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Chapter 13. Managing Flatpak repositories in Satellite

Flatpak allows users to install, manage, and run portable applications on Satellite, primarily for desktop environments. In Satellite, you can integrate Flatpak repositories to distribute and control Flatpak applications across managed hosts. By configuring Flatpak repositories, you ensure that systems have access to the necessary application packages while maintaining centralized control over application deployment.

Flatpak repositories function similarly to other content repositories in Satellite. You can synchronize, manage access permissions, and assign repositories to specific lifecycle environments to control which applications are available to systems. You can also use Hammer CLI to manage Flatpak repositories.

For more information, see Installing applications using Flatpak.

You can create a Flatpak remote to access and manage Flatpak repositories in Satellite web UI.

Prerequisites

  • Your Satellite account has a role that grants the create_flatpak_remotes permission.

Procedure

  1. In the Satellite web UI, navigate to Content > Flatpak Remotes.
  2. Click Create new.
  3. In the Name field, enter a name for the Flatpak remote.
  4. In the URL field, enter the URL of the Flatpak remote. For example, to use the Red Hat Flatpak index, enter: https://flatpaks.redhat.io/rhel/.
  5. If the Flatpak remote requires authentication, enter the required credentials. For example, synchronizing Red Hat Flatpaks from registry.redhat.io requires authentication. For more information, see Creating Registry Service Accounts.
  6. Click Create.

You can create a Flatpak remote to access and manage Flatpak repositories by using Hammer CLI.

Prerequisites

  • Your Satellite account has a role that grants the create_flatpak_remotes permission.

Procedure

  • Create your Flatpak remote: 

    $ hammer flatpak-remote create \
--name My_Flatpak_Remote_Name \
--organization-id My_Organization_ID \
--url My_Flatpak_Remote_URL
    Copy to Clipboard Toggle word wrap

    For example, to use the Red Hat Flatpak index, enter: https://flatpaks.redhat.io/rhel/.

    If the Flatpak remote requires authentication, enter the required credentials. For example, synchronizing Red Hat Flatpaks from registry.redhat.io requires authentication. For more information, see Creating Registry Service Accounts.

You can scan a Flatpak remote to fetch metadata about the repositories it provides. Scanning a Flatpak remote creates remote repository artifacts for the repositories hosted by the Flatpak remote. If new repositories are added to the Flatpak remote, scan it again to pull in the changes.

Prerequisites

  • Your Satellite account has a role that grants the view_flatpak_remotes and edit_flatpak_remotes permissions.

Procedure

  1. In the Satellite web UI, navigate to Content > Flatpak Remotes.
  2. Select the Flatpak remote that you want to scan.
  3. Click Scan.

You can scan a Flatpak remote to fetch metadata about the repositories it provides. Scanning a Flatpak remote creates remote repository artifacts for the repositories hosted by the Flatpak remote. If new repositories are added to the Flatpak remote, scan it again to pull in the changes.

Prerequisites

  • Your Satellite account has a role that grants the view_flatpak_remotes and edit_flatpak_remotes permissions.

Procedure

  • Scan your Flatpak remote: 

    $ hammer flatpak-remote scan --id My_Flatpak_Remote_ID
    Copy to Clipboard Toggle word wrap

You can view a list of the repositories a scanned Flatpak remote provides.

Prerequisites

  • Your Satellite account has a role that grants the view_flatpak_remotes permission.

Procedure

  1. In the Satellite web UI, navigate to Content > Flatpak Remotes.
  2. Click the name of the Flatpak remote you want to view.
  3. The page displays a list of repositories available from the scanned Flatpak remote.

You can view a list of the repositories a scanned Flatpak remote provides.

Prerequisites

  • Your Satellite account has a role that grants the view_flatpak_remotes permission.

Procedure

  • View details of your Flatpak remote: 

    $ hammer flatpak-remote info --id My_Flatpak_Remote_ID
    Copy to Clipboard Toggle word wrap

You can mirror a Flatpak repository from a Flatpak remote into an existing product in Satellite to make it available for content management and distribution.

This action creates a new repository inside the product you selected. You can now synchronize the repository to pull down its content. Flatpak repositories are container repositories and you can add them to content views like other container repositories.

Flatpak applications require a corresponding runtime environment, which the Flatpak remote also provides. To make the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 Mozilla Firefox Flatpak available to a host, ensure that the host can access the matching rhel10/flatpak-runtime repository.

