Flatpak support
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unfortunately Vivaldi developers are resistant to new technologies, and it's not just them, technologies like pipewire, flatpak and wayland and I don't even comment on some communities. Flathub already has: Google Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Chromium and Brave. We don't need to try to convince those who don't want to see it, we already have good options for some even better.
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+1 flatpack support please.
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@mehstrongbadmeh said in Flatpak support:
The first is that the system partition is very small, it is just about big enough to contain the files that are prei-ncluded on it. The second problem is that, even you manage to squeeze some packages in there, the system partition is wiped every OS update (in fact, it switches between an A and B partition, Android style). This renders using pacman completely impractical on SteamOS, and by extension, means Vivaldi is effectively unobtainable by proper means unless a flatpak version is created.
@soldieratarms said in Flatpak support:
I am unable to find a proper way to get it onto the deck, with the only methods currently being messing with the OS(not feasable with valve push out updates so frequently), and downloading it off of github using a community package(which is something I and other noobs are leery about).
@soldieratarms said in Flatpak support:
as it is an issue with how Steam OS handles programs. Normal programs are generally housed directly within the OS, however Valve has set it up so all modifications to the OS(such as programs) are overridden for every update, so they don't break anything in the process(can attest, it does happen on Linux).
@mehstrongbadmeh said in Flatpak support:
Releasing Vivaldi as a flatpak would be required to make it compatible with Steam Deck (and any future SteamOS devices).
Lots of inaccuracies here. The Steam Deck uses a separate home partition where it mounts /home , /var, /opt, that is not being touched at all (the partition) and there is where Vivaldi can/will be installed.
You don't necessarily need a flatpak to install Vivaldi to your Steam Deck, just use the official Vivaldi method using the script. Install Linux snapshots on non-DEB/RPM distributions 
(add -fto the end of the line if you 'd like to install Stable instead).This very good, well-engineered script, contrary to the anti-KISS, corporate flatpak or whatever other container (that bloats the system and which is associated with tons of problems, security and whatnot) installs Vivaldi to your
/home/deck/.local, the codecs to your/home/deck/.local/liband gets updated every week iirc, so you are perfectly covered from the get-go.(Ofc if you would "clear local user data" using Steam's recovery image, your home partition would get wiped out and with it your Vivaldi & your Vivaldi profile as well, so before that you could do a backup)
Furthermore, Vivaldi is already "self-contained" (you could even run Vivaldi if you 'd download the .deb or .rpm, extract the contents somewhere in your /home and run it from there), respects the FHS where it puts itself, the binary and its static files under /opt, meaning that you could install it just fine with the traditional method via
pacmanas well, with the only extremely minor "caveats" that the symbolic link placed under/usr/binwould be affected by the wipeout of therootfs, so your $PATH wouldn't see it (to invoke "vivaldi-stable" from the terminal for example), and that you would lose your shortcut on the panel/usr/share/applications/vivaldi-stable.desktop. But both are easily fixable, for the 1st one you would just need to export/opt/vivaldito your $PATH in your.bashrc, for the 2nd one you would just need to copy the shortcut to your local applications (~/.local/share/applications).
TL:DR:
a) you don't actually need any "container solution", use Vivaldi's official method to install to Steam Deck
b) Vivaldi is already "self-contained" (you could extract it from a .deb or .rpm and run it inside your /home/ *), it's better engineered than any other browser that puts itself under/usr/bin, thus already suitable for the Steam Deck. -
@wellington said in Flatpak support:
unfortunately Vivaldi developers are resistant to new technologies, and it's not just them, technologies like pipewire, flatpak and wayland
which are all corporate "technologies"coming from the usual suspects Red Hat, Ubuntu specifically written for cloud computing and servers but shoved down to everyone's throat for the desktop, using fanboys of their "community-NOT" distros as guinea-pigs and as battering rams demanding their "technology" here and there for the corporation's benefits?
Corporate containers are anti-KISS and in reality anti GNU/Linux. Those companies are only using people's ignorance or lazyness for their own benefits and goals, which lie in turning your PC into a closed dumb terminal talking to their mainframe, their businesses called IoT and Edge Computing.
It's good to always keep in mind that "Linux" has the corporate side and the community side, one should be rather sceptical -not to say... suspicious!- when they advertise their new, "ground-breaking" toys and certainly not team up with BIG corporations, it never turns out good.
