New AppImage Installer GUI app +Flatpak Installer

[bigpup]

Perhaps need a better name than "AppImage Installer"?

Easyappi

Appieasy

[BarryK]

@BarryK the update function is great! How to manually update those AppImages that are excluded from that feature? Download the actual Appimage into /mnt/wkg/appimage/... and adjusting the .spec file??

It is possible to use json to query github.com for the latest appimage, but I don't know much about json.
I read about that capability when checking out what other appimage managers are out there, but never investigated further how that is done.

[BarryK]

Alsons sent me an email reporting a bug in AppImage Installer, in Easy 5.2. In the "Other" tag, the "Online Information" button doesn't work.

I fixed it, see attached, with false ".gz"
Download and copy to replace /usr/local/appimage/appimage

The fix is on line 190.

[kinoe]

@BarryK the update function is great! How to manually update those AppImages that are excluded from that feature? Download the actual Appimage into /mnt/wkg/appimage/... and adjusting the .spec file??

It is possible to use json to query github.com for the latest appimage, but I don't know much about json.
I read about that capability when checking out what other appimage managers are out there, but never investigated further how that is done.

I'd like to update ungoogled chromium.appimage (not to be found at github). How should i do this?

[BarryK]

Latest news about Appi on the blog:

https://bkhome.org/news/202303/bug-fixe ... aller.html

[BarryK]

I'd like to update ungoogled chromium.appimage (not to be found at github). How should i do this?

If you have an .AppImage from somewhere that you want to update to, it is easy to do manually.

1. Download it to /mnt/wkg/appimage/ungoogledchromium
2. Change the symlink /usr/bin/ungoogledchromium.bin to point to the new .AppImage

For step-2, rename the old one, then do something like this:
# ln -s /mnt/wkg/appimage/ungoogledchromium/<new .AppImage> /usr/bin/ungoogledchromium.bin

[BarryK]

Perhaps need a better name than "AppImage Installer"?
Now that it is shaping up to be a great thing to have in EasyOS, it probably needs a better name.
I think "Appi" is taken ...or is it?

Reckon will go for "Appi"
Simple, catchy, easy to remember.

I searched, there is a python module named "appi".
...but I'm using an upper-case "A" so different

[kinoe]

I'd like to update ungoogled chromium.appimage (not to be found at github). How should i do this?

If you have an .AppImage from somewhere that you want to update to, it is easy to do manually.

1. Download it to /mnt/wkg/appimage/ungoogledchromium
2. Change the symlink /usr/bin/ungoogledchromium.bin to point to the new .AppImage

For step-2, rename the old one, then do something like this:
# ln -s /mnt/wkg/appimage/ungoogledchromium/<new .AppImage> /usr/bin/ungoogledchromium.bin

Thanks Barry, it worked. Just for the records: as an additional step i had to make the new downloaded appimage executable.
By the way, what does the .spec file do in /mnt/wkg/appimage/ungoogledchromium ?

[BarryK]

The .spec file currently doesn't do anything. Did have a plan for it, but that hasn't happened.

[don570]

Couple of appimages I can reccommend

Mypaint https://github.com/mypaint/mypaint/releases
A more recent version
https://github.com/mypaint/mypaint-appi ... 6.AppImage

fspy
Most recent
https://github.com/stuffmatic/fSpy/rele ... 4.AppImage
_______________________________________________
Also I haven't tried this e-reader
Calibre has an appimage..
https://www.appimagehub.com/p/1513670

[BarryK]

@don570
Thanks for the links.
MyPaint is great, have added it to the Installer.

Have also added a car racing game.

[don570]

I tested the latest calibre e-reader appimage but it gave libglx error
Calibre e-reader appimage (latest version 6.5)
but earlier versions should work since there is a SFS for fatdog64 that works in easyos

http://distro.ibiblio.org/fatdog/contri ... 6_64-1.sfs
__________________________________________________

Note that fspy appimage needs the special blender addon to work properly.
It will appear to be a useless program without that addon.
Explained in youtube tutorial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=704NgSWO5fk
_______________________________________

[BarryK]

I have added Calibre 5.44.0 appimage to the Installer.
Also added LMMS music synthesizer and mixer.

EDIT:
Also added Discord messaging, and Musicblocks discovery of music fundamentals.

