# flatpak-run

## NAME



           flatpak-run - Run an application or open a shell in a runtime
    


## SYNOPSIS



    
           **flatpak run**[OPTION...] REF [ARG...]
    


## DESCRIPTION



           If REF names an installed application, Flatpak runs the
           application in a sandboxed environment. Extra arguments are passed
           on to the application. The current branch and arch of the
           application is used unless otherwise specified with **--branch** or
           **--arch**. See flatpak-make-current(1).
    
           If REF names a runtime, a shell is opened in the runtime. This is
           useful for development and testing. If there is ambiguity about
           which branch to use, you will be prompted to choose. Use **--branch**
           to avoid this. The primary arch is used unless otherwise specified
           with **--arch**.
    
           By default, Flatpak will look for the application or runtime in
           the per-user installation first, then in all system installations.
           This can be overridden with the **--user** , **--system** and
           **--installation** options.
    
           Flatpak creates a sandboxed environment for the application to run
           in by mounting the right runtime at /usr and a writable directory
           at /var, whose content is preserved between application runs. The
           application itself is mounted at /app.
    
           The details of the sandboxed environment are controlled by the
           application metadata and various options like **--share** and **--socket**
           that are passed to the run command: Access is allowed if it was
           requested either in the application metadata file or with an
           option and the user hasn't overridden it.
    
           The remaining arguments are passed to the command that gets run in
           the sandboxed environment. See the **--file-forwarding** option for
           handling of file arguments.
    
           Environment variables are generally passed on to the sandboxed
           application, with certain exceptions. The application metadata can
           override environment variables, as well as the **--env** option. Apart
           from that, Flatpak always unsets or overrides the following
           variables, since their session values are likely to interfere with
           the functioning of the sandbox:
               PATH
               LD_LIBRARY_PATH
               LD_PRELOAD
               LD_AUDIT
               XDG_CONFIG_DIRS
               XDG_DATA_DIRS
               SHELL
               TEMP
               TEMPDIR
               TMP
               TMPDIR
               XDG_RUNTIME_DIR
               container
               TZDIR
               PYTHONPATH
               PYTHONPYCACHEPREFIX
               PERLLIB
               PERL5LIB
               XCURSOR_PATH
               GST_PLUGIN_PATH_1_0
               GST_REGISTRY
               GST_REGISTRY_1_0
               GST_PLUGIN_PATH
               GST_PLUGIN_SYSTEM_PATH
               GST_PLUGIN_SCANNER
               GST_PLUGIN_SCANNER_1_0
               GST_PLUGIN_SYSTEM_PATH_1_0
               GST_PRESET_PATH
               GST_PTP_HELPER
               GST_PTP_HELPER_1_0
               GST_INSTALL_PLUGINS_HELPER
               KRB5CCNAME
               XKB_CONFIG_ROOT
               GIO_EXTRA_MODULES
               GDK_BACKEND
               VK_ADD_DRIVER_FILES
               VK_ADD_LAYER_PATH
               VK_DRIVER_FILES
               VK_ICD_FILENAMES
               VK_LAYER_PATH
               __EGL_EXTERNAL_PLATFORM_CONFIG_DIRS
               __EGL_EXTERNAL_PLATFORM_CONFIG_FILENAMES
               __EGL_VENDOR_LIBRARY_DIRS
               __EGL_VENDOR_LIBRARY_FILENAMES
    
           Also several environment variables with the prefix "GST_" that are
           used by gstreamer are unset (since Flatpak 1.12.5).
    
           Flatpak also overrides the XDG environment variables to point
           sandboxed applications at their writable filesystem locations
           below ~/.var/app/$APPID/:
               XDG_DATA_HOME
               XDG_CONFIG_HOME
               XDG_CACHE_HOME
               XDG_STATE_HOME (since Flatpak 1.13)
    
           Apps can use the **--persist=.local/state** and
           **--unset-env=XDG_STATE_HOME** options to get a Flatpak
           1.13-compatible ~/.local/state on older versions of Flatpak.
    
           The host values of these variables are made available inside the
           sandbox via these HOST_-prefixed variables:
               HOST_XDG_DATA_HOME
               HOST_XDG_CONFIG_HOME
               HOST_XDG_CACHE_HOME
               HOST_XDG_STATE_HOME (since Flatpak 1.13)
    
           Flatpak sets the environment variable **FLATPAK_ID** to the
           application ID of the running app.
    
           Flatpak also bind-mounts as read-only the host's /etc/os-release
           (if available, or /usr/lib/os-release as a fallback) to
           /run/host/os-release in accordance with the **os-release**
           **specification******[1].
    
