NX AppHub is not a store or package manager; it is a software manufacturing system for users. It forms the foundation of Nitrux’s user-level software management, employing a reproducible, declarative, and rootless model tailored to the distribution’s immutable architecture.
An AppBox is an architectural policy that dictates how an application component interacts with a specific, immutable host system, i.e., as an extension of the Nitrux root filesystem. AppBoxes use the AppImage format as a runtime and filesystem container (AppDir model). However, they intentionally do not follow the upstream portability-oriented best-practice profile (old-base build target, cross-distro universality, etc.).
Operationally, in the NX AppHub ecosystem, a file is considered an AppBox only when all of the following are true:
- Sourced from a curated YAML definition in NX AppHub Apps.
- That YAML targets the same Nitrux packaging baseline, rather than an arbitrary downgrade baseline for cross-distro universality.
- It uses trusted distribution repositories allowed by project policy (no third-party PPAs in curated definitions).
- It follows the AppBox runtime/sandbox policy documented for curated submissions.
Features
- Local, Deterministic Builds: NX AppHub CLI builds the AppBoxes locally using curated YAML recipes. It does not download pre-compiled AppImages. Instead, it pulls verifiable
.debpackages from trusted upstream repositories (Debian, Ubuntu, Devuan, Neon, and Nitrux). It assembles them into a self-contained binary, which ensures a verifiable chain of trust: you know exactly what is inside the box because your system built it. - Declarative Management: We define applications by code (YAML) in the NX AppHub Apps repository. The system state is predictable because the recipe dictates the result.
- FUSE 3 and Sandboxing: All AppBoxes are built for modern FUSE 3 runtimes and enforce sandboxing by default. They leverage Firejail, AppArmor, or Bubblewrap to isolate the application from the host system, ensuring that user-space software cannot compromise the immutable core.
- System Integration: The NX AppHub Daemon watches the applications directory. When a new AppBox is built or installed, the daemon automatically integrates it into the desktop environment (menus, icons, and MIME type associations) without requiring root access or manual configuration.
- Lifecycle Management: AppBoxes intentionally do not support internal self-updates (e.g., AppImageUpdate). Instead, updates are handled centrally by the CLI, which “re-bakes” the AppBox using the latest upstream packages defined in the YAML recipe.
- Flexibility: Allows users to create custom local bundle builds.
- 64-bit Multi-Arch. Support: NX AppHub CLI supports creating bundles for x86_64 and aarch64 (ARM).
Usage
Run from the terminal:
nx-apphub-cli
Commands
Commands Description
install Install one or more applications.
remove Remove one or more installed applications.
update Update one or more installed applications.
downgrade Downgrade one or more installed applications.
--backup Non-interactive backup selection.
search Search for specific applications.
show Show installed applications.
build Build a bundle from a local YAML file.
--appdir-lint Optionally debug missing shared libraries in a bundle.
generate Generate YAML template from package metadata.
--package Specify package name.
--distro Choose the distribution from which to get metadata.
--release The release of the selected distribution.
--arch Specify the target architecture.
--output The file name of the generated YAML file.
--description-output The file name of the generated metadata file.
Options
Options Description -h, --help show this help message and exit
Documentation
NX Apphub Wiki: https://github.com/Nitrux/nx-apphub/wiki
NX AppHub Apps Wiki: https://github.com/Nitrux/nx-apphub-apps/wiki
NX Apphub Daemon Wiki: https://github.com/Nitrux/nx-apphubd/wiki