Flatseal
Hacker ApprovedFlatpak permissions manager in Privacy & security
Lets people view and change Flatpak app permissions with fine granularity, a common first step before running new apps. Not installed by default and hard for some users.
12 people recommended Flatseal in Hacker News comments, 1 had mixed feelings and 2 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026.
Summary written by Claude from 15 comments.
15 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 12
- mixed feelings
- 1
- warn against or regret it
- 2
The record
Recommended in 7 of 12 months
In 11 different threads.
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
Why it carries the badge
- 12 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 6 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 7 of 12 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
- Recommended in 11 threadsNeeds 5 or more, met.
- The biggest thread supplies 25% of its recommendersNeeds half or less, met.
The same rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. Mixed feelings count toward neither side. How the badge works
What people say about it
Reasons grouped from a sample of 15 of the 17 opinions about it, picked in proportion to how many people recommend it, have mixed feelings and criticize it. Each mark is one comment in the sample. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Fine-grained control over app permissions
“With Flatseal you can view and manage application-system permissions with a level of granularity I have not seen in other systems.”
Comment from 15 May 2026 in “I love Linux, but I can't quit Windows” “I have vscode running in flatpak with directory permissions handled by flatseal.”
Comment from 20 Jul 2026 in “Stop Using OpenCode” “you can use flatseal to limit the access that the application has”
Comment from 28 Aug 2026 in “Sovereign Tech Agency invests €500k in Flatpak” - Comment from 28 Aug 2026 in “Sovereign Tech Agency invests €500k in Flatpak”
- Comment from 3 Jan 2026 in “2026 will be my year of the Linux desktop”
- Comment from 15 Sep 2026 in “Steam Frame starts at $1059”
Blocks network and file access for apps
“blocking access to anything except my notes folder (and denying internet, among other things) is my very first step when installing Obsidian…”
Comment from 13 May 2026 in “Obsidian plugin was abused to deploy a remote access trojan” “I simply disable its network capabilities via com.github.tchx84.Flatseal”
Comment from 4 Sep 2026 in “Audacity 4.0” Set permissions before first launch
“which is why I make it a habit of first launching Flatseal to modify permissions”
Comment from 28 Aug 2026 in “Sovereign Tech Agency invests €500k in Flatpak”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Cannot set defaults for future apps
“The defacto app for flatpak permissions, flatseal, doesn't have this capability yet to my knowledge.”
Comment from 16 Dec 2025 in “Problems with D-Bus on the Linux desktop” “If only flatseal could set defaults for all future installed apps too”
Comment from 28 Aug 2026 in “Sovereign Tech Agency invests €500k in Flatpak” Apps fail without permissions set first
“you'll run into an issue where .dll's aren't found because you didn't install flatseal first to configure permissions”
Comment from 22 Jun 2026 in “window.showDirectoryPicker opens up a whole new world”
What people said
15 of the 17 opinions about it, picked in proportion to the three counts, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“use flatseal to grant them”
“I simply disable its network capabilities via com.github.tchx84.Flatseal”
“Use flatseal (or terminal) to adjust permissions.”
“If only flatseal could set defaults for all future installed apps too”
“you can use flatseal to limit the access that the application has”
“which is why I make it a habit of first launching Flatseal to modify permissions”
“It's very nice for the few apps that are still xorg hardcoded and with flatseal”
“I have vscode running in flatpak with directory permissions handled by flatseal.”
“you'll run into an issue where .dll's aren't found because you didn't install flatseal first to configure permissions”
“With Flatseal you can view and manage application-system permissions with a level of granularity I have not seen in other systems.”
“blocking access to anything except my notes folder (and denying internet, among other things) is my very first step when installing Obsidian…”
“Android-style permission system with Flatseal”
“Flatseal isn't the default, nor is it easy for users.”
“allows you to mange the sandboxes/permissions”
“The defacto app for flatpak permissions, flatseal, doesn't have this capability yet to my knowledge.”
Counts come from 1,791,911 Hacker News comments labeled by Claude, November 2025 to October 2026, with data through October 31, 2026. Counts updated 2 Nov 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.