Flathub/flatpak Nvidia installs when installing something else

Ask Fedora
, ,
1

Hello,

I am looking to install Spotify and others from flathub. I have enabled the full flathub remote and am ready to install. I have a second discrete Nvidia card and have installed the drivers from rpmfusion.
However, when doing flatpak install flathub com.spotify.Client , I am presented with a list of requirements to be installed.

  1. org.freedesktop.Platform.GL.default          22.08         i    flathub   

  2. org.freedesktop.Platform.GL.default          22.08-extra  

  3. org.freedesktop.Platform.GL.nvidia-535-98    1.4           i    flathub   

  4. org.freedesktop.Platform.Locale              22.08         i    flathub   

  5. org.freedesktop.Platform.VAAPI.Intel         22.08         i    flathub  

  6. org.freedesktop.Platform.openh264            2.2.0         i    flathub  

  7. org.freedesktop.Platform                     22.08         i    flathub   < 211.6 MB

I am wondering what org.freedesktop.Platform.GL.nvidia-535-98 is ??
Will this install a new nvidia driver for me?
Will this create conflcts with the nvidia driver that I have already installed?

thank you,

2

Ok full disclosure -this is from ChatGPT
org.freedesktop.Platform.GL.nvidia is a Flatpak runtime extension that provides NVIDIA drivers for Flatpak applications that require hardware-accelerated graphics. It is maintained by the Flathub community on GitHub1. This extension is necessary for Flatpak applications that use OpenGL or Vulkan graphics APIs and need to access the NVIDIA graphics hardware on the host system. The extension is updated regularly to provide the latest stable NVIDIA drivers.

3

I appreciate your response Dave,
but my questions remain.

Why do I need an extra driver or “runtime extension” (I don’t know what that means) for flatpak apps?
Why would Spotify require an nvidia driver? My laptop’s main card is my integrated Intel card, which is what the normal desktop interface is using. The discrete card, afaik is only used by games or other apps that are set up to use it.

Will this create conflicts with my existing installed driver from rpmfusion?

thanks,

4

It needs the nvidia piece because
A. The dGPU is there and the flatpac needs that driver for anyone who may desire to use the nvidia gpu. Many do even if you personally do not
B. As with most software, when a driver is missing strange things may occur.

Take it as a given that to avoid problems the user needs to allow the software to configure itself as required (including install all dependencies for the app). That org.freedesktop.Platform.GL.nvidia-535-98 requirement is necessary for the spotify app to install properly and to function.

No, it will not conflict with the installed driver. It supplements the driver and allows flathub apps to properly communicate with the gpu when needed.

5

Thank you Jeff V!

6

Thank you Jeff V.
I will proceed to installation then.