The following installation methods are considered unsupported. In this context, "unsupported" means, that we do not guarantee functionality, or a satisfactory user experience. If you choose to use any of these methods to install software on Kalpa, and encounter issues, you will be responsible for resolving them. Developers will close any bugs on systems using these unsupported methods as WONTFIX

OBS Package Installer (opi)

opi is a command-line tool used to search and install software from build.opensuse.org and other sources as RPM packages into the base system. As Kalpa is an immutable and streamlined desktop operating system, modifying the base OS is generally discouraged. Additionally, using opi can expose users to security risks, as it may lead to the installation of broken, untested, or even malicious software. Therefore, we do not recommend using opi.

Packman

Packman is a third-party RPM repository traditionally used on Leap or Tumbleweed to provide additional proprietary multimedia codes. Kalpa primarily utilizes Flatpaks, which include the necessary multimedia codecs within their runtimes. As such, Packman is unnecessary on Kalpa. However, it may be useful in a distrobox for certain multimedia applications and workloads that are not available via Flatpak.

Nix

Nix is the package manager for NixOS, typically usable on any Linux distribution. However, it requires a hardcoded /nix/store path, which is incompatible with Kalpa's read-only filesystem. As a result, Nix has not been tested on Kalpa and is unlikely to function properly.

Kalpa includes distrobox, allowing you to create isolated environments where you can install multiple package versions side by side. This approach provides dedicated development environments without the complications of supporting another installation method, which would increase maintenance efforts for a limited user base.

Snapcraft

Snapcraft, or snaps, is a containerization and sandboxing software format developed by Canonical, primarily for Ubuntu. It requires AppAmor (with additional patches) for it's sandboxing and security features to function. Since Kalpa uses SELinux instead of AppArmor, and Tumbleweed does not ship AppArmor with the necessary patches, snaps are not supported. You may have some luck running snaps from a SystemD enabled distrobox but this is not guaranteed to work.

AppImage

AppImage is often marketed as a portable format that allows software to run on any Linux distribution. However, this claim is misleading. While AppImages include many of their dependencies, they do not contain all of them, which can lead to compatibility issues. Supporting AppImages would require adding numerous unnecessary libraries, and even then, not all AppImages would work.

Many AppImages rely on X11 libraries, while Kalpa is designed for Wayland, making legacy support undesirable. Additionally, supporting outdated AppImages that depend on older libraries could introduce security vulnerabilities.

If you need to use AppImages on Kalpa, we recommend running them in a distrobox container. This allows you to manage dependencies easily and keeps your main environment secure. You can also set up a KDE service menu in Dolphin to run AppImages directly from the file browser within the container.