Focale Flatpak

The official Flatpak distribution repository for Focale, a raster image editor. Install Focale on Linux and receive updates through Flatpak or a compatible software center.

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Install

You need an x86_64 Linux system with Flatpak installed. See the Flatpak setup guide for your distribution.

Install Focale for your current user:

flatpak install --user https://flatpak.focale-editor.app/Focale.flatpakref

Follow the prompts to add the Focale remote and install the required runtime from Flathub. Then open Focale from your application launcher, or run:

flatpak run app.focaleeditor.Focale

The package includes desktop integration for the application launcher, icons, supported image formats, and .focale documents.

Update or uninstall

Updates are delivered through Flatpak. Use your compatible software center or run:

flatpak update --user app.focaleeditor.Focale

To uninstall:

flatpak uninstall --user app.focaleeditor.Focale

These commands use the per-user installation created above. If you installed Focale system-wide, use --system in place of --user.

Package details

Property	Value
Application ID	app.focaleeditor.Focale
Architecture	x86_64
Repository branch	stable
Runtime	Freedesktop 25.08, provided by Flathub
Repository URL	https://flatpak.focale-editor.app/repo/

The stable branch identifies the Flatpak update channel; check the release notes for the application's development status.

About this repository

This repository contains the public distribution configuration, signing key, and publication tools.

File	Purpose
repository.json	Repository URL, application ID, branch, architecture, and signing-key fingerprint.
focale-flatpak.asc	Public GPG key used to verify the repository.
scripts/repository.py	Assemble signed snapshots, verify them, and prepare the Pages site.
scripts/repository_test.py	Integration tests for signatures, snapshots, and client updates.
.github/workflows/pages.yml	Deploy a verified release snapshot to GitHub Pages.

OSTree repository data and delta updates are stored as GitHub Release assets. Release titles use Focale v<version>. New release attachments are focale-<version>-flatpak.json and focale-<version>-flatpak.tar.gz, without the build number. The metadata retains the full version and build identity. Locally, assemble still writes snapshot.json, which publication uploads under the versioned name; these generated files are not committed to Git.

Publication and maintenance

The release pipeline imports each new build into the previous signed repository, retains two levels of commit history, and generates delta updates. Published snapshots are treated as immutable.

The Pages workflow takes a release tag, verifies the archive's SHA-256 checksum, the GPG signatures on the repository summary and application commit, and the expected application ref and commit. It then generates Focale.flatpakref and Focale.flatpakrepo with the public key embedded and deploys the site. It refuses to deploy a release other than the latest non-draft, non-prerelease release.

Keep the signing identity stable across releases: installed clients trust the existing public key. Any key rotation needs an explicit migration plan. Private signing keys must stay outside this repository, public release assets, and Pages.

The tooling enforces a 950 MiB limit on uncompressed repository files, leaving room for generated descriptors within the Pages site budget. If the application and retained history outgrow this limit, move the repository to suitable hosting before publishing.

Local validation

On Linux, install Python 3.12 or newer, Flatpak, OSTree, and GnuPG. Run the existing integration tests from the repository root:

python3 -m unittest discover -s scripts -p '*_test.py'

The tests create temporary repositories, signing keys, and a separate Flatpak installation. They exercise signed test packages, commit history, delta updates, client installation and updates, and rejection of invalid signatures or archives.

To verify and stage an existing release snapshot locally:

python3 scripts/repository.py stage \
  --snapshot build/focale-1.0.0-flatpak.tar.gz \
  --metadata build/snapshot.json \
  --output site

Replace the example archive with the actual release asset and use its matching snapshot.json. The output directory must be empty or absent. This command verifies the snapshot and generates the site locally; it does not publish it.

Support and feedback

Report installation, update, and application issues in Focale Community. Include your Focale version, Linux distribution, Flatpak version (flatpak --version), the command or action that failed, and the full error message.