>.zip file which I extract into a specific folder where they become a <prog-name>.AppImage file.

<CR> on this and the programme runs - great for LibreOffice without having a big installation which I only use occasionally.

Never seen an apprun file

[GreyGeek]

.....
Never seen an apprun file

I stored that AppImage inside the directory that was created when I unzipped the AppImage file. However, in both the directory listing and the contents of the ark file you can see the AppRun file.

[vinnywright]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]6995[/ATTACH]

I stored that AppImage inside the directory that was created when I unzipped the AppImage file. However, in both the directory listing and the contents of the ark file you can see the AppRun file.

I started to do that very (type of)screenshot last night ,,,but as a screen cast using simplescreenrecorder last night ,,,,,,,,,,,<sigh> but physical life/work ,,,,got in the way of my digital one ,,,,,,

VINNY

[GreyGeek]

So you're one happy camper?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[woodsmoke]

GG wrote:

AppImage works. You download the file, mark it executable, and then run it. That's it! It does NOT touch your system beyond that. NO files are installed as root and you do NOT need to be root to run it. AppImage carries with it ALL necessary libraries and other files. Finished using the app? Just delete the AppImage file and it's gone. Completely. Your system is unchanged.

You can use firejail to run the AppImage in a sandbox.

hmmmm

in the face of this onslaught of ways to "make things better" I wonder if poor, tired, much maligned synaptic will soldier on?

woodwonderingsmoke

[GreyGeek]

GG wrote:



hmmmm

in the face of this onslaught of ways to "make things better" I wonder if poor, tired, much maligned synaptic will soldier on?

woodwonderingsmoke

Good question.

A couple days ago someone mentioned Digikam and how many additional files the version in the repository (4.5) wanted to install. I went to Digikam's homepage and noticed that they were offering the 5.5.0 version of Digikam as an AppImage. I downloaded the 385Mb package, set the execute permission, and clicked on it from Dolphin. A dialog asked if I wanted to install menu and/or desktop links. It went on to say that even without the links Digikam will always run by clicking on the AppImage file. Or, one could add their own menu item. I let it add the links and then ran the program. It automatically selected the ~/Pictures directory and proceeded to index my several thousand pics. Ran nicely and without any hiccups. When it finished the index I browsed a while and played some AVI movies, etc... No problems. To get rid of it all I have to do is delete the AppImage file because it puts nothing else on your system except the index files in ~/Pictures. (I created a subdirectory called Digikam and put the AppImage in it. I could delete the directory and get rid of both with one stone.

Other AppImage apps I am running include Enguage-Digitizer, Etcher, QCad and SimpleScreenRecorder. ALL of them run seamlessly without problems.

AFAIAC, if ALL of Linux's apps were released as AppImage I wouldn't mind at all. Limit the repositories to the kernel, utilities and the desktop itself.

[jpenguin]

That would result in a huge system though

I do use a fair number of appimages though; I use cinnamon now, and use appimages for kde apps like krita so I don't have quite the dependancy mess

Sent from my SM-G930R4 using Tapatalk

[GreyGeek]

I have 2Tb on my system in RAID1, so I have about a Tb of disk space. With all my apps installed I am using less than 100Gb of disk space. Another advantage of AppImage is that I don't have to sign up at a "store". Also, I can run the apps using Firejail or chroot

[jpenguin]

What do you think about snapcraft.io?

Sent from my SM-G930R4 using Tapatalk

[GreyGeek]

Snapd already comes preinstalled on Xenity and later. It's on my Neon User Edition. If you want to have non-root access to snapd you have to install snapd-login-service.

https://snapcraft.io/docs/core/usage

Snaps are normally installed from a store. You can interact with a store without signing-in, but signing-in offers a number of advantages. These advantages include the ability to access your private snaps and managing your snaps without requiring root on the device.

You have to log into a snap store with a browser. You open the repository with a package manager GUI or use the CLI.

You have to search for a snap to find it. Ditto.
(you have to know the exact name) But Muon is much easier to search and locate packages.


You have to install a snap Ditto
sudo snap install some_snappkg sudo apt install somepkg

sudo snap refresh sudo apt update



I can download an AppImage and click on it to run it, without using root, and I can delete it with a click, not harming any other packages.

I have yet to see a snap store with any meaningful apps in it. AppImages are spreading rapidly and I have installed a half a dozen already.

Snap, to me, appears merely to be a way of getting a web browser between you and the app repository. To what advantage?

From my POV snapd is just the beginning of a gated community, not my favorite way of dispensing software.

[jpenguin]

Yea, snap has the advantage of having a builtin update mechanism and that github build function looks interesting

Sent from my SM-G930R4 using Tapatalk

[GreyGeek]

Muon-updater already does that. Will Git-hub be the new repository? For how many distros, and could Git-hub handle the load?

As SSD's and HD's increase in size, space taken by apps will be even less of a concern than it is now, I.e., zero.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[jpenguin]

Muon does appimages?

Sent from my SM-G930R4 using Tapatalk

[jpenguin]

AppImages are basically what Mac's use

Sent from my SM-G930R4 using Tapatalk

[GreyGeek]

Muon does appimages?

Sent from my SM-G930R4 using Tapatalk

No. What I stated, essentially, is thate apt or muon does everything that snapd does, except requiring you to go to a store and sign in. They don't call the repository a store because (so far) there has been no plans to monitize access to it.