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External Application Manager

This is the English landing page for the GitHub repository. If you need a different language, you can use the following files:

External Application Manager is a PySide6-based GUI application for Debian/Ubuntu-based Linux systems that lets you view, launch, update, remove installed applications, import AppImage files, and manage autostart entries — all from a single place.

The application recognizes APT, Snap, Flatpak, AppImage, and manually installed applications as separate sources. The interface adapts to Linux desktop environments, automatically applies light and dark themes, and is tuned for crisp rendering on High-DPI displays.

Key Features

  • View installed applications grouped by APT, Snap, Flatpak, AppImage, and manually installed sources
  • Search applications by name and filter by source
  • Display application details such as version, size, source, and installation date
  • Safely launch, update, and remove applications
  • Import .AppImage files, make them executable, and create desktop launchers
  • Manage applications that start automatically on boot
  • Show a brief summary of system boot time and services that take the longest to start
  • Selectively clean APT cache, orphaned dependencies, leftover Flatpak runtimes, and log files
  • Display errors and warnings in a dedicated tab
  • Background workers and UI animations for scanning, updating, and cleaning processes
  • Clear text, icons, and scaling settings for High-DPI displays

Interface Tabs

Applications

This section shows installed applications in a unified list. It includes a search field, a source filter, and an application count indicator. Each application row shows its name, a source badge, and action buttons.

Autostart

This section manages applications that open automatically when the computer starts. User-level and system-level autostart entries are read. System entries are never modified directly; if needed, the user manages them through an override file.

Cleanup

This section helps selectively clean cache and residual files that accumulate over time. The cleanup process is shown in a terminal-style panel.

Errors

Issues that occur during scanning, updating, removing, or cleaning are collected in this section. It helps the user quickly understand which source or command caused a problem.

System Requirements

  • Debian 12+ or Ubuntu 22.04+ based desktop Linux
  • Python 3.10 or newer
  • pkexec and polkit
  • PySide6
  • Optional: snapd
  • Optional: flatpak
  • Optional: systemd-analyze

Installation

Clone from GitHub:

git https://github.com/drowgone/debian-app-manager.git
cd debian-app-manager

Create a virtual environment:

python3 -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate

Install dependencies:

pip install -r requirements.txt

Running the Application

python main.py

To add it to the desktop menu:

./install.sh

install.sh creates a .desktop file for the current user and allows launching the application from the desktop menu.

Running Tests

Install development dependencies:

pip install -r requirements-dev.txt

Run tests:

pytest tests/ -v

Short output:

pytest tests/ -q

Current test status:

87 passed

Pushing to GitHub

The project is ready for GitHub: .gitignore, LICENSE, README, and tests are included. After creating a new GitHub repository, simply run:

git remote add origin https://github.com/<username>/debian-app-manager.git
git push -u origin main

If the remote has already been added:

git remote set-url origin https://github.com/<username>/debian-app-manager.git
git push -u origin main

Project Structure

debian-app-manager/
├── main.py
├── install.sh
├── requirements.txt
├── requirements-dev.txt
├── README.md
├── LICENSE
├── core/
│   ├── appimage_manager.py
│   ├── autostart.py
│   ├── cleaner.py
│   ├── desktop_parser.py
│   ├── installer.py
│   ├── launcher.py
│   ├── remover.py
│   ├── scanner.py
│   └── updater.py
├── gui/
│   ├── animations.py
│   ├── app_detail_dialog.py
│   ├── clean_worker.py
│   ├── layout_helpers.py
│   ├── main_window.py
│   ├── scan_worker.py
│   ├── theme.py
│   └── widgets.py
└── tests/
    ├── test_appimage.py
    ├── test_autostart.py
    ├── test_installer.py
    ├── test_remover.py
    ├── test_scanner.py
    └── test_updater.py

Key Modules

  • core/scanner.py — collects installed applications from various sources
  • core/remover.py — safely removes applications depending on their source
  • core/updater.py — manages APT, Snap, and Flatpak update operations
  • core/autostart.py — reads and modifies autostart entries
  • core/appimage_manager.py — handles AppImage import and removal
  • core/cleaner.py — prepares system cleanup commands
  • gui/main_window.py — builds the main PySide6 window and tabs
  • gui/theme.py — provides colors, fonts, High-DPI, and stylesheet settings
  • gui/layout_helpers.py — stores reusable UI layout components

Security Approach

The application is designed to perform system-affecting operations carefully.

  • Subprocess calls are executed with shell=False
  • Operations requiring root privileges are performed via pkexec
  • sudo is never used directly
  • System autostart files are never modified directly
  • Automatic deletion of files in system directories is restricted
  • Symlink and real path checks are applied
  • A confirmation dialog is shown before dangerous operations such as removal or cleanup

Troubleshooting

PySide6 not found

Make sure the virtual environment is active:

source venv/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt

pkexec doesn't work

Check that polkit is installed:

pkexec --version

A polkit authentication agent must be running in the desktop session.

Snap or Flatpak applications don't appear

Check that the corresponding service or CLI is installed:

snap version
flatpak --version

If these tools are not installed, the application continues to work with the remaining sources.

Application doesn't appear in the desktop menu

Re-run install.sh:

./install.sh

You may then need to reload the desktop environment or log out and log back in.

Development

Activate the virtual environment before making code changes:

source venv/bin/activate

Quick syntax check:

python -m py_compile main.py gui/main_window.py gui/theme.py

Full test run:

pytest tests/ -q

Roadmap

  • Add UI screenshots
  • Prepare a .deb package
  • Further enhance the AppImage import process
  • Expand update checking to more sources
  • Extract localization files into a separate format

Contributing

Pull requests and suggestions are welcome. Run the tests before submitting changes, and pay special attention when reviewing code that touches sensitive system operations.

License

This project is distributed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.