# @malept/flatpak-bundler [![Version](https://img.shields.io/npm/v/@malept/flatpak-bundler.svg)](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@malept/flatpak-bundler) [![Build Status](https://github.com/malept/flatpak-bundler/workflows/CI/badge.svg)](https://github.com/malept/flatpak-bundler/actions?query=workflow%3ACI) Build [flatpaks](https://flatpak.org/) from Node.js. # Quick Start Install `@malept/flatpak-bundler`. ```shell $ npm install @malept/flatpak-bundler ``` [Build a flatpak with a Node script](#hello-world). Install and run it! ```shell $ flatpak install --user --bundle hello.flatpak $ flatpak run org.world.Hello Hello, world! ``` ## Overview This modules allows building flatpaks programmatically from Node. It requires Node 10 or above and flatpak >= 0.6.13 to be installed on your system. Under the hood, this is just a wrapper for the [flatpak-builder](https://docs.flatpak.org/en/latest/flatpak-builder.html) tool with some extra sugar added. With `flatpak-builder`, you specify a runtime, sandbox permissions and software modules to build into your application, and build a flatpak from start to finish. This module provides a few additional features: - Supports auto installing flatpak runtime and app dependencies - Supports exporting directly to the a single file flatpak bundle - Supports easy copying files and creating symlinks directly in `/app` The latter is particularly useful for [Electron](https://electronjs.org/) and [nw.js](http://nwjs.io/) style Node applications, which often create packages from prebuilt binaries and do not attempt to follow an autotools-like [build api](https://github.com/cgwalters/build-api). This module should make it easy to plug flatpak support into an Electron or nw.js app packaging phase. ## Usage ### translateArch(arch) Used to translate a Node-style arch (e.g., `x64`) into a Flatpak-compatible arch (e.g., `x86_64`). If the arch is unknown, it will pass through the input value. ### bundle(manifest, buildOptions) Takes an [app manifest](#manifest) and a build options object. It returns a Promise. Both the manifest and options objects support both camelCase and dash-separated variants of any option. The promise is returned with a `finalBuildOptions` value. It contains the build options after default values have been applied. Useful to read out the `workingDir`, for example. #### Manifest This matches the format for [`flatpak-builder` app manifests](https://docs.flatpak.org/en/latest/manifests.html), with a few extra options added and camelCase variants supported. - **id**: Required. The application id. - **runtime**: Required. The runtime for your flatpak application. - **sdk**: Required. The sdk for your flatpak application. - **base**: An app to inherit from. Use the app as a "base" for `/app` contents. - **finishArgs**: The arguments to pass to `flatpak build-finish`. Use this to add sandbox permissions. See the [Electron app example](#electron-app) for some common app permissions. - **modules**: If you need to build other software modules into you flatpak app (anything not already in your runtime or base app), you can specify them here. #### Build Options - **bundlePath**: Output location for a single file version of the flatpak. If non supplied, the single file flatpak will not be created. - **arch**: The architecture for the flatpak bundle. x86_64, i386 or arm. - **workingDir**: The working directory to call `flatpak-builder` from. Defaults to a new tmp directory. - **buildDir**: The directory to build the application in. Defaults to `${workingDir}/build` - **repoDir**: The directory for a flatpak repo, can be used to publish to an existing repo. Defaults to `${workingDir}/repo` - **cleanTmpdirs**: Cleanup any tmp directories created during the build on process exit. Defaults to true. Set false for easier debugging. - **autoInstallRuntime**: Install/update the runtime while building. Defaults to true if runtimeFlatpakref is set in the manifest. - **autoInstallSdk**: Install/update the sdk while building. Defaults to true if sdkFlatpakref is set in the manifest. - **autoInstallBase**: Install/update the base app while building. Defaults to true if baseFlatpakref is set in the manifest. - **gpgSign**: The gpg key to use to sign the flatpak repo and bundle file. - **gpgHomedir**: The gpg homedir to use when signing. - **subject**: The single line subject to use for the flatpak