Filename extension |
.AppImage |
---|---|
Magic number | 41 49 02 (3 bytes hexadecimal from offset 8) |
Developed by | Simon Peter |
Initial release | 2004 |
Latest release | V13. December 31, 2020 |
Container for | Software installation |
Open format? | Yes |
Free format? | Yes |
Website | appimage |
AppImage (formerly known as klik and PortableLinuxApps) is an open-source format for distributing portable software on Linux. It aims to allow the installation of binary software independently of specific Linux distributions, a concept often referred to as upstream packaging. As a result, one AppImage can be installed and run across Ubuntu, Arch Linux, and Red Hat Enterprise Linux without needing to use different files. It aims to be a format that is self-contained, rootless, and independent of the underlying Linux distribution.[1]
Released first in 2004 under the name klik, it was continuously developed, then renamed in 2011 to PortableLinuxApps and later in 2013 to AppImage. Version 2 was released in 2016.