Does Flatpak have the ability to install from different "channels" for its applications, like Snaps?

One thing I’m using with Snaps is having the ability to install beta or edge version of applications.

Does Flatpak have that ability?

I believe flatpak calls this “branches.” If I search for an app by using the “Applicaion ID,” flatpak offers me the option of installing a beta:

flatpak install org.freecadweb.FreeCAD

Looking for matches…
Remotes found with refs similar to ‘org.freecadweb.FreeCAD’:

   1) ‘flathub’ (system)
   2) ‘flathub’ (user)
   3) ‘flathub-beta’ (user)

Which do you want to use (0 to abort)? [0-3]: 

After install, either of the following commands will run the stable branch: (stable is the default when no branch is declared)

flatpak run org.frecadweb.FreeCAD
flatpak run --branch=stable org.freecadweb.FreeCAD

But the following command will run the beta version:

flatpak run --branch=beta org.freecadweb.FreeCAD

When I looked up Firefox:

$ flatpak install firefox
Looking for matches…
Similar refs found for ‘firefox’ in remote ‘flathub’ (system):

   1) app/org.mozilla.firefox.BaseApp/x86_64/20.08
   2) app/org.mozilla.firefox.BaseApp/x86_64/21.08
   3) app/org.mozilla.firefox/x86_64/stable
   4) app/org.mozilla.firefox.BaseApp/x86_64/22.08

Which do you want to use (0 to abort)? [0-4]: 

I don’t see a way to install ESR, and I’m not sure what the difference is between those 4

Ah, yes. I can see why you’re confused. I’m not sure there is an ESR available as a flatpak, but let’s see if we can clear up part of this.

Let’s see if the search command clarifies things for us: (I deleted some fuzzy matches, but these two options were at the top of the list)

flatpak search firefox

Name           Description                                                                   Application ID              Version     Branch Remotes
Firefox        Fast, Private & Safe Web Browser                                              org.mozilla.firefox         112.0b9     beta   flathub-beta
Firefox        Fast, Private & Safe Web Browser                                              org.mozilla.firefox         111.0.1     stable flathub,flathub-beta

If I then want to install the beta 112.0b9 branch, I note that it resides on the flathub-beta repository as indicated in the “Remotes” column. So I run the following command: (Note that I specify the remote repository “flathub-beta” after the “install” command)

flatpak install flathub-beta org.mozilla.firefox

Looking for matches…
Similar refs found for ‘org.mozilla.firefox’ in remote ‘flathub-beta’ (user):

   1) app/org.mozilla.firefox/x86_64/beta
   2) app/org.mozilla.firefox/x86_64/stable

Which do you want to use (0 to abort)? [0-2]: 

Since the flathub-beta repository houses both a stable version and a beta, I’m presented with the option to choose my target install.

1 Like