Chromium developers have added experimental Flatpak packaging support for Linux, enabling building and testing the browser in a Flatpak environment.
The new infrastructure is part of Chromium’s Linux installer code. It includes everything needed to create a Flatpak package, like build and packaging scripts, application metadata, AppStream metadata, and a launcher entry point.
A new enable_flatpak GN build option has been introduced, along with installer changes that let Flatpak be handled as its own package format.
Chromium developers say the main goal of this update is testing. It should make it easier to test Chromium in a Flatpak environment and help improve its XDG portal integration.
The Flatpak packaging process intentionally leaves out some traditional Linux system integration steps that are not needed in a sandboxed package.
These include installing desktop files on the host, creating /usr/bin symlinks, installing man pages, registering GNOME default apps, adding AppStream data through the usual system path, and deploying AppArmor profiles.
In short, the browser’s source code now has the tools needed to create a Flatpak package and adjust the Linux installer as needed. However, there is one important point to note. Chromium developers make it clear that this change does not mean they officially support or distribute Flatpak packages.
Right now, this feature is still experimental and mainly for development and testing. It is not meant to provide users with an official Chromium Flatpak download.
It is still unclear if Chromium will officially support Flatpak in the future. However, adding this basic packaging infrastructure is an important first step in that direction.
The change has already been merged into Chromium’s source tree, meaning the new Flatpak packaging infrastructure is now part of the upstream codebase
