# flatpak/flatpak

Linux application sandboxing and distribution framework

Repository: https://github.com/flatpak/flatpak
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/flatpak
Homepage: https://flatpak.org
Language: C
License: LGPL-2.1
License Family: copyleft
Last push: 2026-08-26T14:38:03+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 94/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 85, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3758, "days_push": 7, "days_rel": 22, "gap_med": 61.0, "n_releases_24m": 9}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 5050, forks 519 (observed 2026-08-28T04:09:08.935298+00:00)

## What it is
Flatpak is a framework for building, distributing, and running sandboxed desktop applications on Linux. It lets developers package an app once with bundled dependencies and runtimes, and distribute it across virtually all Linux distributions via Flathub.

## Use cases
- distribute a desktop app to all Linux distros with one package
- sandbox desktop applications for security
- bundle app dependencies independently of the host distro
- install up-to-date apps on older or stable Linux distributions
- run applications in an isolated environment with controlled permissions
- publish an app to Flathub

## When to choose
- you want one build of a desktop app to work across many Linux distributions
- you need to ship newer library versions than the target distro provides
- you want to isolate desktop apps from the rest of the system
- you want a vendor-neutral, community-driven app distribution channel

## When to avoid
- you are packaging server-side or headless software where containers like Docker fit better
- you need deep integration with a single distro's native package manager
- your app requires unrestricted system access that defeats sandboxing
- you target non-Linux platforms

## Facets
- artifact type: framework
- maturity: stable
- function: security, deployment, container-runtime, package-manager, cli
- domain: developer-tools, self-hosted, operating-systems
- platform: cli
- tags: sandboxing, app-packaging, flathub, desktop-applications, ostree, bubblewrap, portals, distro-agnostic, linux-desktop, linux, desktop

## Member repositories
- flatpak/flatpak (main) score 94

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:08.935298+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T18:17:21.402916+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/flatpak/flatpak (fetched 2026-08-28T04:09:08.935298+00:00, sha f2dc03f5b0ea)
  - homepage: https://flatpak.org (fetched 2026-08-29T08:58:52.882241+00:00, sha a9adf0c92925)
  - site_page: https://flatpak.org/about (fetched 2026-08-29T08:58:52.891311+00:00, sha c79c8850365c)
  - site_page: https://flatpak.org/faq (fetched 2026-08-29T08:58:52.895987+00:00, sha a43820670f7f)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.