FLATPAK-UPDATE(1)

✨ FLATPAK UPDATE ✨

okay bestie, welcome to the flatpak update page from the flatpak manual 💅 this is the one where we update our apps and runtimes, and honestly? it's giving maintenance era. let's get into it 🫶

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🌸 NAME 🌸

flatpak-update — update an application or runtime ✨

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🎀 SYNOPSIS 🎀

flatpak update [OPTION...] [REF...]

flatpak update [OPTION...] --appstream [REMOTE]

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💖 DESCRIPTION 💖

So like, this command updates your applications and runtimes. REF is a reference to the application or runtime you wanna update. And if you don't give it any REF at all? It updates everything, plus the appstream info for all remotes. slay, full send 🌈

Each REF argument is a full or partial identifier in the flatpak ref format, and it looks like this:

(app|runtime)/ID/ARCH/BRANCH

Everything except ID is optional and can be left out — yes, including the slashes — so most of the time you literally only need the ID. Any part you leave out gets matched against what's actually installed, and if there are multiple matches, an error message will list the alternatives for you. helpful icon behavior fr fr 💜

By default this looks for both apps and runtimes with the given REF, but you can narrow that down with the --app or --runtime option, or by just supplying that initial element in the REF yourself. iykyk.

Normally, this command updates the application to the tip of its branch. But bestie, you can check out another commit — that's what the --commit option is for 👑

If the configured remote for a ref being updated has a collection ID configured on it, Flatpak will search the sideload-repos directories configured either with the --sideload-repo option, or on a per-installation or system-wide basis (see flatpak(1)).

For OCI remotes, sideload repositories can also be specified as --sideload-repo=oci:PATH or --sideload-repo=oci-archive:PATH, where path points to an OCI image layout or archive of an OCI image layout. (See containers-transports(5).) When specified in this fashion, the images found in the image layout are available for all OCI remotes, without regard to collection ID. For this reason, there is no directory equivalent — it can only be specified on the command line. no cap 💀

⚠️ Note that updating a runtime is different from installing a different branch, and runtime updates are expected to keep strict compatibility. If an application update does cause a problem, it's possible to go back to the previous version with the --commit option. so keep that in your back pocket 🫶

In addition to updates, this command will offer to uninstall any unused end-of-life runtimes. But — and this is important — runtimes that were explicitly installed (not as a dependency) or explicitly pinned (see flatpak-pin(1)) are left installed even if they're unused and end-of-life. they get a pass, periodt 💅

Unless you override it with the --user, --system or --installation option, this command updates any matching refs in the standard system-wide installation and the per-user one. both. at once. multitasking queen ✨

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💅 OPTIONS 💅

The following options are understood:

• -h, --help — show help options and dip. bye 👋
• -u, --user — update a per-user installation.
• --system — update the default system-wide installation.
• --installation=NAME — updates a system-wide installation specified by NAME among those defined in /etc/flatpak/installations.d/. And just so you know, using --installation=default is equivalent to using --system.
• --arch=ARCH — the architecture to update for. Peep flatpak --supported-arches for the architectures your host actually supports.
• --subpath=PATH — install only a subpath of the ref. This is mainly used to install a subset of locales. You can add this multiple times to install multiple subpaths. If you don't specify it, the subpaths specified at install time are reused. recycling era ♻️
• --commit=COMMIT — update to this commit, instead of the tip of the branch. You can find commits using flatpak remote-info --log REMOTE REF. detective work 🔍
• --no-deploy — download the latest version, but don't deploy it. look but don't touch 😌
• --no-pull — don't download the latest version, just deploy whatever is locally available.
• --no-related — don't download related extensions, such as the locale data.
• --no-deps — don't update or install runtime dependencies when installing.
• --app — only look for an app with the given name.
• --appstream — update appstream for REMOTE, or all remotes if no remote is specified.
• --runtime — only look for a runtime with the given name.
• --sideload-repo=PATH — adds an extra local ostree repo as a source for installation. This is equivalent to using the sideload-repos directories (see flatpak(1)), but can be done on a per-command basis. Any path added here is used in addition to the ones in those directories.
• -y, --assumeyes — automatically answer yes to all questions (or pick the most prioritized answer). This is useful for automation. perfect for when you simply cannot be bothered 🍓
• --noninteractive — produce minimal output and avoid most questions. This is suitable for use in non-interactive situations, e.g. in a build script.
• --force-remove — remove old files even if they're in use by a running application. bold. risky. iconic 🔥
• -v, --verbose — print debug information during command processing.
• --ostree-verbose — print OSTree debug information during command processing.

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🦋 EXAMPLES 🦋

$ flatpak --user update org.gnome.gedit

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🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

flatpak(1), flatpak-install(1), flatpak-list(1), ostree-find-remotes(1)

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and that's the whole page, bestie 💖 this came to you straight from the flatpak manual — that's the source, right there at the bottom, no extra version drama attached to it. go forth and update responsibly, and remember: full refs are optional but good vibes are mandatory 👑✨