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Offtopic
Next time thy will ask for Docker image with Vivaldi
scnr -
@npro glad to hear it! Now, for those reading, I am unable to test this at this time, as I don't have my steamdeck(and won't for months...) and am having issues with virtual machines, but it is an official blog post so... Now, I did find a program called bottles on flathub, which is a frontend for wine, and was my former plan if I didn't find a way to run it natively, but this is better for obvious reasons. So thanks for the clarification. I will say though, that the Vivaldi team should link to that page more often, since I know this is a question asked often here.
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I have a Steam Deck, but I'm not willing to install software using a random script from the Internet. Flatpak may have several issues, but Deck users are still stuck with it, and it's the only supported and end user friendly way (meaning visible and easy way) to install extra software. Automatic or semi-automatic bash scripts for every piece of software the user might want to install are not a sustainable solution.
In any case, web browsing is a secondary need on the Deck, so we can just use any other browser that is available. Vivaldi seems to not be interested.
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@luetage said in Flatpak support:
@tam1 That’s not some random script. It was written by a Vivaldi team member (most likely @Ruarí) and is being distributed right from the official Vivaldi help pages… Get your facts straight.
That's not the point. The model of supporting and managing software installations in a computer device is not sustainable like that. That's why package managers exists. Vivaldi devs of course think only about Vivaldi and their dislike of Flatpak, apparently.
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@npro WOAH, I FINALLY INSTALLED VIVALDI ON DECK THANKS TO THAT GUIDE, MUCH APPRECIATED!
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Take immutable OS like Fedora Silverblue/Kionite, you don't want to use rpm, actually. It's inconvenient to say at least. You have to download package manually, or add repo. And then use rpm-ostree to layer the package into the system, reboot. This OS is meant to use containerised environment, flatpaks as main software provider. Just open software centre, find Vivaldi, hit install and *bum you're ready to go. Easy updates. Technically it is different platform which Vivaldi currently does not support.
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Just chiming in again to advocate for flatpak! The script we have currently is good but flatpak is definitely better. It's not ideal to have to periodically run the script in order to update the browser, I'd rather have Vivaldi in the same place as every other app, and I want it to update automatically like other flatpaks do
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@wellington But I don't want to use Chrome, Chromium, Edge, Firefox, or Brave. I want to use Vivaldi, which is why I am on the Vivaldi forum.
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@npro This is good information, but the issue here is more one of convenience and user friendliness. I'll have to try your method when I get my Deck, but this needs be a "I push the button, and it does the thing" level of complexity, which is what SteamOS 3 is about.
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+1 to add flatpak support, only then the .deb and .rpm versions would no longer be needed.
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Also echoing my wish for Flatpak support for Vivaldi. As it stands, this means that ostree-based distros like Fedora Silverblue simply can't run Vivaldi. A flatpak is becoming a must for a desktop Linux app these days, and it is much better for upstream to maintain it overall.
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Just want to drop my two cents in.
I just got my SteamDeck yesterday and now I want a Flatpak.
Regardless of peoples thoughts of Flatpak and available alternatives, Valve's official guidance is that all non-Steam software should be installed via Flatpak, even going as so far as offering a Chrome Flatpak install built right into the Deck's Steam client. If you want to support the SteamDeck, you should provide a Flatpak.
It is what many Deck users, myself included, will expect going forward. While I am an everyday Linux user and can install Vivaldi with npro's above advice, I also want to treat this specific PC like a game console, as Valve intended, so things just work. I'm not enabling persistent writes to the system partition outside of the occasional tinkering; Flatpak is what will be supported and well-integrated, so that's what I will be using. Anything that will be on my Deck long term will be a Flatpak or a self-contained utility I run from /home/deck/ in Desktop mode.
In the mean time I'll use their bundled Flatpak Firefox install, I suppose.
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I would also love to see this be made available, specifically for Fedora Silverblue and the Steam Deck where I've been missing Vivaldi.
If you're using Fedora Silverblue there is a work-around for getting Vivaldi installed but it is a bit of a pain since you need to reboot every time it updates for the update to take effect.
Add a file called
/etc/yum.repos.d/vivaldi.repowith the following contents:[vivaldi] name=vivaldi baseurl=https://repo.vivaldi.com/archive/rpm/x86_64 enabled=1 gpgcheck=1 gpgkey=https://repo.vivaldi.com/archive/linux_signing_key.pubThen install Vivaldi via:
rpm-ostree install vivaldi-stableThis method doesn't work for the Steam Deck though, so you'll just need to wait for a Flatpak there.
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+1 for Flatpak support.
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