I like to play with Portable Linux Apps, in particular AppImage packages.
I'm just an enthusiast who likes to write Shell/Bash scripts for GNU/Linux, for fun.
I started writing small scripts for personal use, in my free time... and then sharing them here, on Github.
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"AM"/"AppMan" is a set of scripts and modules for installing, updating, and managing AppImage packages and other portable formats, in the same way that APT manages DEBs packages, DNF the RPMs, and so on... using a large database of Shell scripts inspired by the Arch User Repository, each dedicated to an app or set of applications.
The engine of "AM"/"AppMan" is the "APP-MANAGER" script which, depending on how you install or rename it, allows you to install apps system-wide (for a single system administrator) or locally (for each user).
"AM"/"AppMan" aims to be the default package manager for all AppImage packages, giving them a home to stay.
You can consult the entire list of managed apps at portable-linux-apps.github.io/apps.
Go to https://github.com/ivan-hc/AM for more!
Sometimes my Appimage packages are built from a base of precompiled packages, whether they are in .deb or .tar format it doesn't matter, as long as they know how to work by themselves.
Unfortunately it's not always that simple, so we need to download more dependencies from external packages.
When a program requires multiple external libraries to work, I use three tools to generate my AppImage packages:
- ArchImage builds AppImages containing a portable Arch Linux container, named "JuNest". Since version 5.0 the CLI is also able to create scripts for producing "Anylinux" AppImages, which therefore do not require an internal container to work. The final AppImage package is compatible with all the GNU/Linux distributions.
- AppImaGen is a script that builds AppImages from Ubuntu PPAs or Debian repositories. The final packages are GLIBC compatible for the chosen Debian release or the previous (not the latest, not the oldest) Ubuntu LTS. This method is closest to those commonly used among AppImage packagers.
- Snap2AppImage is an experimental script to convert Snap packages to portable AppImages, good for standalone programs and Electron-based apps available on the Canonical/Ubuntu's Snapstore.
- Arch-Deployer is an experimental script to bulk download an Arch Linux package with all its dependencies to be converted in AppImage. Although inactive for years and archived in favor of Archimage, it had a certain following. Efficiency is not guaranteed, as the packages and libraries in use depend on GLIBC being greater than or equal to Arch Linux.
To recap, in order of "efficiency":
| Name | AppImages base | Method | Efficiency (%) | Stars |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ArchImage | Arch Linux | JuNest-based or Anylinux (you choose) | 90% |  |
| AppImaGen | Ubuntu LTS or Debian | Classic, limited by GLIBC | 50% |  |
| Snap2AppImage | Snap packages | Classic, limited by GLIBC | 10% |  |
| Arch-Deployer | Arch Linux | Classic, limited by GLIBC | 3% |  |
Also I'm open to cooperation in teams by experiencing new methods to create Appimages. As a special guest, I also have a Steam AppImage built using Runimage, thanks to the big effort of one of my best cooperators, Samueru-sama.
This is the list of all AppImage packages I build in my repositories for both "AM" and "AppMan".
| Application | Source / Based on... | Stars |
|---|---|---|
| Abiword | Arch Linux, JuNest (ArchImage 5.0) |  |
| Aisleriot | Arch Linux, JuNest (ArchImage 5.0) |  |
| anki | Arch Linux, JuNest (ArchImage 5.0) |  |
| AnyDesk | DEB, upstream |  |
| asunder | Arch Linux, JuNest (ArchImage 5.0) |  |
| Audacious | Arch Linux, JuNest (ArchImage 5.0) |  |
| Avidemux | Arch Linux, JuNest (ArchImage 5.0) |  |
| billard-gl | DEB, Debian |  |
| Blender Stable/RC/Beta/Alpha | TAR/ZIP, upstream |  |
| Bottles | Arch Linux, JuNest (ArchImage 5.0) |  |
| Brave Stable/Beta/Nightly | TAR/ZIP, upstream |  |
| Calibre | TAR/ZIP, upstream |  |
| Celestia "Enanched" | Arch Linux, JuNest (ArchImage 5.0) |  |
| Chrome Stable/Beta/Unstable | DEB, upstream |  |
| Chromium Stable/Candidate/Beta/Edge | Snap |  |
