flathub, the Flatpak package repository and web directory, recently unveiled via a blog post, which has started testing changes and has collaborated with Codethink to provide to the main developers and maintainers of applications distributed by Flathub the ability to monetize your work.
For those who are still unaware of Flathub, they should know that it has currently positioned itself as one of the main mechanisms used to distribute applications for Linux. These are distributed in the "Flatpak" format, which allows Flathub applications to run on most Linux distributions. It is out of the box compatible with popular Linux distributions and gives users an easy way to install their applications.
Of the changes already available for testing, support for connecting developers to Flathub using GitHub, GitLab and Google accounts, toyes as a donation mechanism through the Stripe system.
In addition to accepting donations, it is working to create an infrastructure for sell packs and link tags to verified apps.
In November 2021, the GNOME Foundation reached out to the community to find people who would like to help work on the new Flathub project. We at Codethink felt we could help and agreed to help. We put together a team made up of James Price, Daniel Silverstone, Kyle Mckay and Adam Roddick. Contributing community member James Westman was also invited to join the development.
The plan, which was outlined in the linked forum post, was to allow developers and maintainers of apps distributed via Flathub a way to earn income for their work. This provides an incentive for developers to upload and maintain their app through Flathub and a way for users to show their support, all in one place.
of the changes, there is also a general modernization of the Flathub website design and server backend rendering, made to guarantee the installation of paid applications and the verification of sources. Verification involves the developers confirming their connection to the parent projects by checking the possibility of their access to repositories on GitHub or GitLab.
It is worth mentioning that as such the proposed idea divides the options, which are valid either way given the perspectives. One of the main situations that could alert users is that applications are sold or that it may now be a method to “profit”.
It could be a situation that can arise, but At the end of the day, the developer is the one who makes the decision on how to distribute and, above all, how to offer his “product”. It is clear that as such this product is intended for "Linux" where many still have the bad idea of associating the term with which everything is "free", which is not the case.
Moreover, also what can alert many is that something similar can happen to what happened for a long time with the Microsoft Store, where practically anyone could upload an application that was not their own and put a price on it, for this one of the most popular programs with which they profited was GIMP.
The point of mentioning this is that certain guidelines have been established by which a developer can monetize their application, it is understood that only members of the main projects with access to the repositories will be able to place donation buttons and sell packages ready to use. .
Such a restriction will protect users from scammers and third parties who have nothing to do with development, but who try to profit from the sale of builds of popular open source programs.
Developed features can be evaluated at the test site beta.flathub.org and if you are interested in being able to know more about it, you can consult the details In the following link.