The Application not found error may occur in Flatpak on your Linux system for a variety of reasons. This typically happens when the application you are trying to open is not actually installed, or if the installation has been damaged through moving system files or some other means. In this tutorial, we will look at several ways to troubleshoot the Application not found error in Flatpak.
In this tutorial you will learn:
- How to list installed apps on Flatpak
- How to install a Flatpak app
- How to update installed Flatpak apps
- How to reinstall a Flatpak application
- How to reinstall Flatpak
| Category | Requirements, Conventions or Software Version Used |
|---|---|
| System | Any Linux distro |
| Software | Flatpak package manager |
| Other | Privileged access to your Linux system as root or via the sudo command. |
| Conventions |
# – requires given linux commands to be executed with root privileges either directly as a root user or by use of sudo command$ – requires given linux commands to be executed as a regular non-privileged user |
Troubleshooting the Application not found error in Flatpak
Run through the step by step instructions below for help in resolving the
Application not found error in Flatpak. Since there could be multiple causes for the error, we will go through several troubleshooting methods. One of them should definitely work for you.
- First, if receiving the
Application not founderror, ensure that the app you are trying to launch is actually installed. Also make sure that you are typing the name of it correctly – even if you misspell it by one character, Flatpak will not know which app you are trying to open, and give the error. Type the following command to see what Flatpak apps you have installed:$ flatpak list
List of Flatpak apps that are currently installed - If you do not see the application that you were looking for, that means it is not installed. Search for it in your configured repos and then install it:
$ flatpak search [app name]
And…
$ sudo flatpak install [repo] [app name] for example: $ sudo flatpak install flathub org.gimp.GIMP
- If you do see the application listed, but it is not launching, try updating it (and all other installed Flatpak apps):
$ sudo flatpak update
- If it is still not working, you can try reinstalling the application. As an example, we will uninstall the GIMP application in Flatpak, and then reinstall it from the FlatHub repository:
$ sudo flatpak remove org.gimp.GIMP $ sudo flatpak install flathub org.gimp.GIMP
- If you are still receiving the
Application not founderror in Flatpak when trying to launch one or more applications, then this could indicate an issue with your Flatpak installation itself. At this point, it is recommended to uninstall Flatpak completely, and then reinstall it.
To reinstall Flatpak on Debian, Ubuntu, Mint, etc.:$ sudo apt install --reinstall flatpak
To reinstall Flatpak on CentOS, Fedora, Alma, Rocky, etc.:
$ sudo dnf install --reinstall flatpak
To reinstall Flatpak on Arch Linux and Manjaro:
$ sudo pacman -Sy flatpak
Closing Thoughts
In this tutorial, we saw how to troubleshoot the Application not found error in Flatpak on a Linux system. Most times, this is just a generic message that users receive when trying to launch an application that is not currently installed, or when fat fingering an application name. It is an easy fix in most cases, but in rare instances could indicate a problem with the app installation or with Flatpak itself, in which case it is recommended to reinstall the application, and as a last resort, Flatpak itself.