[BarryK]

Now we have Flatpak Installer. Blog post:

https://bkhome.org/news/202304/flatpak-installer.html

More related blog posts via the Easy 5.2.2 release notes:

http://distro.ibiblio.org/easyos/amd64/ ... -notes.htm

flapi-1.png (33.83 KiB) Viewed 2359 times

So, requesting suggestions for more Flatpaks, as well as AppImages.

[Vverve]

BK ,
In 5.2.2 .jwmrc ; appi should be flapi
i am using french , if it mater!
Nice feature!

[BarryK]

BK ,
In 5.2.2 .jwmrc ; appi should be flapi
i am using french , if it mater!
Nice feature!

appi and flapi are two different things.
appi is the AppImage Installer
flapi is the Flatpak Installer.

[esmourguit]

Hello Barry,
Would it be possible to get a flatpak for Gramps?
Thanks

[BarryK]

Hello Barry,
Would it be possible to get a flatpak for Gramps?
Thanks

Unfortunately, no:

Code: Select all

# gramps
localuser:gramps being added to access control list
ldconfig: Can't create temporary cache file /run/ld-so-cache-dir/02cbb247bc5abe0bcd9b0fddc6607a2193ecf58222e978d5442be3257f99dc08.DfFSe5~: Required key not available
error: ldconfig failed, exit status 256
# 

Have this same bug with QGIS and Cozy flatpaks. So far, haven't figured out a fix.

[esmourguit]

Thank you,
It's a shame.

[BarryK]

Thank you,
It's a shame.

All is not lost. I haven't given up on it yet.
The problem is Flatpaks do not work with ext4 encrypted folders, this was reported to the Flatpak developers in 2021, but no fix.
There is a workaround that I can try, will get back to it soon.

[mikeslr]

BarryK, "Now we have Flatpak Installer".
esmourguit, "Would it be possible to get a flatpak for Gramps?"
BarryK, "Unfortunately, no:"
esmourguit "It's a shame."

It's not a shame. It's a blessing. flatpak is the "New Emperor's Clothes". Experiments with Puppy indicated that to install Flatpak required about a gigabyte of hardware space. That's for the 'framework' alone; sans applications. I'm posting from LinuxMint --don't ask why -- which comes with Flatpak. I just checked the size of the gramps flatpak package. It's a 1.1 Gb download which will require 1.6 Gbs of storage space*. The old deb version of Gramps was 6 Mb. Fleshed out with dependencies (unfortunately including python & modules) it's not likely to be more than a 30 Mb package. That's the size of the portable gramps.exe which will run under wine [albeit it complains about the absence of the open-street-maps module]. Perhaps less. Compare the size of the 'old' version created by muggins, https://oldforum.puppylinux.com/viewtopic.php?t=68580.

Currently my go-to web-browser is Brave. It's about a 100 Mb download, LinuxMint doesn't offer it. It now only offers Brave as a 250 Mb flatpak. My desktop has a reasonably powerful CPU and 16 Gbs of RAM. Optic Cables provide access to the internet. But it's two floors below the wifi router in a 60 year old building whose walls are solid so the wifi signal is at best --even with an extender-- about 40%. So while I have a reasonably powerful computer it faces a situation not dissimilar to that which those in third-world countries may have.

The first two attempt to install the Brave flatpak failed. After the 2nd failure I flinched MikeWalsh's portable and built a menu. I've done that with a couple other applications only available as flatpaks. But with Brave I persisted and was successful the third time. I don't pay for bandwidth. But how much was wasted by two unsuccessful attempts to download a 250 Mb package.

I don't compile: that requires learning a language and I lack that ability. So I can't say what problems might exist in compiling gramps. But instructions are available; it can be done and --except for python which I know nothing about other than it has its own quirks-- gramps compiling instructions don't seem much different than others I've seen.

But flatpak is a different story. At 1 Gb my suspicion is that it is too obtuse for all but experts. And that may be the worst thing about it. The spread of flatpaks discourages the creation of other packaging and distribution methods. It creates a new class: flatpak-experts. The incentive and opportunity of any who might be encouraged to learn how to create applications is minimalized.

