Flutter Flatseal

A Flutter application that manages Flatpak sandbox permissions, inspired by the original Flatseal project.

Features

• 🔍 View Installed Apps: Browse all Flatpak applications installed on your system
• 🔐 Manage Permissions: Control filesystem access, device access, sockets, and other permissions
• 🎨 Modern UI: Flutter-native Material Design interface
• 🖥️ Desktop-First: Optimized for Linux desktop with GTK support
• 🔄 Real-time Updates: Instantly apply permission changes
• 🔙 Reset Overrides: Easily restore default permissions

Screenshots

The application features a two-pane layout:

• Left Pane: Searchable list of installed Flatpak applications
• Right Pane: Detailed permission settings for the selected application

Prerequisites

• Flutter SDK (3.0.0 or later)
• Flatpak (installed and configured on your system)
• Linux Desktop Environment (for full functionality)
• GTK 3.0+ (for Linux desktop builds)

Installing Flatpak

If you don't have Flatpak installed:

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt install flatpak

# Fedora
sudo dnf install flatpak

# Arch Linux
sudo pacman -S flatpak

Building the Application

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/meta-flutter/flutter-flatseal.git
cd flutter-flatseal

2. Install Dependencies

flutter pub get

3. Enable Linux Desktop Support (if not already enabled)

flutter config --enable-linux-desktop

4. Build for Linux

flutter build linux --release

The built application will be located at:

build/linux/x64/release/bundle/

Running the Application

Development Mode

Run directly with Flutter:

flutter run -d linux

Production Build

After building, run the executable:

./build/linux/x64/release/bundle/flutter_flatseal

Installation

Manual Installation

1. Build the application (see above)
2. Copy the bundle to your preferred location:

sudo cp -r build/linux/x64/release/bundle /opt/flutter-flatseal
sudo ln -s /opt/flutter-flatseal/flutter_flatseal /usr/local/bin/flutter-flatseal

3. Install the desktop entry:

sudo cp linux/flutter_flatseal.desktop /usr/share/applications/

CMake Installation

cd build/linux/x64/release
sudo cmake --install . --prefix /usr

Usage

1. Launch the Application

   • From application menu: Search for "Flutter Flatseal"
   • From terminal: flutter-flatseal or flutter run

2. Select an Application

   • Browse or search for a Flatpak app in the left pane
   • Click on an app to view its permissions

3. Manage Permissions

   • Toggle switches to enable/disable specific permissions
   • Changes are applied immediately
   • Look for categories: Filesystem, Devices, Sockets, Features, Network

4. Reset Overrides

   • Click the restore icon in the app header
   • Confirm to reset all custom permissions to defaults

Project Structure

flutter-flatseal/
├── lib/
│   ├── main.dart              # Application entry point
│   ├── models/                # Data models
│   │   ├── flatpak_app.dart   # Flatpak application model
│   │   └── permission.dart    # Permission definitions
│   ├── services/              # Business logic
│   │   └── flatpak_service.dart  # Flatpak command interaction
│   ├── screens/               # Main screens
│   │   └── home_screen.dart   # Home screen with app list
│   └── widgets/               # Reusable UI components
│       ├── app_list.dart      # Application list widget
│       ├── permission_details.dart  # Permission view
│       └── permission_group.dart    # Permission category
├── linux/                     # Linux desktop configuration
│   ├── CMakeLists.txt
│   ├── main.cc
│   ├── my_application.cc/h
│   └── flutter_flatseal.desktop
├── test/                      # Unit tests
└── pubspec.yaml              # Dependencies

Permissions Categories

The application manages the following permission categories:

Filesystem Access

• Home directory
• All system files
• XDG directories (Downloads, Documents, Pictures, Music, Videos)

Device Access

• All devices
• GPU acceleration (DRI)
• Virtualization (KVM)

Sockets

• X11/Wayland display servers
• PulseAudio sound system
• D-Bus (session and system)
• SSH authentication agent
• Smart cards (PCSC)
• CUPS printing

Features

• Development tools
• Bluetooth
• Network access
• Multi-architecture support

Development

Running Tests

flutter test

Code Analysis

flutter analyze

Format Code

flutter format lib/

Packaging

Snap Package (Planned)

# Coming soon
snapcraft

Flatpak Package (Planned)

# Coming soon
flatpak-builder --force-clean build-dir com.example.FlutterFlatseal.yml

AppImage (Planned)

AppImage packaging will be added in future releases.

Troubleshooting

Flatpak Not Found

Error: "Flatpak is not installed on this system"

Solution: Install Flatpak using your distribution's package manager (see Prerequisites)

Permission Denied

Error: Failed to override permissions

Solution: Ensure you have proper permissions. Some operations may require sudo:

sudo flutter-flatseal

No Applications Shown

Issue: Application list is empty

Causes:

• No Flatpak applications installed
• Flatpak not properly configured

Solution: Install Flatpak apps or check Flatpak installation:

flatpak list --app

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

1. Fork the repository
2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/AmazingFeature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some AmazingFeature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/AmazingFeature)
5. Open a Pull Request

Comparison with Original Flatseal

This Flutter implementation provides:

• ✅ Modern Material Design UI
• ✅ Fast, native performance via Flutter
• ✅ Easy to extend and maintain
• ✅ Matches core Flatseal functionality
• ✅ Linux desktop focused

Original Flatseal advantages:

• More mature and battle-tested
• GTK native (better desktop integration)
• Broader Linux distribution support

License

This project is intended as a Flutter implementation study of Flatseal functionality.

Original Flatseal: Copyright © 2020-2024 Martin Abente Lahaye (GPLv3)

Acknowledgments

• Original Flatseal by Martin Abente Lahaye
• Flutter team for the excellent framework
• Flatpak community for the sandboxing technology

Roadmap

• Basic application listing
• Permission viewing
• Permission overrides
• Linux desktop support
• Advanced permission editing (custom paths, environment variables)
• D-Bus permission management
• Import/Export permission profiles
• Multiple application selection
• Undo/Redo functionality
• Search and filter improvements
• Package as Snap/Flatpak/AppImage

Support

For issues, questions, or suggestions:

• Open an issue on GitHub
• Check existing issues for similar problems
• Provide detailed information about your system and the issue