           If parental controls support is enabled, flatpak will check the
           current user’s parental controls settings, and will refuse to run
           an app if it is blocklisted for the current user.


## OPTIONS



           The following options are understood:
    
           **-h** , **--help**
               Show help options and exit.
    
           **-u** , **--user**
               Look for the application and runtime in per-user
               installations.
    
           **--system**
               Look for the application and runtime in the default
               system-wide installations.
    
           **--installation=NAME**
               Look for the application and runtime in the system-wide
               installation specified by NAME among those defined in
               /etc/flatpak/installations.d/. Using **--installation=default** is
               equivalent to using **--system**.
    
           **-v** , **--verbose**
               Print debug information during command processing.
    
           **--ostree-verbose**
               Print OSTree debug information during command processing.
    
           **--arch=ARCH**
               The architecture to run. See **flatpak --supported-arches** for
               architectures supported by the host.
    
           **--command=COMMAND**
               The command to run instead of the one listed in the
               application metadata.
    
           **--cwd=DIR**
               The directory to run the command in. Note that this must be a
               directory inside the sandbox.
    
           **--branch=BRANCH**
               The branch to use.
    
           **-d** , **--devel**
               Use the devel runtime that is specified in the application
               metadata instead of the regular runtime, and use a seccomp
               profile that is less likely to break development tools.
    
           **--runtime=RUNTIME**
               Use this runtime instead of the one that is specified in the
               application metadata. This is a full tuple, like for example
               org.freedesktop.Sdk/x86_64/1.2, but partial tuples are
               allowed. Any empty or missing parts are filled in with the
               corresponding values specified by the app.
    
           **--runtime-version=VERSION**
               Use this version of the runtime instead of the one that is
               specified in the application metadata. This overrides any
               version specified with the --runtime option.
    
           **--share=SUBSYSTEM**
               Share a subsystem with the host session. This overrides the
               Context section from the application metadata.  SUBSYSTEM must
               be one of: network, ipc. This option can be used multiple
               times.
    
           **--unshare=SUBSYSTEM**
               Don't share a subsystem with the host session. This overrides
               the Context section from the application metadata.  SUBSYSTEM
               must be one of: network, ipc. This option can be used multiple
               times.
    
           **--socket=SOCKET**
               Expose a well known socket to the application. This overrides
               to the Context section from the application metadata.  SOCKET
               must be one of: x11, wayland, fallback-x11, pulseaudio,
               system-bus, session-bus, ssh-auth, pcsc, cups, gpg-agent,
               inherit-wayland-socket. This option can be used multiple
               times.
    
           **--nosocket=SOCKET**
               Don't expose a well known socket to the application. This
               overrides to the Context section from the application
               metadata.  SOCKET must be one of: x11, wayland, fallback-x11,
               pulseaudio, system-bus, session-bus, ssh-auth, pcsc, cups,
               gpg-agent, inherit-wayland-socket. This option can be used
               multiple times.
    
           **--device=DEVICE**
               Expose a device to the application. This overrides to the
               Context section from the application metadata.  DEVICE must be
               one of: dri, usb, input, kvm, shm, all. This option can be
               used multiple times.
    
           **--nodevice=DEVICE**
               Don't expose a device to the application. This overrides to
               the Context section from the application metadata.  DEVICE
               must be one of: dri, usb, input, kvm, shm, all. This option
               can be used multiple times.
    
           **--allow=FEATURE**
               Allow access to a specific feature. This overrides to the
               Context section from the application metadata.  FEATURE must
               be one of: devel, multiarch, bluetooth. This option can be
               used multiple times.
    
               See flatpak-build-finish(1) for the meaning of the various
               features.
    
           **--disallow=FEATURE**
               Disallow access to a specific feature. This overrides to the
               Context section from the application metadata.  FEATURE must
               be one of: devel, multiarch, bluetooth. This option can be
               used multiple times.
    
           **--filesystem=FILESYSTEM**
               Allow the application access to a subset of the filesystem.
               This overrides to the Context section from the application
               metadata.  FILESYSTEM can be one of: home, host, host-os,
               host-etc, xdg-desktop, xdg-documents, xdg-download, xdg-music,
               xdg-pictures, xdg-public-share, xdg-templates, xdg-videos,
               xdg-run, xdg-config, xdg-cache, xdg-data, an absolute path, or
               a homedir-relative path like ~/dir or paths relative to the
               xdg dirs, like xdg-download/subdir. The optional :ro suffix
               indicates that the location will be read-only. The optional
               :create suffix indicates that the location will be read-write
               and created if it doesn't exist. This option can be used
               multiple times. See the "[Context] filesystems" list in
               flatpak-metadata(5) for details of the meanings of these
               filesystems.
    
