Which format to choose

The same app often installs several ways on Linux. None is "the right one" for everyone; each trades something for something else. Here is what they are, and a simple way to choose.

The short answer

1. Your distribution's package if it has the app and you're happy with its version — it's the best integrated and updates with the rest of your system.
2. Flatpak (from Flathub) if your distribution doesn't have the app, ships an old version, or you want the app sandboxed. It works the same on every distribution.
3. The publisher's own option (Snap on Ubuntu, a vendor repository, an AppImage) when that's what the app's developers recommend.

Tuxery's settings let you pick your operating system and order formats by preference; the Install button then follows that order.

Distribution packages

.deb (Debian, Ubuntu, Mint), .rpm (Fedora, openSUSE), pacman (Arch) and the like, installed with your package manager or software center.

• Pros: smallest download, shares libraries with the rest of the system, best integration with your desktop (themes, fonts, file dialogs), updated with the system, reviewed by your distribution's maintainers.
• Cons: on a stable distribution (Debian, Ubuntu LTS), app versions are frozen for the life of the release — you get security fixes, not new features. Not every app is packaged by every distribution.

Flatpak

Apps bundled with their own libraries (or shared "runtimes"), installed from Flathub or elementary AppCenter. Works on any distribution once Flatpak is set up (preinstalled on Fedora, Mint, elementary, Pop!_OS...).

• Pros: the newest version, usually published by the developers themselves (look for the Verified badge); runs in a sandbox with permissions you can inspect and change (Flatseal, or your software center); identical on every distribution.
• Cons: larger downloads, especially the first app that needs a runtime; the sandbox can get in the way of apps that need deep system access (some developer tools, system utilities); integration with your theme is sometimes imperfect.

Snap

Canonical's universal format, installed from the Snap Store. Preinstalled on Ubuntu.

• Pros: newest versions, often published by the developers; sandboxed ("strict" confinement); automatic background updates; well suited to command-line tools and server software too.
• Cons: the store is run by one company and its server side isn't open; apps can start slower the first time; automatic updates are hard to postpone; "classic" snaps run without the sandbox.

AppImage

One file you download, make executable and run. No installation.

• Pros: no root rights needed, runs from anywhere (even a USB stick), easy to keep several versions side by side.
• Cons: no sandbox, and usually no automatic updates; you download it from a website, so check that it is the developer's own; it may not integrate with your menus without a helper tool; some need extra libraries (FUSE) to start.

Vendor repositories

Some companies run their own package repository for their app (Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, VS Code, Brave, Signal, Spotify...). You add it once, then the app updates with your system like a distribution package.

• Pros: the vendor's own build, newest version, native integration.
• Cons: you trust that vendor with packages that run with system rights at install; adding the repository is a manual step.

The AUR (Arch-based systems)

Build recipes contributed by Arch users, built on your machine with an AUR helper.

• Pros: an enormous catalog — almost everything is there; the newest versions, including -git builds.
• Cons: not reviewed by Arch: a recipe can do anything when built, so read it (or trust its maintainer) before installing; builds can break after system updates. Tuxery shows who built each package — see provenance.

Unofficial packages

On any format, a package may come from someone other than the app's developers: a distribution maintainer (normal and trustworthy for distribution packages), or a community member repackaging the app (common on the AUR, Snap and AppImage). Tuxery shows a provenance badge when it knows who built a package, and a Verified badge when a store checked the publisher. When in doubt, prefer an official build or your distribution's own package, and check the app's website for what its developers recommend.

Freshness or stability?

If you want the newest features, a rolling distribution, Flatpak or Snap gets them first. If you want things to change as little as possible, a stable distribution's packages are the safest — at the cost of older versions. Mixing is fine: plenty of people use their distribution's packages for the system and Flatpak for a few desktop apps.