Installing apps on Linux

So, you’ve finally done it. You’ve escaped the walled garden of Windows and stepped into the wide-open fields of Linux. You’re ready to install Discord, customize your desktop, and embrace your new life as an elite hacker.

But immediately, you hit a wall: when you try to download an app, you are greeted by half a dozen bizarre file types. Meanwhile, some guy on Reddit named Cryptogrifter6969 is screaming at you to open your terminal and run a command using something called “Pac-Man.”

If you are a Windows refugee feeling lost in a sea of acronyms, take a breath. Here is exactly what those files are, how they work, and the stress-free way to get your favorite apps up and running.

No more .exe

On Windows, things are pretty uniform. You download an executable (.exe) file, and it runs on virtually any PC.

Linux doesn’t work like that because Linux isn’t a single, unified operating system. Instead, it is a massive family tree of distributions (or “distros”) built on top of the Linux kernel. Because these distros are built differently, they historically required their own specific file formats. What looks like five completely different downloads on a website isn’t actually five versions of an app—it’s the exact same app wrapped in five different packages.

Depending on what distro you chose, your system relies on a specific Package Manager to handle these files. The package manager is the background software that connects to a giant, trusted repository to install, update, and remove your apps.

Here is a quick breakdown of the major Linux families and what they use:

Using the terminal to command these package managers is incredibly powerful, and eventually, it becomes the default method for most Linux users. But if you aren’t quite ready for your Mr. Robot terminal era just yet, there is a much easier way.

Step 1: Start with the App Store

If you just want to install software quickly, open your distro’s built-in App Store (or Software Center).

This store is simply a user-friendly graphical interface built over your package manager. It is maintained by the people who built your distro, meaning everything inside it is tested and safe. For 90% of your daily driving needs, you just search, click install, and you are done.

Step 2: The Universal Packages

What happens when an app you want isn’t in your distro’s official store? You don’t have to go hunting for obscure terminal commands. To solve the fragmentation problem, developers created universal package formats that run perfectly on any Linux distro. They pack everything the app needs to run directly into the download.

Here are the big three:

• Flatpak: Arguably the most popular universal format in the Linux community. Created by Alexander Larson at Red Hat, Flatpaks solve the headache of developers having to package software for five million different distros. You can find almost any desktop app on Flathub (the unofficial store for Flatpaks). As a bonus, they update themselves automatically alongside your system and run in a secure sandbox, asking for permission before accessing your files or webcam.
• AppImage: The ultimate minimalist approach. An AppImage is a single file containing the entire app. There is no package manager or store involved at all. You just download the file, make it executable, and run it. The catch? They don’t traditionally update themselves, meaning you’ll have to manually download the new version when the old one becomes outdated.
• Snap: This is Canonical’s (the makers of Ubuntu) take on the universal package. They work well and auto-update, but the ecosystem is tightly controlled by Canonical. This has caused enough friction in the community that distros like Linux Mint actually disable Snap support by default.

Your New Installation Playbook

Whenever you want to install a new piece of software on your shiny new Linux desktop, just follow this simple order of operations:

1. Check your App Store first. (Or use your package manager in the terminal). If the app is officially supported by your distro, get it here.
2. Check Flathub. If it’s not in your native store, head to Flathub and download the Flatpak version.
3. Look for an AppImage. If the developer doesn’t offer a Flatpak, check their website for an AppImage download.
4. Ignore the Reddit Trolls. NEVER run random scripts that a stranger gives you. That is how you accidentally install ransomware and lose all your personal files.

Stick to this playbook, and you’ll find that managing software on Linux isn’t just easy—it’s actually faster, safer, and cleaner than it ever was on Windows.

Buy me a Ko-fi

Support this blog ❤️