Prerequisites

  • Your Satellite account has a role that grants the view_flatpak_remotes and edit_flatpak_remotes permissions.
  • Ensure that Flatpak runtime repositories are available to hosts alongside application repositories. Flatpak applications, such as rhel9/firefox-flatpak, depend on the runtime for installation.
  • You have created a custom product on Satellite.

Procedure

  1. In the Satellite web UI, navigate to Content > Flatpak Remotes.
  2. In the list of Flatpak Remotes, click the name of the remote you want to mirror.
  3. In the list of remote repositories, locate the repository you want to mirror.
  4. Select the Mirror Action menu on the row of the repository.
  5. In the Mirror window, select the existing product where you want to create the new repository.
  6. Click Mirror.

You can mirror a Flatpak repository from a Flatpak remote into an existing product in Satellite to make it available for content management and distribution.

This action creates a new repository inside the product you selected. You can now synchronize the repository to pull down its content. Flatpak repositories are container repositories and you can add them to content views like other container repositories.

Flatpak applications require a corresponding runtime environment, which the Flatpak remote also provides. To make the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 Mozilla Firefox Flatpak available to a host, ensure that the host can access the matching rhel10/flatpak-runtime repository.

Prerequisites

  • Your Satellite account has a role that grants the view_flatpak_remotes and edit_flatpak_remotes permissions.
  • Ensure that Flatpak runtime repositories are available to hosts alongside application repositories. Flatpak applications, such as rhel9/firefox-flatpak, depend on the runtime for installation.
  • You have created a custom product on Satellite.

Procedure

  • Mirror a Flatpak repository into your product: 

    $ hammer flatpak-remote remote-repository mirror \
--flatpak-remote-id My_Flatpak_Remote_ID \
--id My_Flatpak_Repository_ID \
--product-id My_Product_ID
    Copy to Clipboard Toggle word wrap

This procedure configures and manages Flatpak repositories by using Hammer CLI.

Prerequisites

  • Your Satellite account has a role that grants the permissions view_flatpak_remotes, create_flatpak_remotes, edit_flatpak_remotes, and destroy_flatpak_remotes.
  • Set up Flatpak. For more information, see Setting up Flatpak.
  • Flatpak applications rely on Flatpak runtimes. For example, rhel9/firefox-flatpak depends on rhel9/flatpak-runtime.
  • Ensure that runtime repositories are available to clients alongside application repositories for installations to work.

Procedure

  1. Enable a Flatpak remote on the Satellite Server by using standalone Red Hat Enterprise Linux systems or Red Hat Satellite: 

    $ hammer flatpak-remote create \
--name=My_Flatpak_Remote_Name \
--organization=My_Organization \
--url=My_Flatpak_Remote_URL
    Copy to Clipboard Toggle word wrap

    You can include authentication details by using the options --username=My_User_Name --token=My_Token.

    You can generate a Red Hat official token at Registry Service Accounts.

  2. Update the Flatpak remote with authentication credentials: 

    $ hammer flatpak-remote update \
--id My_Flatpak_Remote_ID \
--token=My_Token \
--username=My_User_Name
    Copy to Clipboard Toggle word wrap

  3. Optional: List and view information about the Flatpak remote: 

    $ hammer flatpak-remote list --organization-id My_Organization_ID
$ hammer flatpak-remote info --id My_Flatpak_Remote_ID
    Copy to Clipboard Toggle word wrap

  4. Scan the Flatpak remote: 

    $ hammer flatpak-remote scan --id=My_ID
    Copy to Clipboard Toggle word wrap

  5. List repositories in the Flatpak remote: 

    $ hammer flatpak-remote remote-repository list --flatpak-remote-id=My_ID
    Copy to Clipboard Toggle word wrap

  6. Mirror a Flatpak remote repository to a Satellite product: 

    $ hammer flatpak-remote remote-repository mirror \
--id=My_Remote_Repo_ID \
--product-id=Satellite_Product_ID
    Copy to Clipboard Toggle word wrap

    The --id in this command refers to the Flatpak remote repository ID, not the standard Satellite repository ID.

    You can view the repository under the selected product in Satellite web UI. Set the Include Tags field to latest.

  7. Synchronize the Satellite repository: 

    $ hammer repository sync --id=My_Repo_ID
    Copy to Clipboard Toggle word wrap

    The --id in this command refers to the standard Satellite repository ID, not the Flatpak remote repository ID.

Use the command line to install selected applications from the enabled Flatpak remotes.

