AppImage

AppImage
Filename extension
.AppImage
Magic number41 49 02 (3 bytes hexadecimal from offset 8)
Developed bySimon Peter
Initial release2004 (2004)
Latest release
V13.
December 31, 2020 (2020-12-31)
Container forSoftware installation
Open format?Yes
Free format?Yes
Websiteappimage.org

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. As a result, one AppImage can be installed and run across various GNU/Linux distributions without needing to use different files. It aims to be a format that is self-contained, rootless, and independent of the underlying Linux distribution.

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.