           **--nofilesystem=FILESYSTEM**
               Undo the effect of a previous **--filesystem=** FILESYSTEM in the
               app's manifest and/or the overrides set up with
               flatpak-override(1). This overrides the Context section of the
               application metadata.  FILESYSTEM can take the same values as
               for **--filesystem** , but the :ro and :create suffixes are not
               used here. This option can be used multiple times.
    
               This option does not prevent access to a more narrowly-scoped
               **--filesystem**. For example, if an application has the
               equivalent of **--filesystem=xdg-config/MyApp** in its manifest or
               as a system-wide override, and flatpak override --user
               --nofilesystem=home as a per-user override, then it will be
               prevented from accessing most of the home directory, but it
               will still be allowed to access $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/MyApp.
    
               As a special case, **--nofilesystem=host:reset** will ignore all
               **--filesystem** permissions inherited from the app manifest or
               flatpak-override(1), in addition to having the behaviour of
               **--nofilesystem=host**.
    
           **--add-policy=SUBSYSTEM.KEY=VALUE**
               Add generic policy option. For example,
               "--add-policy=subsystem.key=v1 --add-policy=subsystem.key=v2"
               would map to this metadata:
    
                   [Policy subsystem]
                   key=v1;v2;
    
               This option can be used multiple times.
    
           **--remove-policy=SUBSYSTEM.KEY=VALUE**
               Remove generic policy option. This option can be used multiple
               times.
    
           **--usb=TYPE[:DATA]**
               Adds a USB device query to the application metadata. This
               allows device enumeration and usage by the USB portal.  TYPE
               must be one of: all, cls, dev, vnd.
    
               **all**
                   Match all devices.
    
               **cls**
                   A device class and subclass query.  DATA must be in the
                   form of CLASS:SUBCLASS where both CLASS and SUBCLASS must
                   be a valid 2-digit hexadecimal class id number.
                   Alternatively, SUBCLASS may be * to match all subclasses.
    
               **dev**
                   A device product id query.  DATA must be a valid 4-digit
                   hexadecimal product id number, for example **0a1b**. It
                   requires a **vnd** filter in the query.
    
               **vnd**
                   A device vendor id query.  DATA must be a valid 4-digit
                   hexadecimal vendor id number greater than zero, for
                   example **0fab**.
    
               It is possible to compose multiple device queries together
               with the + sign, for example **--usb=vnd:0123+dev:4567**. The dev
               filter requires a vnd. Available since 1.15.11.
    
           **--nousb=VENDOR_ID:PRODUCT_ID**
               Adds a blocking USB device query to the application metadata.
               Blocked devices take precedence over allowed devices. The
               syntax is exactly equal to **--usb**. Available since 1.15.11.
    
           **--env=VAR=VALUE**
               Set an environment variable in the application. This overrides
               to the Context section from the application metadata. This
               option can be used multiple times.
    
           **--unset-env=VAR**
               Unset an environment variable in the application. This
               overrides the unset-environment entry in the [Context] group
               of the metadata, and the [Environment] group. This option can
               be used multiple times.
    
           **--env-fd=**_FD_
               Read environment variables from the file descriptor _FD_ , and
               set them as if via **--env**. This can be used to avoid
               environment variables and their values becoming visible to
               other users.
    
               Each environment variable is in the form _VAR_ =_VALUE_ followed by
               a zero byte. This is the same format used by env -0 and
               /proc/*/environ.
    
           **--own-name=NAME**
               Allow the application to own the well known name NAME on the
               session bus. If NAME ends with .*, it allows the application
               to own all matching names. This overrides to the Context
               section from the application metadata. This option can be used
               multiple times.
    
           **--talk-name=NAME**
               Allow the application to talk to the well known name NAME on
               the session bus. If NAME ends with .*, it allows the
               application to talk to all matching names. This overrides to
               the Context section from the application metadata. This option
               can be used multiple times.
    
           **--no-talk-name=NAME**
               Don't allow the application to talk to the well known name
               NAME on the session bus. If NAME ends with .*, it allows the
               application to talk to all matching names. This overrides to
               the Context section from the application metadata. This option
               can be used multiple times.
    
           **--system-own-name=NAME**
               Allow the application to own the well known name NAME on the
               system bus. If NAME ends with .*, it allows the application to
               own all matching names. This overrides to the Context section
               from the application metadata. This option can be used
               multiple times.
    
           **--system-talk-name=NAME**
               Allow the application to talk to the well known name NAME on
               the system bus. If NAME ends with .*, it allows the
               application to talk to all matching names. This overrides to
               the Context section from the application metadata. This option
               can be used multiple times.
    
