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

The first real application, org.bifrost.Ruv, is committed as source for review and development. It is a Rust and libcosmic television application for RÚV news, schedules, search, video on demand, and live RÚV and RÚV 2 playback. Source availability is not publication: no application from this repository has yet been signed or published to the production BifrOSt catalog, so the Update Assistant does not offer RÚV at this revision.

org.bifrost.TemplateCheck is still generated temporarily by tests and CI to validate the shared Python/GTK template. It is not a product or release candidate 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 intentionally remains the conservative Python, GTK 4, and Libadwaita default. RÚV is a product-specific exception built in Rust 2024 with current libcosmic because its television interface and embedded GStreamer-backed playback need a native COSMIC rendering stack. Do not copy that exception into the shared generator or create a second template until another real application establishes the same need.

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

Validate the committed RÚV application separately:

cargo test --locked --manifest-path apps/ruv/Cargo.toml
desktop-file-validate apps/ruv/data/org.bifrost.Ruv.desktop
appstreamcli validate --no-net apps/ruv/data/org.bifrost.Ruv.metainfo.xml
flatpak-builder --user --install-deps-from=flathub --force-clean \
  --default-branch=stable build/ruv apps/ruv/org.bifrost.Ruv.yml

RÚV commits both Cargo.lock and the Flatpak Cargo source manifest so its Flatpak build can run cargo --offline --locked. After an intentional dependency update, regenerate and review them together:

cargo generate-lockfile --manifest-path apps/ruv/Cargo.toml
python3 /path/to/flatpak-builder-tools/cargo/flatpak-cargo-generator.py \
  apps/ruv/Cargo.lock -o apps/ruv/cargo-sources.json
cargo test --locked --manifest-path apps/ruv/Cargo.toml

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.