pc-heini
81b5856cbd
Inspecting o3de_2605_0.deb (control.tar md5sums) showed: - everything installs under /opt/O3DE/<ver>/; no /usr glue, no app icon - ~270 .so files sit beside the o3de launcher (LD_LIBRARY_PATH is required) - the package depends on a build toolchain (clang/ninja/cmake/pkg-config) - no Python runtime is bundled; O3DE fetches it into its install tree on first use, which is read-only in a Flatpak Changes: - run against org.freedesktop.Sdk so the build toolchain is present at runtime - bake O3DE's Python in at build time via get_python.sh (network build-arg) - drop the icon auto-grab (it would have installed a random asset SVG) - document the remaining open risk: runtime writes into the read-only /app Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>
153 lines
6.7 KiB
Markdown
153 lines
6.7 KiB
Markdown
# O3DE Flatpak
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Repackage the official [Open 3D Engine](https://o3de.org/) Linux release as a
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**Flatpak** so it can be installed on any distribution — not only Debian/Ubuntu.
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A Gitea Actions workflow checks daily for a new O3DE release, builds the Flatpak,
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and publishes it as a static [OSTree](https://ostreedev.github.io/ostree/) Flatpak
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repository on the `pages` branch of this repo. You add that as a Flatpak remote and
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`install` / `update` like any other app.
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> **Status:** community / unofficial. O3DE is a large application (~15–18 GB
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> installed); building and hosting it is heavy. Treat this as best-effort.
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---
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## Installing (end users)
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```sh
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# Flathub provides the runtime O3DE needs
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flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo
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# Add this repo (replace <owner> with the Gitea account that owns the repo)
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flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists o3de \
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https://gitea.pc-heini.de/<owner>/o3de-flatpak/raw/branch/pages/o3de.flatpakrepo
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flatpak install o3de org.o3de.O3DE
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flatpak run org.o3de.O3DE
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```
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Later updates:
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```sh
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flatpak update org.o3de.O3DE
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```
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> The repo is currently **unsigned** (no GPG). Flatpak will add it with GPG
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> verification disabled. See *Signing* below to harden this.
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---
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## How it works
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| File | Purpose |
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| --- | --- |
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| `org.o3de.O3DE.yaml` | `flatpak-builder` manifest. Unpacks the official `o3de_*.deb` into `/app` and wires up a launcher. |
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| `o3de-wrapper.sh` | Entry point. Finds the versioned `o3de` Project Manager binary inside the sandbox and sets `LD_LIBRARY_PATH`. |
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| `org.o3de.O3DE.desktop` | Desktop entry under the Flatpak app-id. |
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| `org.o3de.O3DE.metainfo.xml` | AppStream metadata (version stamped at build time). |
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| `scripts/get-latest-version.sh` | Resolves the latest `.deb` URL, version, and SHA-256 from o3debinaries.org. |
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| `scripts/build.sh` | Build + test the Flatpak locally. |
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| `.gitea/workflows/build-flatpak.yml` | CI: detect new version → build → publish to `pages` → tag `vX.Y.Z`. |
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The engine ships as a Debian package at a predictable URL
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(`https://o3debinaries.org/main/Latest/Linux/o3de_<ver>.deb`). The build extracts
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it (`ar` + `tar`) and copies the payload into the Flatpak's `/app`. The version
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directory inside the `.deb` changes every release, so the wrapper discovers the
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executable at runtime rather than hard-coding a path.
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---
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## CI requirements (Gitea Actions)
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The workflow targets a **self-hosted `act_runner`**. Because O3DE is large:
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- **Disk:** budget **60 GB+** free. The build needs roughly 2–3× the installed
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size (extracted payload in `build-dir` + a copy committed into the OSTree
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`repo/`). The job deletes `build-dir` before publishing to cut peak usage, but
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it can still be tight. If builds fail on space, that's the first thing to check.
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- **Privileged container:** Flatpak's sandbox (bubblewrap) needs it. The job sets
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`options: --privileged`; your runner's `config.yaml` must allow privileged
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containers (or run jobs in host mode with `flatpak`/`flatpak-builder` installed
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on the host).
