Provide an AppImage for Linux

[probonopd]

Providing an AppImage would have, among others, these advantages:

• Works for most Linux distributions (including Ubuntu, Fedora, openSUSE, CentOS, elementaryOS, Linux Mint, and others)
• One app = one file = super simple for users: just download one AppImage file, make it executable, and run
• No unpacking or installation necessary
• No root needed
• No system libraries changed
• Just one format for all major distributions
• Works out of the box, no installation of runtimes needed (unlike Snap and Flatpak)
• Optional desktop integration with appimaged
• Optional binary delta updates, e.g., for continuous builds (only download the binary diff) using AppImageUpdate
• Can optionally GPG2-sign your AppImages (inside the file)
• Works on Live ISOs (unlike Flatpak)
• Can use the same AppImages when dual-booting multiple distributions

Here is an overview of projects that are already distributing upstream-provided, official AppImages.

Please let me know if you are interested and would like me to generate an AppImage.

[MrAlex94]

Ah thanks for bringing this to my attention! This will help a lot with Linux releases. I'll read up on the docs and make some test images, but definitely looks like it'll be better than just the pre-built binaries archived.

[probonopd]

You can use the existing pre-built binaries and convert them into an AppImage; in fact this is what I do for my demo Firefox AppImage. See https://github.com/probonopd/AppImages/blob/master/recipes/meta/Firefox.yml

If you are interested, I can do the same for Waterfox.

[MrAlex94]

Yes that would be awesome if you could!

[probonopd]

If memory serves me right, @TheAssassin was recently working on the Firefox yml file, so maybe he could have a look here?

[TheAssassin]

I have created an AppImage YAML definition for Waterfox.

Wasn't too much work as I was working on basically the same definition for Firefox Developer Edition anyway, so I was able to adopt most of that script's code.

You could further use this as a base for upstream AppImages (e.g. nightlies or continuous integration builds). You could upload the result to your website for future releases, too.

If you have further questions or need assistance in adjusting the definition, join #AppImage on Freenode or on Gitter, there should be someone around who can help you (if not, just stay around a few... hours... or days... it's IRC, so you never know).

[MrAlex94]

Great, thanks a lot!

[Serkan-devel]

Any updates here?

[Serkan-devel]

bump

[Serkan-devel]

...

[Serkan-devel]

Maybe this could help against #318 and #395 by just swapping appimages out or with appimage-update

[TheAssassin]

@Serkan-devel you could think about integrating libappimageupdate into the update check. It provides a C++ interface which you can use to check for updates, perform updates, ...

[ghost]

Is appimage available for waterfox? where can I download the file?

[Serkan-devel]

Doesn't exist yet, but I'm looking into it

[hawkeye116477]

It's here now => https://download.opensuse.org/repositories/home:/hawkeye116477:/waterfox/AppImage/Waterfox-latest-x86_64.AppImage. It has bad version number, cuz I don't know how to change that on OBS. If i make that locally with recipe method, then version is correct.

[Serkan-devel]

can this be upstreamed?

[grahamperrin]

can this be upstreamed?

To where? Somewhere other than AppImageHub?

[probonopd]

https://www.waterfoxproject.org/en-US/waterfox/new/?scene=1

[Serkan-devel]

@probonopd can't find it on there

[probonopd]

Exactly, it should be upstreamed to be there...

[grahamperrin]

https://appimage.github.io/apps/#/Waterfox/

• thanks @probonopd @hawkeye116477

https://redd.it/9rsvcm

[Serkan-devel]

@grahamperrin but what about on the official waterfox download page?

[grahamperrin]

I'm not a site editor.

[probonopd]

@MrAlex94 now that there is a Waterfox AppImage, it would be nice to see it included on the Waterfox homepage.

https://download.opensuse.org/repositories/home:/hawkeye116477:/waterfox/AppImage/Waterfox-latest-x86_64.AppImage.mirrorlist

Typing this from Waterfox on Clear Linux OS (an operating system for which no distribution-provided Waterfox package exists).

[hook321]

If the appimage is linked to on the official website I think the debian packages should be as well.

[c-s-n]

I'm piggybacking on this "packaging" topic, since I stumbled upon the seemingly new Snap waterfox-snap in the Snapcraft Store. That seems to be provided by @YamiYukiSenpai via this repository.
Since that Snap doesn't feel very official yet, and there are still many open tasks listed in the repo readme, maybe forces can be joined here?

For reference, here is also a Waterfox-packaging related reddit discussion.

[Serkan-devel]

@c-s-n please open a seperate issue and not clutter this one

[grahamperrin]

▶ Any thoughts of having a Snap version of Waterfox?

[probonopd]

@grahamperrin please open a seperate issue and not clutter this one

[grahamperrin]

@probonopd it was direction to the separate discussion; to avoid duplication/multiplication.

[ghost]

#1752

[chaserene]

@MrAlex94 please reopen this. Waterfox still doesn't have an official AppImage, only a 3rd party build.

[hawkeye116477]

I assume that's closed, cuz no one from Waterfox team has time to do that and/or learn how to do that.