Prerequisites

  • Flatpak is installed on the host.
  • Set up Flatpak on the content host that consumes applications from Satellite Server. For more information, see Setting up Flatpak.
  • Ensure that Flatpak runtime repositories are available to hosts alongside application repositories. Flatpak applications, such as rhel9/firefox-flatpak, depend on the runtime for installation.
  • The Red Hat Flatpak remote is enabled.
  • Ensure that Podman is installed on the host.
  • To install Flatpak applications from Satellite, ensure that your Satellite account has the view_lifecycle_environments, view_products, and view_content_views permissions, unless the lifecycle environment allows unauthenticated pull.
  • Your Satellite account has a role that grants the create_personal_access_tokens permission to generate an access token for authentication. The token generates automatically when you run podman login.

Procedure

  1. On the managed host, add your Satellite Server as a Flatpak remote: 

    $ flatpak remote-add --authenticator-name=org.flatpak.Authenticator.Oci katello oci+https://satellite.example.com/
    Copy to Clipboard Toggle word wrap

  2. Log in the host to the container registry using one of the following methods:

    • Certificate authentication

      • When registering a host to Satellite or Capsule, select the Set up container registry certs checkbox.
      • If the host is already registered, run the Flatpak - Login to registry via podman job template on the host. Set Set up certificate authentication to true and enter the URL of your Capsule as the registry URL.

    • Using Podman

      • Log in using Podman: 

        $ podman login satellite.example.com
        Copy to Clipboard Toggle word wrap

  3. Install your application. For example, to install the Mozilla Firefox Flatpak: 

    $ flatpak install firefox
    Copy to Clipboard Toggle word wrap

    Additional resources

13.11. Setting up Flatpak remote for Capsule
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Configure Capsule Servers to synchronize and distribute Flatpak repositories to managed hosts.

Note

Capsules synchronize Flatpaks and make them available to all hosts, but not organizations, content views, or lifecycle environments. Clients receive the latest Flatpaks synchronized on the Capsule globally.

Prerequisites

Procedure

  1. On the managed host, add the Capsule as a Flatpak remote: 

    $ flatpak remote-add --authenticator-name=org.flatpak.Authenticator.Oci katello oci+https://capsule.example.com/
    Copy to Clipboard Toggle word wrap

  2. Log in the host to the container registry using one of the following methods:

    • Certificate authentication

      • When registering a host to Capsule, select the Set up container registry certs checkbox.
      • If the host is already registered, run the Flatpak - Login to registry via podman job template on the host. Set Set up certificate authentication to true and enter the URL of your Capsule as the registry URL.

    • Using Podman

  3. Optional: Save your credentials permanently using one of the following options:

    • To save the credentials for the current user: 

      $ cp $XDG_RUNTIME_DIR/containers/auth.json $HOME/.config/flatpak/oci-auth.json
      Copy to Clipboard Toggle word wrap

    • To save the credentials system-wide: 

      $ cp $XDG_RUNTIME_DIR/containers/auth.json /etc/flatpak/oci-auth.json
      Copy to Clipboard Toggle word wrap

  4. Install your application. For example, to install the Mozilla Firefox Flatpak: 

    $ flatpak install firefox
    Copy to Clipboard Toggle word wrap

Use Hammer CLI to transfer Flatpak content to Satellite Server in environments with disconnected Satellite Server instances.

Prerequisites

Procedure

  1. On your connected Satellite Server, export your Flatpak repository: 

    $ hammer content-export complete repository \
--id My_Repository_ID
    Copy to Clipboard Toggle word wrap

  2. Transfer the Flatpak repository from your connected Satellite Server to your disconnected Satellite Server. Ensure that the pulp user can read and write the directory and place it under /var/lib/pulp/imports/.

    For more information, see Chapter 9, Synchronizing content between Satellite Servers.

  3. On your disconnected Satellite Server, import your Flatpak repository: 

    $ hammer content-import repository \
--organization-id My_Organization_ID \
--path /var/lib/pulp/imports/My_Exported_Flatpak_Repository/
    Copy to Clipboard Toggle word wrap

  4. On your host, add the disconnected Satellite Server as a Flatpak remote: 

    $ flatpak remote-add --authenticator-name=org.flatpak.Authenticator.Oci katello oci+https://satellite.example.com/
    Copy to Clipboard Toggle word wrap

  5. Log in using Podman: 

    $ podman login satellite.example.com
    Copy to Clipboard Toggle word wrap

  6. Install your application. For example, to install the Mozilla Firefox Flatpak: 

    $ flatpak install firefox
    Copy to Clipboard Toggle word wrap
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