The upcoming Fedora 37 may give you access to the entire Flathub repo.
Fedora 37 and Flathub Repo
The change proposal for Fedora 37 expects to remove the current filter in the fedora-flathub-remote package. The current filter (See below) only allows specific curated applications from the vast Flathub repository.
Currently, GNOME Software allows third-party repositories as opt-ins during initial setup or manual addition of software sources. With this unfiltered access, users can see a massive set of applications directly available in Software to install from Flathub.
So, no more going to Flathub.org and installing packages. This also means that the Flatpak setup would be there by default in Fedora.
Why this change?
The primary reason for this change is the user feedback, which was unsatisfactory because of the minimal number of Flathub applications available via the Software today.
Flathub is by far the most extensive repository of Flatpak applications. In addition, if more than one source is available for a single application, the software will prefer the Flatpak over Snap or RPM packages in Fedora 37. Although, the user would have the option to change the source’s preferences.
Besides, a BETA version of the Flathub repo contains a set of beta packages before they land in stable Flathub. I’m not sure whether the beta repo also is included as a source. I guess it won’t.
Flatpak is winning?
With that said, it’s an interesting move considering that Canonical is pushing Snap adoption aggressively in every step, such as the Firefox Snap controversy.
I believe, Flatpak is far more popular, and adoption is happening more rapidly than Snap. And in a decade or so, all major Linux distributions would include Flatpak set up by default and out-of-the-box access to the Flathub repo.
Finally, the change is “Proposed” and NOT yet approved by the Fedora Engineering Steering Committee (FESCO). The final change checkpoint is expected to occur by August 2022 end.
Fedora 37 BETA is planned for September 20, 2022, and the final release is expected on October 25, 2022. Stay tuned for more details as the development progresses, and features are finalised.
So, what do you think about this move? Let me know in the comment box below!
Via mailing list.