           **--system-no-talk-name=NAME**
               Don't allow the application to talk to the well known name
               NAME on the system bus. If NAME ends with .*, it allows the
               application to talk to all matching names. This overrides to
               the Context section from the application metadata. This option
               can be used multiple times.
    
           **--a11y-own-name=NAME**
               Allow the application to own the well known name NAME on the
               a11y bus. If NAME ends with .*, it allows the application to
               own all matching names. This overrides to the Context section
               from the application metadata. This option can be used
               multiple times.
    
           **--persist=FILENAME**
               If the application doesn't have access to the real homedir,
               make the (homedir-relative) path FILENAME a bind mount to the
               corresponding path in the per-application directory, allowing
               that location to be used for persistent data. This overrides
               to the Context section from the application metadata. This
               option can be used multiple times.
    
           **--no-session-bus**
               Run this instance without the filtered access to the session
               dbus connection. Note, this is the default when run with
               --sandbox.
    
           **--session-bus**
               Allow filtered access to the session dbus connection. This is
               the default, except when run with --sandbox.
    
               In sandbox mode, even if you allow access to the session bus
               the sandbox cannot talk to or own the application ids
               (org.the.App.*) on the bus (unless explicitly added), only
               names in the .Sandboxed subset (org.the.App.Sandboxed.* and
               org.mpris.MediaPlayer2.org.the.App.Sandboxed.*).
    
           **--no-a11y-bus**
               Run this instance without the access to the accessibility bus.
               Note, this is the default when run with --sandbox.
    
           **--a11y-bus**
               Allow access to the accessibility bus. This is the default,
               except when run with --sandbox.
    
           **--sandbox**
               Run the application in sandboxed mode, which means dropping
               all the extra permissions it would otherwise have, as well as
               access to the session/system/a11y busses and document portal.
    
           **--log-session-bus**
               Log session bus traffic. This can be useful to see what access
               you need to allow in your D-Bus policy.
    
           **--log-system-bus**
               Log system bus traffic. This can be useful to see what access
               you need to allow in your D-Bus policy.
    
           **-p** , **--die-with-parent**
               Kill the entire sandbox when the launching process dies.
    
           **--parent-pid=PID**
               Specifies the pid of the "parent" flatpak, used by
               --parent-expose-pids and --parent-share-pids.
    
           **--parent-expose-pids**
               Make the processes of the new sandbox visible in the sandbox
               of the parent flatpak, as defined by --parent-pid.
    
           **--parent-share-pids**
               Use the same process ID namespace for the processes of the new
               sandbox and the sandbox of the parent flatpak, as defined by
               --parent-pid. Implies --parent-expose-pids.
    
           **--instance-id-fd**
               Write the instance ID string to the given file descriptor.
    
           **--file-forwarding**
               If this option is specified, the remaining arguments are
               scanned, and all arguments that are enclosed between a pair of
               '@@' arguments are interpreted as file paths, exported in the
               document store, and passed to the command in the form of the
               resulting document path. Arguments between "@@u" and "@@" are
               considered URIs, and any "file:" URIs are exported. The
               exports are non-persistent and with read and write permissions
               for the application.
    
           **--app-path=**_PATH_
               Instead of mounting the app's content on /app in the sandbox,
               mount _PATH_ on /app, and the app's content on /run/parent/app.
               If the app has extensions, they will also be redirected into
               /run/parent/app, and will not be included in the
               **LD_LIBRARY_PATH** inside the sandbox.
    
           **--app-path=**
               As a special case, **--app-path=**(with an empty _PATH_) results in
               an empty directory being mounted on /app.
    
           **--usr-path=**_PATH_
               Instead of mounting the runtime's files on /usr in the
               sandbox, mount _PATH_ on /usr, and the runtime's normal files on
               /run/parent/usr. If the runtime has extensions, they will also
               be redirected into /run/parent/usr, and will not be included
               in the **LD_LIBRARY_PATH** inside the sandbox.
    
               This option will usually only be useful if it is combined with
               **--app-path=** and **--env=LD_LIBRARY_PATH=**_..._.
    


## EXAMPLES



           **$ flatpak run org.gnome.gedit**
    
           **$ flatpak run --devel --command=bash org.gnome.Builder**
    
           **$ flatpak run --command=bash org.gnome.Sdk**
    
           **$ flatpak run org.gnome.Boxes --nousb=0fd9:***
    


## NOTES



            1. os-release specification
               https://www.freedesktop.org/software/systemd/man/os-release.html
    


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