Compare that to AppImages. Like flatpaks, a properly created AppImage contains all of an application's dependencies with instructions to use them. Their sizes are hardly more than those components. There are official tools with instructions for creating AppImages from 'sources'. fredx181 created an easy to use alternative which will run under any Puppy more-or-less creating a READ-Only rox-app or chrooted app. [TBO, the former is more likely to succeed than the later, and even that not always]. The problem with AppImages on the Web is that they are only tested against three major distros and, of course, not Puppys. So 'contains all' is an exaggeration. But you can extract an AppImage and employ the usual techniques under Puppys to determine what libraries are missing or other problems exist; and in many cases solve or workaround those issues.

IMHO, it makes more sense to 'normalize' the use of AppImages: provide tools for automating the creation of menus, testing for missing libraries, modifying them as necessary and repacking the modification.
-=-=-=-=--=-
* Considering that the framework-structure is 1Gb and the size of applications which use it far exceed the space required by the same applications not packaged as a flatpak, I'm wondering if flatpak is anything more than an unsophisticated containorization technique.

[mikeslr]

Follow-up. I built gramps under Jammy64. See here for the recipe as I doubt my build will run under EasyOS, except perhaps in a Jammy64 container. https://www.forum.puppylinux.com/viewto ... 342#p87342. Even then you might want to convert the SFS to an application you install.
The fully functioning application --including geo-mapping capabilities absent from the exe-- was just shy of 29 Mbs.
What it lacks that a flatpak provides is containerization. But isn't EasyOS still focused on running applications in its own containers?

[BarryK]

I have added some more flatpaks to the installer:

https://bkhome.org/news/202304/more-fla ... aller.html

This will be in Easy 5.2.3, that I expect to release on May 6.
The reason for that specific date, is that although 5.2.3 is just about ready to go, I have other things on my plate for the next 4-5 days.

Mike,
The flatpaks (and appimages) run on main desktop, not in a container, but each one runs as a separate user.
So Gramps will run as user "gramps". I wrote a tutorial how they install:

https://easyos.org/user/package-manager-concepts.html

[scsijon]

Since 'we' now seem to have the flatpak installer 'mostly working'. I wonder if it's time to consider adding the flatpak builder into the mix, with the caveat emptor of course on what is built. But at least if it's built under EasyOS it should theoretically work.

[BarryK]

A major new feature, users can now very easily add more apps to the Flatpak Installer. See blog post:

https://bkhome.org/news/202305/user-cus ... flapi.html

What is also really great is that new apps can easily be shared. You create a new /usr/local/flatpak/custom/<app> file using the GUI, then post the file here. Gzipped or with false ".gz" appended of course.

The anyone can download that file, place it in /usr/local/flatpak/custom (and remove the fake ".gz")

Then when start Flapi, the new app entry will automatically appear.

You will then have all the advantages of Flapi, which installs the app at /mnt/wkg/flatpak (in the working-partition, not in the session folder), runs the app as non-root user, home folder /home/<app>, project files can be created either in /home/<app> or in /files/apps/<app> -- the latter is also in the working-partition, not in the session folder.

Note that /files/apps/<app> is invisible to other apps.

These are all under-the-hood details, that make the installation and usage simple and secure. You don't have to be much concerned about the details, just go ahead and use the app.

The Installer also creates menu entry and desktop icon, and can update the app or delete it.

It is all pretty good.

I do of course agree that Flatpaks are montrously huge. You need to have a generous data allowance, and fast.

[BarryK]

Here is a comparison of Kdenlive video editor AppImage vs Flatpak:

https://bkhome.org/news/202305/kdenlive ... atpak.html

[Jesito]

So, requesting suggestions for more Flatpaks, as well as AppImages.

A few Appimages that I'm currently running under Easy 5.4 for 3D printing

Code: Select all

Arduino IDE 2.1.0 (needs --no-sandbox): https://wiki-content.arduino.cc/en/software
balena Etcher 1.18.4:  https://etcher.balena.io/#download-etcher
IdeaMaker 4.3.2: https://www.ideamaker.io/download.html
Meshlab 2022.02:  https://www.meshlab.net/#download
Ultimaker Cura 5.3.1:  https://ultimaker.com/software/ultimaker-cura/?gad=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIgtOzquTP_wIVdP_VCh2MdgglEAAYASAAEgIuqfD_BwE#links

[esos]

Echer from Appimage-Installer is not working even updated to newer version.

[bugnaw333]

Same here...

[BarryK]

Strange. I thought that I tested that it started up ok. That is 1.18.4.
Oh, but I see your problem is when writing. I didn't test that.

OK, try running it as root user. In a terminal:

Code: Select all

# etcher.bin