Submission | Flathub Documentation
App submissions are extremely welcome and the process is straightforward.
Some basic familiarity with Git and Flatpak is required to submit and
maintain an app on Flathub.
Note that submissions can be rejected at any stage or recalled post-merge
if it is determined to be not suitable for Flathub.
important
This procedure is only for submitting new applications (or renaming). At
no point an update ever needs to go through this process.
Before submission
important
Please see the
Generative AI policy
before submitting.
Requirements
Please follow the
requirements
to
ensure that the submission has all the required files and is technically
and legally compatible for Flathub.
Build and install
It's best practice to make sure your submission correctly builds and runs
locally with Flatpak. This will help you to fix any potential issues and
expedite the review process.
Flathub recommends using
org.flatpak.Builder
to build the application.
flatpak
install
-y
flathub org.flatpak.Builder
Add the Flathub repo user-wide:
flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists
--user
flathub https://dl.flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo
Then build your manifest:
flatpak run
--command
flathub-build org.flatpak.Builder
--install
manifest
Extra data
If you are using
extra-data
flatpak run
--command
flathub-build org.flatpak.Builder
manifest
flatpak
install
--user
-y
./repo
$FLATPAK_ID
Run and test
flatpak run
app id
Run the linter
Please try to run the
linter
once
locally. Consult the documentation for explanation of the errors. For
certain errors you might need an
exception
flatpak run
--command
flatpak-builder-lint org.flatpak.Builder manifest
manifest
flatpak run
--command
flatpak-builder-lint org.flatpak.Builder repo repo
Once this is done you can open the submission pull request!
Submission PR
Flathub submissions are managed through pull requests on GitHub. Please
use the github.com web interface to create the pull request.
tip
If you have
GitHub CLI
installed run:
gh repo fork
--clone
flathub/flathub
&&
cd
flathub
&&
git
checkout
--track
origin/new-pr
and proceed directly to step 3.
Fork the
Flathub repository on GitHub
with
"Copy the master branch only"
unchecked.
Clone the fork:
git
clone
--branch
new-pr git@github.com:your_github_username/flathub.git
&&
cd
flathub
Create a new branch for the submission:
git
checkout
-b
my-app-submission new-pr
Add the
required files
using
git add
, commit them and push using
git commit
and
git push
warning
Please do not open the PR against the
master
base branch of
flathub/flathub
repository.
Now open a pull request against the
new-pr
base branch
on GitHub.
The title of the PR should be "Add org.example.MyAwesomeApp".
Review
important
Please note that at no point during the submission process is it
necessary to close the pull request in order to address review
comments — this includes changes to the
application ID
Additionally, there is no reason to merge the
master
branch into the
submission branch at any point.
Once the pull request has been submitted, it will be reviewed by the
reviewers. Please consider that reviewers are volunteers and the response
time may vary. Reviewers may post comments, ask for certain changes,
fixes or clarifications. Please answer all these questions.
Pull requests that remove the template, does not follow the submission
guidelines or contain excessive AI-generated content may be
closed without a review. In general, spammy activity, wasting
reviewer's time may result in closing the pull request and/or a ban
from further submissions.
Once all comments are resolved, a
test
build can be started on the
pull request by commenting
bot, build
Approval
If the submission is approved, it will be marked as ready and
merged into a new repository under the
Flathub GitHub organisation
by the reviewers at a later time. Once the repository is created, you
will receive an invitation to have write access to it. Please make sure
to have
2FA enabled on GitHub
and accept it within one week.
Once you have access, please see the
App Maintenance
guide.
FAQ
Someone else has put my app on Flathub—what do I do?
Flathub is primarily intended as a service that is used by app developers
to distribute their apps. However, third party submissions are allowed
as long as the application's license and terms of use (if any) do not
block it.
If an application that belongs to you is being distributed without your
consent or involvement, please get in touch by
opening an issue
so that the next steps can be discussed.
If there is a security issue or sensitive information involved, please
send an
email
instead.
There’s an app that I’d like to see on Flathub, but I’m not the developer
If there’s an app that you'd like to be distributed on Flathub, the
best first course of action is to approach the app’s developers and ask
them to submit it. Please remain respectful, patient and courteous when
making such requests.
You can also submit it yourself following the submission process
outlined above, or start a topic on the
Flathub forum
to find
interested volunteers.
I want to submit my app but I don't have a website - what should I do?
If you don’t have your own domain or website, you can use a code
hosting service such as GitHub, GitLab, or Codeberg etc. These platforms
provide free static
code hosting
websites.
Please see the respective documentation of the code hosting platform for
more information:
GitHub Pages
GitLab Pages
Codeberg Pages
How long does it take to get submissions reviewed and merged?
There is no definite time limit as all reviewers are volunteers and
are often busy with other Flathub- or infrastructure-related work.
Merges are also done in batches. So you might have to wait for a while.
How long does it take to get the build published after merge?
Usually it should be published within 1-2 hour. Sometimes it might be
delayed due to load. Once published it should show up on the website
within a few hours.
I don't see any screenshots from the test builds-why?
Screenshots don't work from any test builds. If this is a submission, it
will work after the submission is merged and an
official
build is
created and published.
I can't see the app in my authored apps on the developer portal-why?
Once the app’s submission has been merged and the
official
build has
been published, the website should show the app on your authored apps
after a short time. You need to have write access to the Flathub app
repository and log in to the website.
If it does not work, please press the "Refresh" button
here
and it should show up. If it still does not work feel free to contact us.
Getting help
Please don't hesitate to ask for help. General queries can be made on the
Matrix channel
and on
Discourse
. Technical queries or
requests can be made through
issues
. Security issues
and private matters can be discussed via
email
Before submission
Requirements
Build and install
Run and test
Run the linter
Submission PR
Review
Approval
FAQ
Someone else has put my app on Flathub—what do I do?
There’s an app that I’d like to see on Flathub, but I’m not the developer
I want to submit my app but I don't have a website - what should I do?
How long does it take to get submissions reviewed and merged?
How long does it take to get the build published after merge?
I don't see any screenshots from the test builds-why?
I can't see the app in my authored apps on the developer portal-why?
Getting help