The Best Way to Install Apps on Linux in 2026
Coming from Windows, Linux app installation can feel weirdly fragmented. One site offers a .deb file, another wants .rpm, a third points you to Flatpak, and someone on Reddit is insisting you type a mysterious command into the terminal because “it’s faster.”
The short version is this: start with your distro’s built-in app store or package manager, then check Flathub for a Flatpak, then look for an AppImage if nothing else exists. Snap is also a universal option, but on some distros, especially Linux Mint, it is intentionally discouraged.
Why Linux has so many app formats
The first thing to understand is that those different downloads are usually not different versions of the same app. They are different package formats, which are just different wrappers around the same software.
Windows users are used to one dominant installer style, the .exe, and it largely works across the entire platform. Linux is different because it is not one single operating system in the way Windows is. It is a kernel plus a large family of distributions, or distros, and each distro family tends to prefer its own packaging system.
That means software distribution on Linux has historically been a local decision. The team behind your distro decides what packaging format it supports, where the software comes from, and how updates are handled. The result is powerful, but it can look messy to someone who just wants to install Discord and move on with life.
The easiest path: use your distro’s app store first
For most people, the best starting point is the built-in app store that ships with the distro. On the surface it feels simple, because it is. Search for the app, click install, wait a moment, done.
Under the hood, that app store is just a friendly front end for the distro’s package manager. The package manager is the system that actually installs, updates, and removes software by talking to repositories maintained by the distro’s maintainers.
This is why app stores on Linux are not just “software stores” in the casual sense. They are part of the operating system’s maintenance workflow. If you install from your distro’s repositories, you usually get software that has been packaged and tested for that distribution, along with updates that arrive through the same system as the rest of your machine.
If you like a terminal workflow, you can use the package manager directly instead of the graphical store. That is the more traditional Linux approach, and for many users it becomes second nature pretty quickly.
What the common distro package managers actually do
The names people throw around, apt, dnf, pacman, and Portage, are package managers. The file extensions you see alongside them are usually the package formats they install.
- Ubuntu and Linux Mint commonly use
apt, which installs.debpackages. - Fedora uses
dnf, and openSUSE useszypper, both of which work with.rpmpackages. - Arch Linux uses
pacman, which installs packages commonly distributed as.pkg.tar.zstarchives. - Gentoo uses
Portage, which has traditionally focused on downloading source code and building software locally.
The important part is not memorizing every extension in the Linux universe. You only need to care about the package manager and package format that match your distro. If your system uses apt, a random .rpm file is not the thing you want. If you are on Fedora, a .deb package is equally unhelpful.
Gentoo is a special case because it has historically leaned toward source-based installs. Instead of installing a prebuilt binary, it can compile the software on your machine from source code. That gives users a lot of control, but it also moves more work onto your computer during installation.
When the app is not in your distro repositories
This is where Linux can trip up newcomers. Your distro’s app store is convenient, but it does not contain every piece of software on earth. Sometimes the app you want is missing, or the distro maintainers have not packaged the exact version you need.
That does not mean you are stuck. It just means you need to look at the universal packaging formats that were designed to work across distros. The three most common ones are Flatpak, Snap, and AppImage.
These formats solve the same core problem: Linux distributions are fragmented, so software authors need a way to ship one build that can run on many of them. Instead of depending on whatever libraries or tools happen to be installed on your base system, the app bundle carries most or all of what it needs with it.
Flatpak and Flathub, the default answer for many desktop apps
Flatpak is often the first universal format worth checking. It was created at Red Hat by Alexander Larsson, who argued that the old model of packaging desktop apps for every distro did not scale well. His point was simple: if every distro family needs its own packaging work, it becomes unrealistic for individual developers to support everyone.
That is why Flatpak matters. The same Flatpak package can run on different Linux distros, which makes it much easier for developers to distribute desktop software without rebuilding it separately for every environment.
