How to copy files in $HOME/.var/app/org.flatpak.AppName/data/custom/directory?

1

Hello,
here is my current manifest

{
    "app-id": "org.flatpak.AppName",
    "runtime": "org.kde.Platform",
    "runtime-version": "5.15-21.08",
    "sdk": "org.kde.Sdk",
    "base": "io.qt.qtwebengine.BaseApp",
    "base-version": "5.15-21.08",
    "command": "AppName",
    "finish-args": [
        "--share=ipc",
        "--share=network",
        "--socket=fallback-x11",
        "--socket=wayland",
        "--filesystem=host",
        "--device=dri",
	"--env=QTWEBENGINEPROCESS_PATH=/app/bin/QtWebEngineProcess"
    ],
    "cleanup-commands": [
	"/app/cleanup-BaseApp.sh"
    ],
    "modules": [
        {
            "name": "AppName",
            "buildsystem": "cmake",
            "builddir": true,
            "config-opts": [
	        "-DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=RelWithDebInfo",
	        "-DFLATPAK=ON"
	    ],
            "sources": [
                {
                    "type": "dir",
                    "path": "../"
                }
	    ],    
	    "post-install": [
                "install -p -D -m 0644 ../config/config.ini -t ${FLATPAK_DEST}/data/custom/directory/"
	    ]
	}
    ]
}

In CMakeLists.txt, I have written this

if(FLATPAK)
    install(FILES ${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/config/config.ini DESTINATION ${CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX}/data/custom/directory/)
endif()

Doing so, I would expect that config.ini is copied in $HOME/.var/app/org.flatpak.AppName/data/custom/directory but it is not.

I have created a bundle with these commands:

flatpak-builder build-dir org.flatpak.AppName
flatpak-builder --user --install --subject="Build of AppName software `date`" --force-clean build-dir org.flatpak.AppName
flatpak-builder --repo=repo --force-clean build-dir org.flatpak.AppName
flatpak build-bundle repo/ AppName.flatpak org.flatpak.AppName

When I install the bundle, config.ini is copied in $HOME/.local/share/flatpak/app/org.flatpak.AppName/x86_64/master/ee3755700b7b6209c1df9046af78c3c61ce1c39b2d009d6c8c870a2c6fd2905a/files/data/custom/directory/ while I want it to be in $HOME/.var/app/org.flatpak.AppName/data/custom/directory/.

I’m going round in circles, so thanks in advance to those who have an idea of what’s wrong.

2

Given the build is run on builder, what do you expect happens by copying files into $HOME?

My guess, not what you think it does.

3

Indeed, it does not do what I want it to do.

What I understand from your reply is I should not put these lines in CMakeLists.txt and manage copy only in the manifest, right? If so, what should I write in the manifest?

4

No. In neither case. There is no difference. Actually there is one. With flatpak it will fail on our machine as well.

5

Ouch, I am lost. So probably I am not looking for the good direction. The question is how can I copy data in HOME/.var/app/org.flatpak.AppName/data/custom/directory? What should I write and where?

6

You can’t do that anywhere in the build process. If you app expect this then your app is broken by design.

7

Hmmm, actually I use Qt and its QStandardPaths class (QStandardPaths::writableLocation(QStandardPaths::AppDataLocation)) to set directory. As far as I understand, it uses XDG standard.
So when I do not use Flatpak, my file is located in $HOME/.local/share/AppName. It works well.

Now I understood that I cannot write in $HOME/.local/share with Flatpak so I thought Flatpak could write into $HOME/.var/app/org.flatpak.AppName.

But you are telling me that it is not possible…

8

At runtime there is nothing to do, Qt will deal with it properly.

But all your question was about build time (CMake or flatpak manifest). If you application requires a file to be installed there, it’s broken. It’s not even flatpak specific.

9

A few words on how my app works.

When it starts, it reads a configuration file that is located in $HOME/.local/share/AppName. The application needs this configuration file to work properly. So my idea was to include this configuration file in the flatpak package so that the application can use it.

I think is very common to do so, so I would like to know how to do it with Flatpak.

10

no it’s not. It’s a bug. Again it’s not even a flatpak issue.

11

I am really surprised. How would you design an application that needs to read a configuration file at startup?

I am thinking that my configuration file is actually very similar to an icon image. A lot of software needs to load an image to then display it as an icon. So, the icon image is packed with Flatpak.

12

icons don’t get installed in the user home directory either.

13

So the question becomes, where icons are installed and is it possible to set a custom directory for the icons location?