I run Debian 13 Stable with KDE Plasma, and have Flathub enabled on KDE’s Discover software store. I have a slight idea of the difference between the two: that Debian packages share system libraries and are therefore lighter in storage but do require password to access those shared libraries and could therefore become a security hazard if installing from an untrusted source, while Flatpaks have all they need and don’t require password to install, being more secure that way, but, as a consequence, consume more storage. Also noticeable is the fact that, for some programmes, the Flatpak version tends to be more recent and it therefore becomes the obvious choice when looking for the latest software.
However, I was looking at the SuperTux game, and what’s curious about this is that both, the Debian package and the Flatpak are version 0.6.3, while consuming 6.7 and 259,9 MB of storage respectively.
So should the obvious choice here be the Debian package, or would you still go for the Flatpak? I am not asking this because I’m particularly interested on this game as much as to learn more about the two system packages and whether my assumptions are correct or I am missing something.
Thank you and have a nice weekend!
Usually native packages are preferred, unless like you said you want a newer version. Some people also like the sandboxing that flatpak does if you don’t fully trust a program. The reason why the flatpak is so much bigger is because it needs to download the dependencies as well, because it can’t use the ones on your system. In this case since it’s a game it probably needs graphics drivers as well, which are fairly big i think.
Go with deb package if they are both the same version.
I run Debian 13 and I will use apt repositories whenever possible and I avoid flatpak with a passion.
My flowchart is:
- App Image if the application supports auto updating or if it’s a temperary app
- Apt repository
- Deb file
- App Image (when previous didn’t apply)
- Source
- Flatpak
My main reasoning for it is strictly ease of use. I find flatpaks while I’m sure makes it easier on the developers making it to be super bloaty and take up more system resources, While causing more restrictions and annoyances during configuration due to their enhanced security setup.
The only time I really don’t use a repo if it’s available is if the program itself updates on its own, or updates super frequently such as Discord, which I got annoyed enough at that I had to make my own update script that to check if there’s an update and then auto update it, because I got sick of the Discord has an update message every other day.
i never have issues with flatpak
the
aptversion.😏
Heuristic : if you don’t know, trust your distribution. If you don’t trust your distribution, pick another one, repeat.
Of course it would require password, you’re putting something into your system after all. Arguably, Flatpak has some layers between it and your inner system.
What di you mean your distro’s repo is an untrusted source? Did you do something funny to it?
IF the distro’s .deb is recent-enough, THEN go with that.
IF it’s generations out-of-date, then you may have no choice but to go with the flatpack.
OS-integration ( with apt, for the .deb ) is to be preferred, generally.
_ /\ _
My personal rule of thumb is that if it interacts with the OS or filesystem deeply, native is probably better. E.g. IDEs, cli programs, browsers, Steam etc.
Apps that do a simple things are likely to work perfectly fine on flatpak.
But the problem is that there are outliers in each case. You should pick one and be ready to switch if things don’t work properly.
This ^^ my rule of thumb is always using the zypper packages (I’m using openSUSE TumbleweedOS) I had troubles with some flatpacks before, but only one! It was enough for me to not return though xD still use flatpacks but only for less important apps. Not for steam, wine, etc.
This is effectively how I judge it as well. Only thing I would add is that more things can be Flatpaks (ie. Steam). As long as you know about and use Flatseal to change the permissions. For instance, giving Steam access to my games directory.
The gist is probably:
- If you just want it to work: grab it from Debian’s own repos.
- If you desire sandboxing with both its positives and (potential) negatives: grab it as a flatpak
- If you desire a more up-to-date package: grab it as a flatpak
I agree here. I also want to add, it depends on who maintains the Flatpak too. It’s not always the official developers.
You might also consider
linuxbrewas well, depending on your goals. AFAIK it’s almost the same as native but with better separation of dependencies.I would go with Debian package but for me the primary consideration is how much I care about having the latest version of given software. Often I don’t really care that much. Although it needs to be said that I’m on Debian testing.
I generally prefer system native packages to flatpaks, just cause I’ve had a lot of issues with flatpak permissions. I suppose for something like a tux game permissions wouldn’t matter much lol
I’d go with the Debian package. That’s tied into the system. You get nice updates, there’s more eyes on what the upstream developers do, sometimes the Debian maintainers disable things like tracking, fix vulnerabilities in libraries. It’s smaller, less permission issues… It’s just safer and more convenient…
I’ll go for Flatpak once there’s some benefit. For example the sandboxing which is great to have for proprietary software. Or if the package isn’t available in the Debian repositories, and the alternative would be some third-party repo or deb file downloaded from a random website. And in rare cases when I need a specific version and the Debian maintainers are stuck with an old release.
Stable package > back port package > flatpak/snap.
Basically I want everything as stable as possible unless I have a particular need for a newer feature.
The main things I run from flatpak/snap are browsers and the Minecraft launcher because they are both regularly updated.