Flatpak also leans into sandboxing. In practical terms, that means the app is more isolated from the rest of your system and has to ask for access to things like files, cameras, or other sensitive resources. That is not perfect security, but it is a useful boundary and a familiar idea if you have used modern mobile apps.
There are two pieces to the Flatpak ecosystem: the technical format itself and the store that most people use to find it. The technical layer is Flatpak, and the store people usually start with is Flathub. Flathub is where most Linux desktop users go first when a distro repository does not have what they need.
Once installed, Flatpak apps update through the Flatpak system rather than through your distro’s native package manager. That makes them fairly consistent across distros while still preserving a centralized update flow.
Snap: similar idea, different politics
Snap is Canonical’s universal packaging format. Canonical is the company behind Ubuntu, so Snap is deeply connected to that ecosystem.
Technically, Snap solves a similar problem to Flatpak. It packages the application in a way that is meant to work across Linux distros. The controversial part is the ecosystem around it. Because Canonical controls the Snap store and much of the surrounding infrastructure, some Linux users dislike the amount of central control involved.
That frustration is not just theoretical. Linux Mint, for example, ships with the Snap App Store disabled by default. That should tell you something about the ecosystem’s reputation in parts of the Linux community.
Snap is still a valid option, and some applications are available there before anywhere else. But if you are trying to understand the lay of the land as a newcomer, it helps to know why some people reach for Flatpak first and treat Snap as a second-choice universal format.
AppImage is the simplest, least integrated option
AppImage is the most stripped-down of the three. The idea is almost offensively straightforward: package the entire app and everything it needs into a single file, make that file executable, and run it.
There is no central app store required, and no package manager integration is necessary. You download the file from the web, mark it as runnable, and launch it. Because the app lives inside that one file, removing the file removes the app.
That simplicity is the main appeal. It is also the main limitation. AppImage does not traditionally update itself the way a distro package, Flatpak, or Snap can. If the developer publishes a newer build, you usually need to go find it and replace the old one yourself.
For niche tools, portable utilities, or apps you only occasionally use, that trade-off can be perfectly acceptable. For something you rely on daily, automatic updates matter more.
Which install method should you use first?
If you are standing in front of a fresh Linux desktop and just want to get work done, the order is straightforward.
- Check your distro’s app store or package manager first. This is usually the most integrated, stable, and update-friendly path.
- Look for a Flatpak on Flathub next. This is often the best fallback for desktop apps that your distro does not ship.
- Use an AppImage if that is what the developer provides. It is simple and portable, though less automatic when it comes to updates.
- Use Snap if the app is available there and that ecosystem works for your distro. It is a legitimate universal format, even if some communities are wary of it.
That order is less about ideology and more about practical software hygiene. You want the option that is easiest to keep updated, most compatible with your system, and least likely to require you to hunt down random commands from a forum post written by someone with a suspicious username.
And yes, that last part matters. If some stranger tells you to run an arbitrary install script because it will somehow make a game or desktop app work better, slow down. Linux gives you a lot of power, which also means you can shoot yourself in the foot very efficiently if you trust the wrong instructions.
The real rule: trust the source, not the packaging hype
The biggest mistake new Linux users make is assuming there must be one “correct” download for every app. There usually is not. What matters is where the package came from, how it is maintained, and whether it fits your distro and your needs.
For most desktop users, the best workflow is boring in the best possible way: use the distro repository when possible, then Flathub, then AppImage, and only then start worrying about edge cases. That gets you the convenience of Linux package management without turning app installation into a scavenger hunt.
If you remember only one thing, remember this: Linux has many package formats because it has many distros, but you rarely need to care about all of them. You only need the one that matches your system, plus a good fallback or two when your distro repository comes up short.
Once you know that, installing apps on Linux stops feeling like a puzzle and starts feeling like what it really is, a choice between a few well-defined distribution models. The messy part is mostly on the surface.