BifrOSt Apps

First-party, sandboxed desktop applications for the BifrOSt operating system.

This repository owns application source, Flatpak manifests, application metadata, translations, tests, and unsigned release candidates. The operating-system repository owns the Update Assistant, embedded trust root, signed Flatpak catalog, signing policy, and publication tooling.

Current status

This repository currently contains the generator and validated application template only. No end-user application exists under apps/, and no application from this repository has been signed or published to the production BifrOSt catalog. The Update Assistant therefore has no application to offer at this revision.

org.bifrost.TemplateCheck is generated temporarily by tests and CI to validate metadata, build the stable Flatpak ref, and produce a disposable candidate bundle. It is not committed as an application and must never be submitted to the trusted catalog.

Create an application

Generate a complete Python, GTK 4, and Libadwaita application on the GNOME 50 Flatpak runtime:

python3 scripts/new-app.py \
  org.bifrost.Notes \
  "BifrOSt Notes" \
  --name-is "BifrOSt-glósur" \
  --summary "Write focused local notes" \
  --summary-is "Skrifaðu hnitmiðaðar staðbundnar glósur" \
  --description "Create, organize, and search local notes in a focused desktop application designed for BifrOSt." \
  --description-is "Búðu til, skipuleggðu og leitaðu í staðbundnum glósum með hnitmiðuðu BifrOSt-forriti."

The default destination is apps/notes/. The generated application is runnable rather than an empty scaffold. Before release, replace its generic icon and status page with the application's real workflow.

The generator establishes these invariants:

• an org.bifrost.<PascalCaseName> application ID;
• matching executable, desktop, icon, AppStream, and gettext identities;
• English and Icelandic desktop and AppStream metadata;
• a stable Flatpak branch on the GNOME 50 runtime;
• Wayland, fallback X11, and GPU access without home-directory or network access;
• a local MIT project license and CC0 AppStream metadata license.

Validate and build

Run the generator contract tests:

python3 -m unittest discover -s tests -v

For a generated application:

desktop-file-validate apps/notes/data/org.bifrost.Notes.desktop
appstreamcli validate --no-net apps/notes/data/org.bifrost.Notes.metainfo.xml
flatpak-builder --user --install-deps-from=flathub --force-clean \
  --default-branch=stable build/notes apps/notes/org.bifrost.Notes.yml

Install and launch only from a local test repository or bundle. Do not point development builds at the trusted production catalog.

Release boundary

Application CI may produce an unsigned .flatpak candidate plus its SHA-256 digest, source revision, manifest, and build log. It must not possess the BifrOSt application-release private key or publish to the trusted catalog.

After review, a release operator uses dispatch-app-release.py in the operating-system repository. That command stages the candidate, restricts refs to org.bifrost.*, signs commits and repository metadata, and publishes the catalog consumed by BifrOSt Update Assistant.

See the operating-system repository's application update documentation for the signing and publication command.

What belongs here

Keep independently installable, sandboxed end-user applications here. Keep the installer, Update Assistant, maintenance utility, welcome utility, privileged helpers, OS configuration, signing keys, and catalog publication code in olibuijr/BifrOSt.

Start applications under apps/. Split one into its own repository only when it has a genuinely independent release cadence, contributor group, or access policy.

License

Application code and the generator are released under the MIT License. Generated AppStream metadata declares CC0-1.0 so software catalogs may redistribute it.