Running Flatpak Apps in Windows 10/11

Introduction

Flatpak is a system for building, distributing, and running sandboxed desktop applications on Linux. However, you might want to run Flatpak apps on Windows 10/11 for various reasons, including testing, development, or simply using your favorite Linux applications. This guide will show you how to do that.

Prerequisites

Before you start, ensure you have the following:

• A computer running Windows 10 or Windows 11
• Administrator privileges
• Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) installed
• A Linux distribution installed via WSL (e.g., Ubuntu)

Step-by-Step Guide

Setup Xming

Xming for Windows

https://sourceforge.net/projects/xming/

• Install
• Run the program.

WSL Setup

• Open "WSL Ubuntu"

  Actually. You can use other distros. I have bought that works on Ubuntu and Fedora (Microsoft Store

• Paste the following command

 export DISPLAY=:0

If it does not work in the subsequent steps. Use your local ip address instead of 0.

• Update the system

 sudo apt update

• Install Flatpak

 sudo apt install flatpak

• Add Flatpak Flathub repo

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

• Ready! Now you can install any app and run it normally.

Example Usage

Install app

 sudo flatpak install flathub io.github.alainm23.planify

Run App

 flatpak run io.github.alainm23.planify

Troubleshooting

If you encounter any issues, consider the following steps:

• Ensure WSL is properly installed and running
• Check for updates and upgrade your Linux distribution
• Verify the Flatpak installation and the Flathub repository addition