# Vocalinux Flatpak Packaging

Manifest and AppStream metadata for building Vocalinux as a Flatpak.

## VocaHQ remote (auto-update)

The recommended install is the self-hosted VocaHQ OSTree remote — the
Homebrew-tap analogue — which `release.yml` signs and publishes to
`VocaHQ/vocalinux-flatpak` (GitHub Pages) on every stable `v*` tag:

```bash
flatpak install https://vocahq.github.io/vocalinux-flatpak/com.vocalinux.Vocalinux.flatpakref
flatpak update   # each new release arrives here
```

The `.flatpakref` adds the `vocahq` remote and resolves the GNOME runtime
through Flathub via `RuntimeRepo=` — the manual equivalent is `remote-add`
for `flathub` then `vocahq`, then `flatpak install vocahq
com.vocalinux.Vocalinux`. Only the app is ours; `org.gnome.Platform//50`
still comes from Flathub. One-time repo/key setup:
[docs/FLATPAK_REMOTE.md](../../docs/FLATPAK_REMOTE.md).

## GitHub Release bundles

Each `v*` GitHub Release attaches `Vocalinux-<version>-x86_64.flatpak` and
`Vocalinux-<version>-aarch64.flatpak` as a no-remote fallback:

```bash
# once: Flathub remote + GNOME runtime (the app itself is not on Flathub)
flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://dl.flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo
flatpak install flathub org.gnome.Platform//50

flatpak install --user ./Vocalinux-<version>-x86_64.flatpak
flatpak run com.vocalinux.Vocalinux
```

Bundles do **not** auto-update — the VocaHQ remote above is the path for
that. Vocalinux is **not on Flathub** (submission
[flathub/flathub#9368](https://github.com/flathub/flathub/pull/9368) closed on
policy grounds; we are not re-submitting). Local `flatpak-builder` remains for
contributors (below).

## Current Scope

The manifest ships the default `whisper_cpp` engine only. VOSK is omitted because
the PyPI package is wheel-only (no sdist), so a Flathub-ready VOSK build would
need to compile VOSK and its native deps from source.

Global keyboard shortcuts use **evdev** (`/dev/input`).
Text injection uses **wl-copy** + **ydotool Ctrl+V** (instant paste into native
Wayland apps). Character-by-character `ydotool type` is only a fallback.
`xdotool` remains for pure X11/XWayland clients.

Permissions: `--socket=wayland` (clipboard), `--socket=x11` (xdotool fallback),
`--device=all` (evdev hotkeys + uinput; Flatpak has no narrower uinput flag).

## Local Build

```bash
# one-time runtime/SDK
flatpak install flathub org.gnome.Platform//50 org.gnome.Sdk//50

# from repo root — add flags as needed:
#   --user --install     install for the current user
#   --repo=repo          export a local repo (then bundle or lint)
#   --compose-url-policy=full --mirror-screenshots-url=https://dl.flathub.org/media
flatpak-builder --force-clean build-dir packaging/flatpak/com.vocalinux.Vocalinux.yml

flatpak run com.vocalinux.Vocalinux --debug

# single-file bundle (after a --repo=repo build)
flatpak build-bundle repo vocalinux.flatpak com.vocalinux.Vocalinux
# elsewhere: flatpak install --user vocalinux.flatpak
```

Lint (needs `org.flatpak.Builder`):

```bash
flatpak run --command=flatpak-builder-lint org.flatpak.Builder manifest packaging/flatpak/com.vocalinux.Vocalinux.yml
flatpak run --command=flatpak-builder-lint org.flatpak.Builder builddir build-dir
flatpak run --command=flatpak-builder-lint org.flatpak.Builder repo repo   # if you used --repo=repo
```

Prefer `flatpak run` after `--install` for GUI testing. On GNOME runtimes with
glycin loaders, `flatpak-builder --run` can fail to load themed SVG icons for an
uninstalled stable app ID; it is still fine for non-GUI smokes:

```bash
flatpak-builder --run build-dir packaging/flatpak/com.vocalinux.Vocalinux.yml \
  python3 -c 'from pywhispercpp.model import Model; print("pywhispercpp ok")'
```

## Python Dependencies

`python3-dependencies.yaml` is generated from `requirements/runtime.txt`, the
hash-pinned export `just lock` writes out of `uv.lock`. Refresh it whenever the
dependency set changes:

```bash
just flatpak-deps        # rewrite the manifest (needs PyPI)
just flatpak-deps-check  # report drift, change nothing
```

`just lock` runs the first of those itself, so a normal dependency change needs
no extra step.

The script resolves each package's URL by looking up the digest uv already
recorded, so the bytes this build downloads are the bytes in `uv.lock`, not
merely the same version number. It takes a universal wheel where one exists and
the sdist otherwise; an ABI-tagged wheel would pin the build to one SDK Python.

This replaced a `flatpak-pip-generator` invocation whose package list was typed
out on the command line. Nothing regenerated it and no test compared it to
anything, so it drifted: by 2026-09-10 ten of its fifteen shared packages were
behind the lock, `pydub` and `lxml` were still built four months after #705
deleted them for having no imports, and pywhispercpp sat at 1.4.1 under the
project's own `>=1.5.0`. The project is installed here with
`pip3 install --no-deps`, so nothing inside the build could notice.
`tests/test_flatpak_packaging.py` is what notices now, and it runs offline.

Two things in that file are hand-written and the script preserves them, because
no generator produces them: pywhispercpp's Vulkan build, which injects a version
into `setup.py` (the sdist ships no `version.txt`, `setup()` takes no `version=`
argument, and setuptools-scm has no git tree to read in the sandbox), and the
symlinking of whisper.cpp's shared libraries onto the loader path.

`python3-build-dependencies.yaml` is a small hand-maintained helper so
`--no-build-isolation` builds can import `mesonpy` before NumPy is built.

## Channel: VocaHQ remote + GitHub Releases, not Flathub

Flathub is **not pursued**. The submission,
[flathub/flathub#9368](https://github.com/flathub/flathub/pull/9368), was closed
on 2026-07-23 on policy grounds. See
[#167](https://github.com/VocaHQ/vocalinux/issues/167) for the channel decision,
[#784](https://github.com/VocaHQ/vocalinux/issues/784) for release bundles, and
[#785](https://github.com/VocaHQ/vocalinux/issues/785) for the self-hosted
remote. Do not re-submit. The `vocahq` remote, local builds, and GitHub
Release `.flatpak` assets are the supported paths.

## Manifest Details

- Runtime / SDK: `org.gnome.Platform//50`, `org.gnome.Sdk//50`
- Mic: `--socket=pulseaudio` · GPU: `--device=dri` · models: `--share=network`
- Input: `--device=all` (evdev hotkeys + ydotool/`uinput`)
- Injection: packaged `wl-copy`, `ydotool`/`ydotoold`, plus `xdotool`/`xsel` fallback
- Display: `--socket=wayland` (clipboard) and `--socket=x11` (xdotool fallback)
- IBus: `--talk-name=org.freedesktop.IBus`
- Tray: `--talk-name=org.kde.StatusNotifierWatcher`

Config and models use Flatpak XDG dirs under `~/.var/app/com.vocalinux.Vocalinux/`.