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Question to more compentent Linux persons:

Except to get a later release of a software, is there any other reason(s) for (on Linux Mint) to install FlatPak, Snap or AppImage instead of a deb from the repository?

@hehemrin

I would say, no one!!
Personally, I'd only use Appimage as last resort in case any other option fail. I don't like snaps or flatpaks.
Those pkgs are slower, weightier and heavier than debs

@visone Thanks, it is similar to my strategy. Currently I have no Snap, one FlatPak and a couple of AppImages. The FlatPak leads to quite many updates of eg Free Desktop. To me, the AppImage is better than FlatPak, but FlatPak has a great upside now when it is very integrated in Mint Update manager (for us who don't always use the terminal...).

@hehemrin

Nowadays you don't need to use a terminal for installing software, whatever type of pkg you want/use, so the best tip I can give you is try them all, compare them all, and use what's best suit you. The choice has to be yours!!

@hehemrin Adding onto what @mah said, I'd argue Flatpak is very important for the sustainability of the Linux desktop longterm compared to using formats like .deb. I wrote about it here: memoryfile.codeberg.page/posts

This talk is also very good: youtube.com/watch?v=4WuYGcs0t6

@memoryfile @mah Thanks, I will read later. So, with risk without having read or viewed a few comments... I have seen problems with FlatPak. My few AppImages works better. But I prefer deb. One FlatPak I tried quite a while ago was sooo old, seemed to be abandoned by the person who made the FlatPak (which appeared to have no relation to the original sw developer). Now I have one FlatPak, where there are quite often updates of Free desktop and whatever. But real issue is probably because it 1/2

@memoryfile @mah is a container. It seems as it does not integrate as desirable. Which, as I understood is intentionally as it is a container. Probably it can be fixed with giving special permissions, but that really requires some skills, knowing what I am doing. I have not seem similar issues with deb. But I get the general advantage of easier to make a sw working for all Linux with container-concept (which I think is similar to macOS approach). 2/2

@hehemrin You can keep the application independently from the operating system, and you can use the same application on different distributions (multibooting). It's easy to store the application e.g., on a USB drive for use with Live ISOs.

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