repo commit message. - **body**: The description to use for the flatpak repo commit message. - **files**: Files to copy directly into the app. Should be a list of [source, dest] tuples. Source should be a relative/absolute path to a file/directory to copy into the flatpak, and dest should be the path inside the app install prefix (e.g. `/share/applications/`) - **symlinks**: Symlinks to create in the app files. Should be a list of [target, location] symlink tuples. Target can be either a relative or absolute path inside the app install prefix, and location should be a absolute path inside the prefix to create the symlink at. - **extraExports**: Files to export outside of the flatpak sandbox, in addition to the application desktop file, icons and appstream. File basename *must* be prefixed with the app id. Should not be needed for common use. - **runtimeFlatpakref**: A pathname or url to a flatpakref file to use to auto install the runtime. - **sdkFlatpakref**: A pathname or url to a flatpakref file to use to auto install the sdk. - **baseFlatpakref**: A pathname or url to a flatpakref file to use to auto install the base app. - **bundleRepoUrl**: Repo url for the single file bundle. Installing the bundle will automatically configure a remote for this URL. - **extraFlatpakBuilderArgs**: List of extra arguments to pass to the [flatpak-builder](https://docs.flatpak.org/en/latest/flatpak-builder-command-reference.html) command. - **extraFlatpakBuildExportArgs**: List of extra arguments to pass to the [flatpak build-export](https://docs.flatpak.org/en/latest/flatpak-command-reference.html#flatpak-build-export) command. - **extraFlatpakBuildBundleArgs**: List of extra arguments to pass to the [flatpak build-bundle](https://docs.flatpak.org/en/latest/flatpak-command-reference.html#flatpak-build-bundle) command. ### Logging To turn on debugging output, set the DEBUG environment variable: ```shell DEBUG=flatpak-bundler npm run my-flatpak-command ``` ## Examples ### Hello world ```javascript const flatpakBundler = require('@malept/flatpak-bundler') const fs = require('fs-extra') // Write a hello world script to disk await fs.writeFile('hello', `#!/bin/bash echo "Hello, world!"`, { mode: 0o755 }) // Make a flatpak with it! try { await flatpakBundler.bundle({ id: 'org.world.Hello', runtime: 'org.freedesktop.Platform', runtimeVersion: '1.4', sdk: 'org.freedesktop.Sdk', }, { bundlePath: 'hello.flatpak', files: [ ['hello', '/bin/hello'] ], runtimeFlatpakref: 'https://raw.githubusercontent.com/endlessm/flatpak-bundler/master/refs/freedesktop-runtime-1.4.flatpakref' }) console.log('Flatpak built successfully') } catch (error) { console.error('Error building flatpak', error) } ``` ### Electron App ```javascript const flatpakBundler = require('@malept/flatpak-bundler') try { const finalBuildOptions = await flatpakBundler.bundle({ // Manifest id: 'org.world.Hello', base: 'io.atom.electron.BaseApp', // Electron base application runtime: 'org.freedesktop.Platform', // Use the freedesktop runtime runtimeVersion: '1.4', sdk: 'org.freedesktop.Sdk', finishArgs: [ '--share=ipc', '--socket=x11', // Allow app to show windows with X11 '--socket=pulseaudio', // Allow audio output '--filesystem=home', // Allow access to users home directory '--share=network', // Allow network access '--device=dri' // Allow OpenGL rendering ], renameDesktopFile: 'hello.desktop', // Rename the desktop file to agree with the app ID so flatpak will export it renameIcon: 'hello' // Rename the icon to agree with the app ID so flatpak will export it }, { // Build options arch: 'x86_64', baseFlatpakref: 'https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/electron-flatpak.endlessm.com/electron-base-app-master.flatpakref', // So we can auto install the runtime bundlePath: 'dist/hello_x86_64.flatpak', files: [ [ 'static/linux', '/share/' ], // Desktop file and icons [ packagedFileDir, '/share/bar' ] // Application binaries and assets ], gpgSign: '1234ABCD', // GPG key to sign with runtimeFlatpakref: 'https://raw.githubusercontent.com/endlessm/flatpak-bundler/master/refs/freedesktop-runtime-1.4.flatpakref', symlinks: [ [ '/share/bar/Bar', '/bin/Bar' ] // Create a symlink in /bin to to app executable ] }) console.log('Flatpak built successfully.') console.log(`Build dir and repo in ${finalBuildOptions.workingDir}`) } catch (error) { console.error('Error building flatpak', error) } ```