Appimo

Linux guide

How to download Linux apps safely

A short checklist for installing Linux software — AppImage, Flatpak or Snap — without picking up something you didn't want.

By the Appimo team ·

Linux is hard to attack through drive-by installers, but you still want software from a source you trust. These habits keep you safe.

  1. Get apps from the project's official release page — that's where every button here goes — not a random mirror.
  2. For an AppImage, make it executable and run it; only run files from projects you recognise.
  3. If a project publishes a SHA-256 checksum, verify your download matches it.
  4. For extra isolation, prefer the Flatpak or Snap build of an app, which run sandboxed.

Verify a checksum

On any Linux system, check a download's SHA-256 with one command and compare it to the value on the release page:

sha256sum ~/Downloads/App-x86_64.AppImage