Darktable 5.6 -linux mint , flatpak update , no AI option

[rmishra (Raghu)]

I do not see AI option in darktable 5.6 updated today from flatpak on a linux mint machine. Any help would be highly appreciated.

[g-man]

You need to reach out to the maintainer of the flatpaks to build the flatpaks with the AI features.

[vbs (Bojidar Bojkov)]

@rmishra

I do not see AI option in darktable 5.6 updated today from flatpak on a linux mint machine. Any help would be highly appreciated.

Just upgraded same here.

@g-man

You need to reach out to the maintainer of the flatpaks to build the flatpaks with the AI features.

@paperdigits - if I am not mistaken you were creating the flatpak. Would you be able to include AI please? Or is there a particular reason that it is not included?

[julibito]

I’ve the same problem in the same environment.
I will wait for an update of this flatpak

[paperdigits (Mica)]

@vbs

@paperdigits - if I am not mistaken you were creating the flatpak.

Sorry I am no longer contributing to darktable.

[vbs (Bojidar Bojkov)]

@paperdigits

Sorry I am no longer contributing to darktable.

I am sorry to hear that. Did you happen to know who maintains the flatpak?

[g-man]

Start an issue here: Issues · flathub/org.darktable.Darktable · GitHub

[vbs (Bojidar Bojkov)]

Just opened one

5.6.0 - no AI in the Flatpak version

There is a previous question related to documents but no answer on it.

working on darktable docs: will flatpak enable AI features?

[Phil_Smith]

It looks like AI is excluded as part of a policy decision: 5.6.0 - no AI in the Flatpak version · Issue #241 · flathub/org.darktable.Darktable · GitHub

If the omission of the AI features was a policy decision and not a simple omission

I’m going to move to the AppImage as I would like to use the AI features.

[g-man]

@Phil_Smith

policy decision:

Where is this policy statement?

[DaveNJ]

I don’t see anywhere mentioning the exclusion was a policy decision. That is something I might expect from certain distros but not flatpaks.

[mino]

@hub seems to be the one who did the version bump on the repo. Maybe he can chime in ?

[Bert (Bert Blockx)]

darktable 5.6.0 released

An alternative way to install darktable on Ubuntu systems is using a PPA (Personal Package Archive)… PPA’s can be dangerous if you don’t know who provides it. The owner of this website https://ubuntuhandbook.org/ has a PPA for darktable for years. (UbuntuHandbook | Ubuntu PPAs) I used it years ago when I was on Lubuntu. After using Linux Manjaro for a few years I’m on Linux Mint and was pleased that I could use his PPA’s for darktable and Gimp. I got the update to darktable 5.6 yesterday. d…

[DaveNJ]

Unless I mistaken (new to these forums, getting use to the layout), he hasn’t been seen here since Aug 2025.

[julibito]

It’s a shame to receive this information. I’m concerned that AI won’t be available within the Flatpak.
I’m not a Linux specialist, which is why I have these questions:
Is it advisable to switch to a ppa with dt, or is it better to implement the application as a system package? Are there any experiences or guidelines on how to do this and how to transfer settings, databases, etc.?

[Bert (Bert Blockx)]

You can think of a PPA as an extra place where the software manager of Linux mint (or Ubuntu) can look for a program.
As this is not the official Linux Mint version or an official PPA from the darktable developers you should be carefull about the origin.

PPA in Ubuntu Linux [Definitive Guide]

[mino]

For ease of setup I’d recommend simply using the Appimage.

[julibito]

Can you recommend this? What limitations do you have, especially regarding dt.
And how to transfer the settings, databases etc.?

[mino]

@julibito

Can you recommend this? What limitations do you have, especially regarding dt.
And how to transfer the settings, databases etc.?

Yeah I do recommend it. After all it is the primary method of installation for Linux listed at darktab.org :-). There are no limitations per se*.

If you have been using the flatpak before I would recommend starting the AppImage once to generate the .config directory. Then you can simply move the whole contents of the configuration directory over from the flatpak location to the location the AppImage defaults to:

Flatpak: $HOME/.var/app/org.darktable.Darktable/config/darktable
AppImage: $HOME/.config/darktable

Feel free to ask if you have further questions .

* (the AppImage currently doesn’t support proper native Wayland; it will start into X11/XWayland on native Wayland sessions but except for a few corner cases everything should work. )

[Photoniker]

Ditto re AppImage. When I started using Linux last year, flatpaks and their sandboxing appealed to me and tried to install most of my apps as flatpaks. But they also come with downsides, as some functionality breaks due to the sandboxing - despite tools like flatseal.

With dt 5.6 I’m actually in the process of switching from flatpak to the AppImage (as someone - maybe mino? - previously recommended me to do). The AppImage can be downloaded from the dt website, which should be safe. The AppImage allows running all(?) of the LUA scripts, whereas the flatpak version is somewhat limited in that regard. Also, printing via Turboprint works with the AppImage. Only app updates have to be handled manually by replacing/updating the AppImage from time to time, but I think there are tools out there to handle that.