Handbrake: Please provide an AppImage for Linux

[probonopd]

Describe the change or feature you'd like to see added to HandBrake:

Providing an AppImage would have, among others, these advantages:

• Applications packaged as an AppImage can run on many distributions (including Ubuntu, Fedora, openSUSE, CentOS, elementaryOS, Linux Mint, and others)
• One app = one file = super simple for users: just download one AppImage file, make it executable, and run (very similar to Mac dmg but even simpler)
• No unpacking or installation necessary
• No root needed
• No system libraries changed
• Works out of the box, no installation of runtimes needed
• Optional desktop integration with appimaged
• Optional binary delta updates, e.g., for continuous builds (only download the binary diff) using AppImageUpdate
• Can optionally GPG2-sign your AppImages (inside the file)
• Works on Live ISOs
• Can use the same AppImages when dual-booting multiple distributions
• Can be listed in the AppImageHub central directory of available AppImages
• Can double as a self-extracting compressed archive with the --appimage-extract parameter
• No repositories needed. Suitable/optimized for air-gapped (offline) machines

Here is an overview of projects that are already distributing upstream-provided, official AppImages.

If you have questions, AppImage developers are on #AppImage on irc.freenode.net.

What version of HandBrake are you currently using? (e.g., 1.0.0)

None, because there is no AppImage that I could run on my Live ISO system.

What operating system and version are you running? (e.g., Ubuntu 16.04 LTS, macOS 10.3 High Sierra, Windows 10 Creators Update)

Various Linux Live ISOs

[probonopd]

Here is an example of a video editor packaged as AppImage:

https://github.com/mltframework/shotcut/releases

Please let me know if you are interested, then I can look into sending a PR that will compile this application on Travis CI upon each git push, and upload an AppImage to https://github.com/HandBrake/HandBrake/releases.

[sr55]

I think the same reply from #1702 pretty much applies here as well.

[probonopd]

In fact, AppImage is specifically designed to solve https://github.com/HandBrake/HandBrake/issues/1702#issuecomment-442516641

make the application runnable across multiple distributions using a single package. If I had to produce a separate package for every distribution because "it is native to X" and therefore better in some mysterious way we would be right back where we started having to produce different packages for every distribution.

Applications packaged as an AppImage can run on many distributions (including Ubuntu, Fedora, openSUSE, CentOS, elementaryOS, Linux Mint, and others), and unlike with solutions like Flatpak or Snappy one does __not__ need to install a Flatpak or Snappy runtime first. It "just works".

[sr55]

We'll see what happens in the next year or two and we can see which platforms end up on top then decide what to support.

[probonopd]

Check this.

[jstebbins]

Thanks for the link. That's useful information. Although "search interest" doesn't necessarily equate with actual real world usage. Unfortunately, there are now several "one image to rule them all" implementations, which is just frustrating. The whole point is to produce one image. Not AppImage, Flatpak, Snap, docker, ... (there are more).

As I said in the other thread, my intention is to wait a while and see what settles out. For now, the official "one image" HandBrake solution is Flatpak. I'll do one or maybe two other "one image" alternative bundles when it's clear which are the most highly adopted across multiple distributions.

[probonopd]

The point is, AppImages do not have to be adopted by _distributions_. Only by _authors_ and _users_. it is specifically designed this way because distributions will likely never agree on anything.

[tradewatcher]

Hi,
I hope you offer an AppImage asap its the best solution of all.

I started with ppa.. took a look on snap and now praise AppImage (as Linux Beginner)

https://askubuntu.com/questions/866511/what-are-the-differences-between-snaps-appimage-flatpak-and-others

[KomalleanaBizantis]

I second this notion. It would be nice to have the application available as an AppImage for all of the reasons outlined by the industrious soul Mr Peter.