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- **Runner label:** the job uses `runs-on: ubuntu-latest`. Change it if your
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runner is registered with a different label.
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- **Token:** publishing force-pushes the `pages` branch and creates a `vX.Y.Z`
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tag. The auto-provided `GITHUB_TOKEN` (with `contents: write`) usually suffices.
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If your instance restricts it, create a Personal Access Token with repo write
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access and add it as a secret named **`PUBLISH_TOKEN`** — the workflow prefers
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it automatically.
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Trigger it manually from the Gitea Actions UI (`workflow_dispatch`, with an
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optional **force** rebuild), or let the daily `cron` run it. It only rebuilds when
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the upstream version has no matching `vX.Y.Z` tag yet, so reruns are cheap no-ops.
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---
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## Building locally
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```sh
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sudo apt install flatpak flatpak-builder # or your distro's equivalent
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./scripts/build.sh
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```
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Test without installing:
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```sh
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flatpak-builder --run build-dir org.o3de.O3DE.yaml o3de-wrapper.sh
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```
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---
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## Signing (recommended hardening)
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The first iteration publishes an unsigned repo for simplicity. To sign:
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1. Generate a key: `gpg --quick-gen-key "O3DE Flatpak" default default never`
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2. Export the public key and add `GPGKey=<base64>` to the generated `.flatpakrepo`.
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3. Pass `--gpg-sign=<KEYID>` to both `flatpak-builder` and `build-update-repo`,
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and provide the private key to CI via a secret. Until then, users add the
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remote with GPG verification disabled.
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---
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## Caveats & things to verify
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These were confirmed by inspecting the v26.05 package (`opt/O3DE/26.05/…`):
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- **Layout is confirmed for now**: the package installs everything under
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`/opt/O3DE/<ver>/`, with the launcher at `bin/Linux/profile/Default/o3de` and
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~270 `.so` files beside it (hence the wrapper's `LD_LIBRARY_PATH`). If a future
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release moves things, adjust `o3de-wrapper.sh` and the manifest.
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- **Runs against `org.freedesktop.Sdk`, not `Platform`.** O3DE's package
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dependencies are a *build toolchain* (clang/ninja/cmake/pkg-config) because the
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engine compiles project code at runtime. Those live in the SDK. Users therefore
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pull the SDK runtime (larger than Platform) on install — Flatpak does this
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automatically from Flathub.
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- **Python is baked in at build time.** O3DE normally downloads its Python runtime
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into its own install tree on first use, but that tree is read-only inside a
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Flatpak. The manifest runs `python/get_python.sh` during the build (with network
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access) so Python is part of the immutable image. **This is the most likely step
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to need tweaking** — verify it on the first real CI build.
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- **Runtime writes into the install tree may still fail.** Anything O3DE tries to
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`pip install` or generate *inside* `/opt/O3DE/...` at runtime (e.g. per-gem
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Python deps when building certain projects) will hit the read-only `/app`. Base
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project building should work; exotic gems may not. This is the main open risk.
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- **No launcher icon yet.** The `.deb` ships only in-editor asset icons, so the
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desktop entry uses a generic icon. Drop a real O3DE logo into the repo and
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install it in the manifest to fix this.
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- **GPU / drivers:** the renderer needs working GPU access. The manifest grants
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`--device=dri`/`--device=all`; on some setups you may also want the matching
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GPU driver extension from Flathub.
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- **Sandbox filesystem:** `--filesystem=home` lets the Project Manager create and
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open projects under your home directory. Tighten or widen to taste.
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- **Hosting via raw branch URLs** works because Flatpak fetches individual files
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(`summary`, `config`, `objects/…`). Gitea serves these from the `pages` branch.
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If you later put a real static web host in front of it, just change `Url=` in
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the `.flatpakrepo`.
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---
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*Not affiliated with or endorsed by the Open 3D Foundation. O3DE is licensed under
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Apache-2.0 / MIT.*
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