| chromium-bsu | Arch Linux, JuNest (ArchImage 5.0) |  |
| Discord | TAR/ZIP, upstream |  |
| Dropbox | TAR/ZIP, upstream |  |
| Emacs | Arch Linux, JuNest (ArchImage 5.0) |  |
| Evince | Arch Linux, JuNest (ArchImage 5.0) |  |
| falkon | Arch Linux, JuNest (ArchImage 5.0) |  |
| FileZilla (client) | Arch Linux, JuNest (ArchImage 5.0) |  |
| Firefox Stable/ESR/Beta/Dev/Nightly | TAR/ZIP, upstream |  |
| gearlever | Arch Linux, JuNest (ArchImage 5.0) |  |
| Gedit | Arch Linux, JuNest (ArchImage 5.0) |  |
| GIMP Stable/Git/Hybrid | Arch Linux, JuNest (ArchImage 5.0) |  |
| GNOME Boxes | Arch Linux, JuNest (ArchImage 5.0) |  |
| Gnumeric | Arch Linux, JuNest (ArchImage 5.0) |  |
| Handbrake | Arch Linux, JuNest (ArchImage 5.0) |  |
| Hypnotix | Arch Linux, JuNest (ArchImage 5.0) |  |
| Inkscape | Arch Linux, JuNest (ArchImage 5.0) |  |
| KDE-games | Arch Linux, JuNest (ArchImage 5.0) |  |
| KDE-utils | Arch Linux, JuNest (ArchImage 5.0) |  |
| kwave | Arch Linux, JuNest (ArchImage 5.0) |  |
| LibreOffice Still/Fresh | Arch Linux, JuNest (ArchImage 5.0) |  |
| lxtask | Arch Linux, Anylinux |  |
| MATE-system-monitor | Arch Linux, Anylinux |  |
| Microsoft Edge Stable/Beta/Dev | DEB, upstream |  |
| MPV | Arch Linux, JuNest (ArchImage 5.0) |  |
| OBS-Studio | Arch Linux, JuNest (ArchImage 5.0) |  |
| ocenaudio | Arch Linux, JuNest (ArchImage 5.0) |  |
| Opera Stable/Beta/Dev | Snap |  |
| Poedit | Arch Linux, JuNest (ArchImage 5.0) |  |
| PowerShell | TAR/ZIP, upstream |  |
| Rhythmbox | Arch Linux, JuNest (ArchImage 5.0) |  |
| SimpleScreenRecorder | Arch Linux, Anylinux |  |
| Skype | Snap |  |
| SpaceCadet Pinball (AUR) | Arch Linux, JuNest (ArchImage 5.0) |  |
| Spotify | Snap |  |
| Steam | Runimage |  |
| sunvox | Arch Linux, JuNest (ArchImage 5.0) |  |
| SuperTuxKart Stable/Dev | TAR/ZIP, upstream |  |
| Thunderbird Stable/Beta/Nightly | TAR/ZIP, upstream |  |
| Torcs | Arch Linux, JuNest (ArchImage 5.0) |  |
| Transmission-gtk | Arch Linux, JuNest (ArchImage 5.0) |  |
| UrbanTerror | TAR/ZIP, upstream |  |
| VirtualBox KVM | Arch Linux, JuNest (ArchImage 5.0) |  |
| visipics | wine32-deploy |  |
| Vivaldi Stable/Snapshot | DEB, upstream |  |
| VLC Stable/Git | Arch Linux, JuNest (ArchImage 5.0) |  |
| WPS Office | DEB, upstream |  |
| Yandex Browser Stable/Beta/Corporate | DEB, upstream |  |
| GNOME3 AppImages* | Various sources |  |
*NOTE, the last one in the table above is a database containing small GNOME3-related apps that you may need. The AppImages contained in this repository are:
| Application | Source / Based on... |
|---|---|
| Baobab GTK3 | DEB, Debian |
| Simple Scan GTK3 | DEB, Debian |
| System Monitor GTK3 | DEB, Debian |
All of these applications have been built since September 2021, and (if my time will be enough) I will build even more AppImages. Just browse my repositories to find other experimental projects I'm working on. My main workflow is based on the ArchImage method since summer 2023, and I believe I will continue to work this way until a better solution than this is discovered.
I hope you enjoy them!
32-bit GNU/Linux distributions are increasingly rarely used, but this does not mean they should be excluded. If you use Debian Stable for i386 (recommended) or higher, I have created a specific repository for those applications, all manageable through AM and AppMan.
| Application | Source / Based on... | Stars |
|---|---|---|
| 32-bit AppImage packages database | Various .deb sources |  |
The 32-bit AppImages contained in this repository are:
| Application | Source / Based on... |
|---|---|
| Chromium | Debian (Oldstable) |
| GIMP | Debian (Stable) |
| KDE-games | Debian (Stable) |
| VLC | Debian (Stable) |
I have not included them in the main repositories of their 64-bit counterparts to avoid confusion.
| Project | Stars |
|---|---|
| Firefox for Linux, installation scripts |  |
| Flatpak installer, a custom action |  |
If you find what I do useful, let me know with a star ⭐ in the repository you like best, or with a donation on PayPal and Ko-fi. Thanks in advance!
| Install "AM" | My AppImage catalog | Support me on ko-fi.com | Support me on PayPal.me |
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