Frequently Asked Question

What is the difference between Snap, Flatpak, and AppImage?

All three are universal package formats that bundle an application with its dependencies and run it on any modern distribution, but their architectures differ. Snap (Canonical) packs everything into a squashfs image, mounts it at runtime, and confines the process with AppArmor and seccomp. Snaps auto-update, support command-line tools and system services as well as desktop apps, and are distributed from a single central store run by Canonical.

Flatpak (originally Red Hat, now community-led) targets desktop applications specifically. It uses bubblewrap for sandboxing and exposes capabilities through portals, APIs that ask the user for permission to access files, the camera, or the printer. Flatpaks share runtimes (large bundles of common libraries like GNOME or KDE), so disk usage is more efficient than Snaps. The main store is the decentralised Flathub. AppImage is the simplest: one executable file, no installation, no sandboxing by default, no central store. You make it executable and run it. AppImages are excellent for portable apps and USB-stick use; Flatpak shines for desktop apps that need fine-grained sandboxing; Snap covers both desktop and server but at the cost of central control.