You’re probably familiar with the frustration that comes with software that just won’t install. Unfortunately, this is something that almost every Linux user has encountered once or twice—and that’s where application distributors like Flatpak come in handy.

Here are some of the best advantages you can enjoy when installing Linux software with Flatpak.

1. Flatpak Works on Various Linux Distributions

Generally speaking, you don’t have to worry about what distribution you’re using if you want to download something with Flatpak. One of the most appealing qualities of this package manager is that it works universally—and in the process, it makes software universal, too.

You can resolve most issues with incompatible software by downloading your new applications with Flatpak. This will save you plenty of time and stress since you won’t have to worry about fighting your package manager until you get something that works.

2. Flatpak Can Prevent Dependency Hell

The universality of Flatpak brings us to its next best quality—it’s very effective at preventing “dependency hell”. Many Linux users find themselves in dependency hell when they have different applications that require different versions of packages. Since you can only have one version of a package at a time, this presents a major issue.

This is where Flatpak becomes extremely useful. If you want software that is incompatible with the packages you currently use on your system, one of the best things you can do is install the application through Flatpak.

Every Flatpak application is effectively sandboxed, so you won’t have to worry about the two programs interfering with each other—and you’ll be free to use both simultaneously.

3. Flatpak Applications Are Sandboxed

downloading application from flathub

Flatpak applications are completely isolated from everything else on your system. As mentioned before, the fact that every application is sandboxed can help save you from dependency hell—but that isn’t the only benefit that it provides. You can also download applications through Flatpak to help keep your system secure.

Ordinarily, applications have access to many files and resources on your system. While this might be okay for trustworthy applications, it can put you at risk if you inadvertently download a malicious application.

If you accidentally download a malicious application through Flatpak, however, it will only be able to access the small sandboxed environment it’s isolated in.

4. Flatpak Is Forward-Compatible

Updating your system regularly comes with plenty of benefits. Aside from patching security issues, updates also help keep your computer running efficiently. Updates can present an issue when they cause your computer to become incompatible with the programs you rely on, however.

Flatpak applications resolve this issue because they work on any system that is compatible with Flatpak itself. You won’t have to worry about whether your legacy applications run on your operating system because Flatpak will ensure that they are supported. It’s a great tool to simplify and resolve any compatibility concerns you may have.

5. Flatpak Has a Huge Selection of Applications

Though Flatpak has a lot of benefits, they wouldn’t go very far if Flatpak itself had a very limited selection of applications. Luckily, you can choose from over 2,000 applications made by over 1,500 GitHub collaborators when you browse on the Flathub store.

There’s an extremely diverse selection of programs for you to choose from. You can download Parallel Launcher if you enjoy emulating games, or look for applications like IPlan and VueScan if you need a few extra office utilities. Almost every application imaginable can be found on Flathub.

Use Flatpak for Package Management on Linux

While Linux systems aren’t without their flaws, there are ways to minimize these flaws. You can resolve most compatibility issues in Linux by using Flatpak to download new software.

All you need to do is navigate to the Flathub website to start installing applications like Google Chrome through Flatpak.