Red Hat’s Sebastian Wick has shared some interesting insights into Flatpak’s development following the 1.17 pre-release, an unstable version (the current stable is 1.16.1), marking the first update in six months and a strong return for this popular Linux sandboxing framework.
In his latest blog post titled “Flatpak Happenings,” Wick acknowledged that Flatpak had reached a stagnant phase earlier in 2025, with development slowing and open contributions piling up.
Fortunately, development has now restarted thanks to renewed efforts from long-time contributors along with new maintainers stepping up to review and merge code more actively. Now, the project has been reorganized, streamlined its review process, and reestablished an active development rhythm.
As a result, Flatpak 1.17 pre-release, which begins a new unstable series, intended to pave the way toward a stable release later this year, introduces a series of technical refinements and new capabilities designed to make it more reliable and easier to integrate across Linux distributions:
- Up-to-date documentation: The libflatpak documentation has finally been refreshed after years of neglect, making it easier for developers to work with the platform.
- Pre-installed app definitions: Distributions can now define which Flatpak applications should be automatically installed or removed. Projects such as Aurora and Bluefin are already utilizing this feature to integrate core Flathub apps into their systems.
- Enhanced OCI support: Flatpak now supports pre-installing apps directly from OCI images and remotes, a key step for upcoming enterprise use in RHEL 10.
- Updated permissions model: A backward-compatible permissions system enables applications to adopt newer, more restrictive permissions—such as access to gamepads or USB devices—without compromising compatibility on older systems. This also lays the groundwork for tighter integration with PipeWire.
Additionally, the broader Flatpak ecosystem is also advancing. The flatpak-builder tool has been updated, and Flathub has introduced improved license compliance checks.
At the same time, work continues on a new systemd-appd service that will help authenticate and manage running Flatpak instances, a component that provides a crucial foundation for future capabilities, including nested sandboxing, PipeWire-based media handling, and the phasing out of the aging D-Bus proxy.
New efforts are also underway to improve desktop integration. The XDG Intents specification aims to enable richer inter-app communication, including features such as deep-linking and thumbnail generation. Meanwhile, a new session save/restore Portal and significant backend refactoring in the Portals frontend simplify communication and reduce complexity across the board.
Finally, although some planned changes didn’t make it into this pre-release, Wick confirmed that another unstable version is expected soon, followed by a stable release before the end of 2025.
Can’t wait