Run AppImages in Portable Mode

[cadric]

Feature Request:
I learned a neat new thing about AppImages today. They can run in portable mode. I like that, because it makes it easier to know where an app keeps its /config and store data it uses. I would like Gearlever to take advanges of this and let the user use this with ease when installing by having Gearlever making the needed folders when "installing" this appimage if they chooses to.

How:
If you create a directory named appimagefilename.home in the same directory as the appimage file, it'll treat it as the home directory.

E.g. EmulationStation-DE-x64.AppImage.home

Same applies to config, you can create a directory named something like EmulationStation-DE-x64.AppImage.config

Docs:
https://docs.appimage.org/user-guide/portable-mode.html

[mijorus]

Hi @cadric ,
Yes, I was aware of this feature.

However, there is a little problem; it's in the first line of the documentation.

It says "some newer appimages", with no instructions on how to differentiate them, so I can't design a good UX around that.

Also, the way it works doesn't always guarantee the perfect isolation.

It's just basically replacing home and .config variables, not paths like flatpak does for example.

An app that has been coded not to use those two variables, will still be able to write content in the user's home directory.

I might consider adding this feature in the future though, thanks for the suggestion

[cadric]

Fair enough. I just tried it with the 4 appimages I use after I did a reinstall of my system and liked it, because it made finding and moving config's from the apps so much easier. I hope you you will consider adding a small checkbox in future just for convenience when using gearlever to manage apps, maybe with a warning that it might not work.

In the meantime I will just make the folders myself. :)

[mijorus]

Yes, 'm going to dig a little bit deeper to see if I can find something to differentiate appimages