[SOLVED] Which xdg-desktop-portal backend should I use with a WM?

ObsidianChickenz · 2022-04-11 22:25:36

I'm trying to install Flatpak and I'm unsure which xdg-desktop-portal backend to use. I'm running Qtile. I can post other info if needed.

Last edited by ObsidianChickenz (2022-04-12 17:32:50)

seth · 2022-04-12 06:12:12

Look at their dependencies.
Do you want to install gnome? Do you want to install KDE? If the answer is "neither", there're only two options left.
Do you run qtile as a wayland compositor? The answer will then pretty much determine your choice.

progandy · 2022-04-12 13:18:32

seth wrote:

Do you run qtile as a wayland compositor? The answer will then pretty much determine your choice.

If wayland is used, then two portals are required. The gtk one for basic functionality like file dialogs and another one for compositor specific parts.

ObsidianChickenz · 2022-04-12 14:03:00

So I should go with the GTK one? Edit: I'm using Qtile as a window manager for X, not as a Wayland compositor.
Edit 2: I'm concerned about the GTK one, since on its Github it says that it uses "various pieces of GNOME infrastructure, such as the org.gnome.Shell.Screenshot or org.gnome.SessionManager D-Bus interfaces." Would I have this infrastructure if I'm running Qtile?

Last edited by ObsidianChickenz (2022-04-12 14:10:23)

seth · 2022-04-12 14:15:43

dbus-send --session --print-reply --dest=org.freedesktop.DBus /org/freedesktop/DBus org.freedesktop.DBus.ListNames | sed '/string/!d; s/^\s*string //g'

Probably not. You probably won't need it either?

Trilby · 2022-04-12 14:16:05

No, you wouldn't. But why would you care? If you are using a DE/WM that does not provide some service, why would it bother you that your flatpak system can interact with the service that you don't even want?

E.g., flatpack will not be able to interact with your session manager ... because you don't have nor want a session manager. So you're all set. (Why on earth flatpack would even try to interact with all these things is baffling, alarming, etc, but that's hardly the biggest issue).

Last edited by Trilby (2022-04-12 14:18:00)

ObsidianChickenz · 2022-04-12 14:18:27

I'm just trying not to break anything. I'm still new and somewhat scared of things. Thanks for the help!

Trilby · 2022-04-12 14:19:49

ObsidianChickenz wrote:

I'm just trying not to break anything. I'm still new and somewhat scared of things.

Each of these (particularly the first) is a very good reason to reconsider using Flatpak in the first place.

seth · 2022-04-12 14:36:47

Or, in more productive terms: why do you think you need/want flatschpak in the first place?

It has a tendency to stall the session bus (for god knows what reasons) but while I don't expect it to (irreversibly) break existing stuff, the system integration of SW distributed this way is usually not perfect and the approach itself comes w/ a whole set of drawbacks (package size, security issues by being hell-bent to dated libraries, …) so if you can avoid it, I'd always go w/ avoiding it.
(And no, snap or docker are not better at all)

ObsidianChickenz · 2022-04-12 16:34:34

I'm trying to install PolyMC, an open-source Minecraft launcher. It has an AUR release, but I'm scared that a dependency will update and break things, so I figured that the Flatpak would be more stable. Again, sorry for being a newbie here.

Trilby · 2022-04-12 17:07:16

That is a valid use case for flatpak, however there are tradeoffs. I just looked at the polymc package(s) in the AUR, and all the dependencies appear to be in the main repos, so that'd be a relatively easy AUR package to maintain. If it takes a long time to build, there is also the polymc-bin package in the AUR which also has pros and cons (pro: you don't need to build it, con: you are dependent on the AUR maintainer to keep it in sync with the dependencies in the repos).

Note that if updating a dependency "breaks" polymc from the AUR, the breakage would be limted to polymc and would be fixed as soon as you upgraded the AUR package.

There is some subjectivity in how we'd each individually weigh the various pros and cons - but using an AUR package seems *far* preferable to me.

ObsidianChickenz · 2022-04-12 17:10:10

Thanks for explaining everything thoroughly, I feel much more comfortable with everything now. Edit: How do I mark a forum thread as solved? Edit 2: Figured it out, thanks again!

Last edited by ObsidianChickenz (2022-04-12 17:33:14)

Arch Linux

#1 2022-04-11 22:25:36

[SOLVED] Which xdg-desktop-portal backend should I use with a WM?

#2 2022-04-12 06:12:12

Re: [SOLVED] Which xdg-desktop-portal backend should I use with a WM?

#3 2022-04-12 13:18:32

Re: [SOLVED] Which xdg-desktop-portal backend should I use with a WM?

#4 2022-04-12 14:03:00

Re: [SOLVED] Which xdg-desktop-portal backend should I use with a WM?

#5 2022-04-12 14:15:43

Re: [SOLVED] Which xdg-desktop-portal backend should I use with a WM?

#6 2022-04-12 14:16:05

Re: [SOLVED] Which xdg-desktop-portal backend should I use with a WM?

#7 2022-04-12 14:18:27

Re: [SOLVED] Which xdg-desktop-portal backend should I use with a WM?

#8 2022-04-12 14:19:49

Re: [SOLVED] Which xdg-desktop-portal backend should I use with a WM?

#9 2022-04-12 14:36:47

Re: [SOLVED] Which xdg-desktop-portal backend should I use with a WM?

#10 2022-04-12 16:34:34

Re: [SOLVED] Which xdg-desktop-portal backend should I use with a WM?

#11 2022-04-12 17:07:16

Re: [SOLVED] Which xdg-desktop-portal backend should I use with a WM?

#12 2022-04-12 17:10:10

Re: [SOLVED] Which xdg-desktop-portal backend should I use with a WM?

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