AppManager

AppManager is a GTK/Libadwaita developed desktop utility in Vala that makes installing and uninstalling AppImages on Linux desktop painless. It supports both SquashFS and DwarFS AppImage formats, features a seamless background auto-update process, and leverages zsync delta updates for efficient bandwidth usage. Double-click any .AppImage to open a macOS-style drag-and-drop window, just drag to install and AppManager will move the app, wire up desktop entries, and copy icons.

This AppImage bundles everything and it should work on any Linux distro, including old and musl-based ones.

AppManager doesn't require FUSE to run, thanks to the uruntime

Preview

Features

• Drag-and-drop installer: Mimics the familiar macOS Applications install flow.
• Smart install modes: Can choose between portable (move the AppImage) and extracted (unpack to ~/Applications/.installed/AppRun) while letting you override it.
• True isolated portable mode: Optionally creates .home and .config folders next to the AppImage so the app stores all its data alongside itself — fully self-contained and portable.
• Side-by-side installs: Install multiple copies or versions of the same app; extra copies get a numbered suffix (e.g. Bitwarden and Bitwarden 2) with their own desktop entries and icons.
• Desktop integration: Extracts the bundled .desktop file via unsquashfs or dwarfsextract, rewrites Exec and Icon, and stores it in ~/.local/share/applications.
• Simple uninstall: Right click in app drawer and choose Move to Trash, can uninstall in AppManager or simply delete from ~/Applications folder.
• One-click installs from the web: Registers the x-scheme-handler/appimg handler, so an appimg://install?url=…&sha256=… link on a store page (e.g. AppHub) downloads the AppImage — only over HTTPS, verified against the size and SHA-256 in the link — and hands it to the normal install flow.
• Install registry + preferences: Main window lists installed apps, default mode, and cleanup behaviors, all stored with GSettings.
• Background app updates: Optional automatic update checks with configurable interval (daily, weekly, monthly) and notifications when updates are found.
• GitHub authentication: Optionally store a GitHub personal access token to raise the API rate limit from 60 to 5,000 requests per hour. The token is kept in the system keyring (GNOME Keyring, KWallet, KeePassXC) when a Secret Service is available, and otherwise in an AES-256-GCM blob bound to the machine and user account, so a synced or copied config file is useless elsewhere.

Requirements

• valac, meson, ninja
• Libraries: libadwaita-1 (>= 1.6), gtk4, gio-2.0, glib-2.0, gmodule-2.0, json-glib-1.0, gee-0.8, libsoup-3.0, libsecret-1, gnutls (>= 3.6.13)
• Runtime tools: unsquashfs, dwarfsextract

Install

Simply download latest app version, enable execute and double click to install it.

Nix / NixOS

Run without installation

nix run "github:kem-a/AppManager"

Install permanently

nix profile install "github:kem-a/AppManager"

NixOS / Home Manager

inputs.app-manager.url = "github:kem-a/AppManager";
# then add to packages:
inputs.app-manager.packages.x86_64-linux.default

Build

sudo apt install valac meson ninja-build pkg-config libadwaita-1-dev libgtk-4-dev libglib2.0-dev libjson-glib-dev libgee-0.8-dev libgirepository1.0-dev libsoup-3.0-dev cmake desktop-file-utils jq libzstd-dev

sudo dnf install vala meson ninja-build gtk4-devel libadwaita-devel glib2-devel json-glib-devel libgee-devel libsoup3-devel cmake desktop-file-utils jq libzstd-devel

sudo pacman -S vala meson ninja gtk4 libadwaita glib2 json-glib libgee libsoup cmake desktop-file-utils jq libzstd-devel

Default setup

meson setup build --prefix=$HOME/.local

Build and install

meson compile -C build
meson install -C build

CLI helpers

• Install an AppImage: app-manager install /path/to/app.AppImage
• Install side by side, keeping the existing app: app-manager install --keep-both /path/to/app.AppImage
• Uninstall by path or checksum: app-manager uninstall /path/or/checksum
• Update a single installed AppImage: app-manager update /path/or/checksum
• Update all installed AppImages: app-manager --update-all
• List available updates (no install): app-manager --update-check
• Check if installed: app-manager --is-installed /path/to/app.AppImage
• Run a background update check: app-manager --background-update
• Show version or help: app-manager --version / app-manager --help
• Open a web install link: app-manager 'appimg://install?url=https://host/App.AppImage&sha256=<hex>'

Translations

AppManager supports multiple languages. Want to help translate to your language? See the translation guide for instructions.

Currently supported: German, Spanish, Estonian, Finnish, French, Italian, Japanese, Lithuanian, Latvian, Norwegian, Portuguese (Brazil), Swedish, Chinese (Simplified).

Reviews

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