# Flathub

Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/flathub/

14 people recommended Flathub in Hacker News comments, 5 had mixed feelings and 13 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 9 of 12 months, in 17 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Recommended as a central Linux app store with a large catalogue and clear permission warnings; the main caveat is limited review, with critics doubting its safety.

Summary written by Claude from 29 comments. It was written before the November 2026 recount, and 28 of those comments still count.

## Why people recommend it

- Large catalogue beyond distro repos (2 comments in the sample): "The Debian, Ubuntu, and even Fedora repos are very large and include all the software you could ever want. And then flathub takes the rest." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49013082)) "You want direct to customer platforms (Snap, Flathub, etc" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46827454))
- Consistent reviewed apps across distros (2 comments in the sample): "plus Flathub, are easily the most consistent" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45779327)) "Flathub's model is slightly better" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49100360))
- Works well on Fedora (2 comments in the sample): "Make sure flathub is added instead of using the fedora flatpak source. Big difference." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47420326)) "Just use Flathub on Fedora for anything proprietary including codecs." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48034857))
- Clear permission warnings and notices (2 comments in the sample): "Flathub is very explicit and obnoxious about such unsafe permissions and can easily be modified by the user." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46287954)) "The flathub website warnings are good" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49477234))

## What people warn about

- Review process seems limited (3 comments in the sample): "I thought Flathub has a review and approval process.  Does it fall short in some fundamental way?" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48503304)) "don't perform basic Flathub developer verification" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50269454)) "Flathub only reviews the manifest." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48503420))
- Malware and inconsistent policy fears (2 comments in the sample): "Flatpak and Flathub terrify me, it's only a matter of time until malware appears." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48502693)) "The policy as it stands is contradictory with flathub practice" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48339090))
- Apps and runtimes break often (1 comment in the sample): "Flatpak and Flathub still break all the time" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47689747))

## Other app stores people recommend

- [F-Droid](https://hackerapproved.com/p/f-droid/): 180 recommend, 41 mixed, 80 criticize
- [Aurora Store](https://hackerapproved.com/p/aurora-store/): 43 recommend, 15 mixed, 16 criticize
- [Apple App Store](https://hackerapproved.com/p/apple-app-store/): 39 recommend, 28 mixed, 461 criticize
- [Obtainium](https://hackerapproved.com/p/obtainium/): 34 recommend, 2 mixed, 5 criticize

## Where to get it

- [Visit the official site](https://flathub.org/en)

## The badge

A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged.

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Flathub", https://hackerapproved.com/p/flathub/ (14 recommend, 5 mixed, 13 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026).

Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.