GNU bug report logs - #39950
flatpack packages can't open external applications

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Message #5 received at submit <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Damien Cassou <damien <at> cassou.me>
To: bug-guix <at> gnu.org
Subject: flatpack packages can't open external applications
Date: Fri, 06 Mar 2020 15:41:21 +0100

Hi,

when I install a flatpak package under Guix System, this package works
but can't open external applications. This is a problem for some
applications, e.g., Blender will never open your web browser.

How to reproduce:

$ guix install flatpak

$ flatpak --user remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

$ flatpak --user install flathub org.blender.Blender

$ flatpak --user run org.blender.Blender

In Blender, click on the Help menu in the menu bar and choose "User
communities". This is supposed to open a web browser but no browser will
pop up.

When in bash, I can use xdg-open to open a web page without problem.

-- 
Damien Cassou

"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another without
losing enthusiasm." --Winston Churchill

Message #8 received at 39950 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Marius Bakke <mbakke <at> fastmail.com>
To: Damien Cassou <damien <at> cassou.me>, 39950 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#39950: flatpack packages can't open external applications
Date: Fri, 20 Mar 2020 20:24:08 +0100

[Message part 1 (text/plain, inline)]

Damien Cassou <damien <at> cassou.me> writes:

> Hi,
>
> when I install a flatpak package under Guix System, this package works
> but can't open external applications. This is a problem for some
> applications, e.g., Blender will never open your web browser.
>
> How to reproduce:
>
> $ guix install flatpak
>
> $ flatpak --user remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo
>
> $ flatpak --user install flathub org.blender.Blender
>
> $ flatpak --user run org.blender.Blender
>
> In Blender, click on the Help menu in the menu bar and choose "User
> communities". This is supposed to open a web browser but no browser will
> pop up.
>
> When in bash, I can use xdg-open to open a web page without problem.

To my knowledge, Flatpak applications run in isolated containers and
thus have no visibility to the host system by default.  Maybe there are
some command-line arguments you can add to give it access to what it
needs to open a browser?

It seems to me there is little Guix can do about it without breaking the
containerization features of Flatpak.  WDYT?

[signature.asc (application/pgp-signature, inline)]

Message #11 received at 39950 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Damien Cassou <damien <at> cassou.me>
To: Marius Bakke <mbakke <at> fastmail.com>, 39950 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#39950: flatpack packages can't open external applications
Date: Sat, 21 Mar 2020 10:22:41 +0100

Hi,

Marius Bakke <mbakke <at> fastmail.com> writes:
> To my knowledge, Flatpak applications run in isolated containers and
> thus have no visibility to the host system by default.  Maybe there are
> some command-line arguments you can add to give it access to what it
> needs to open a browser?


When in Fedora, the exact same Flatpak command works fine: a browser
opens.

-- 
Damien Cassou

"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another without
losing enthusiasm." --Winston Churchill

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