Search for flatpak Software in Pamac 10.7.0 is seriously flawed

Support Snap/Flatpak
1

When searching for some specific Flatpak Software I might get no result when entering the full name of the software, while a result shows up when entering the first 3 or 4 characters only.
Two examples for illustration:
a) Search for Celeste: no result, with Cel it can be found (but not with Cele).
b) Search for Buffer: no result, with Buf or Buff it shows up.
Some other software shows the same behaviour, while with most of the other software search gives results as expected.

Search and installation from terminal working without a problem.

Sys Info 
System:
  Kernel: 6.12.21-4-MANJARO arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 14.2.1
    clocksource: tsc avail: hpet,acpi_pm
    parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/@/boot/vmlinuz-6.12-x86_64
    root=UUID=bb21cae3-13e8-4984-871f-d07348aaf819 rw rootflags=subvol=@
    quiet splash resume=UUID=32378780-270d-4398-8b44-eacf21f79e58
    udev.log_priority=3
  Desktop: KDE Plasma v: 6.3.4 tk: Qt v: N/A info: frameworks v: 6.12.0
    wm: kwin_x11 vt: 2 dm: SDDM Distro: Manjaro base: Arch Linux
Machine:
  Type: Laptop System: Hewlett-Packard product: HP EliteBook 8460p v: A0001D02
    serial: <superuser required> Chassis: type: 10 serial: <superuser required>
  Mobo: Hewlett-Packard model: 161C v: KBC Version 97.4D
    serial: <superuser required> part-nu: J3370162 uuid: <superuser required>
    BIOS: Hewlett-Packard v: 68SCF Ver. F.42 date: 07/15/2013
Battery:
  ID-1: BAT0 charge: 42.5 Wh (96.6%) condition: 44.0/44.0 Wh (100.0%)
    volts: 12.6 min: 10.8 model: Hewlett-Packard Primary type: Li-ion
    serial: <filter> status: charging
Memory:
  System RAM: total: 4 GiB available: 3.73 GiB used: 2.31 GiB (62.0%)
  Message: For most reliable report, use superuser + dmidecode.
  Array-1: capacity: 8 GiB slots: 2 modules: 1 EC: None
    max-module-size: 4 GiB note: est.
  Device-1: Bottom-Slot 1(top) type: no module installed
  Device-2: Bottom-Slot 2(under) type: DDR3 detail: synchronous size: 4 GiB
    speed: 1333 MT/s volts: N/A width (bits): data: 64 total: 64
    manufacturer: Hynix/Hyundai part-no: HMT351S6BFR8C-H9 serial: <filter>
PCI Slots:
  Permissions: Unable to run dmidecode. Root privileges required.
CPU:
  Info: model: Intel Core i5-2520M bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Sandy Bridge
    gen: core 2 level: v2 built: 2010-12 process: Intel 32nm family: 6
    model-id: 0x2A (42) stepping: 7 microcode: 0x2F
  Topology: cpus: 1x dies: 1 clusters: 2 cores: 2 threads: 4 tpc: 2
    smt: enabled cache: L1: 128 KiB desc: d-2x32 KiB; i-2x32 KiB L2: 512 KiB
    desc: 2x256 KiB L3: 3 MiB desc: 1x3 MiB
  Speed (MHz): avg: 800 min/max: 800/3200 scaling: driver: intel_cpufreq
    governor: schedutil cores: 1: 800 2: 800 3: 800 4: 800 bogomips: 19962
  Flags: acpi aes aperfmperf apic arat arch_perfmon avx bts clflush cmov
    constant_tsc cpuid cx16 cx8 de ds_cpl dtes64 dtherm dts epb est flush_l1d
    fpu fxsr ht ibpb ibrs ida lahf_lm lm mca mce md_clear mmx monitor msr
    mtrr nonstop_tsc nopl nx pae pat pbe pcid pclmulqdq pdcm pebs pge pln pni
    popcnt pse pse36 pti pts rdtscp rep_good sep smx ssbd sse sse2 sse4_1
    sse4_2 ssse3 stibp syscall tm tm2 tsc tsc_deadline_timer vme x2apic xsave
    xsaveopt xtopology xtpr
  Vulnerabilities:
  Type: gather_data_sampling status: Not affected
  Type: itlb_multihit status: KVM: VMX unsupported
  Type: l1tf mitigation: PTE Inversion
  Type: mds mitigation: Clear CPU buffers; SMT vulnerable
  Type: meltdown mitigation: PTI
  Type: mmio_stale_data status: Unknown: No mitigations
  Type: reg_file_data_sampling status: Not affected
  Type: retbleed status: Not affected
  Type: spec_rstack_overflow status: Not affected
  Type: spec_store_bypass mitigation: Speculative Store Bypass disabled via
    prctl
  Type: spectre_v1 mitigation: usercopy/swapgs barriers and __user pointer
    sanitization
  Type: spectre_v2 mitigation: Retpolines; IBPB: conditional; IBRS_FW;
    STIBP: conditional; RSB filling; PBRSB-eIBRS: Not affected; BHI: Not
    affected
  Type: srbds status: Not affected
  Type: tsx_async_abort status: Not affected
Graphics:
  Device-1: Intel 2nd Generation Core Processor Family Integrated Graphics
    vendor: Hewlett-Packard driver: i915 v: kernel arch: Gen-6 code: Sandybridge
    process: Intel 32nm built: 2011 ports: active: LVDS-1 empty: DP-1, DP-2,
    DP-3, HDMI-A-1, HDMI-A-2, HDMI-A-3, VGA-1 bus-ID: 00:02.0
    chip-ID: 8086:0126 class-ID: 0300
  Device-2: Chicony Integrated HP HD Webcam driver: uvcvideo type: USB
    rev: 2.0 speed: 480 Mb/s lanes: 1 mode: 2.0 bus-ID: 4-1.4:3
    chip-ID: 04f2:b230 class-ID: 0e02 serial: <filter>
  Display: x11 server: X.Org v: 21.1.16 with: Xwayland v: 24.1.6
    compositor: kwin_x11 driver: X: loaded: modesetting alternate: fbdev,vesa
    dri: crocus gpu: i915 display-ID: :0 screens: 1
  Screen-1: 0 s-res: 1600x900 s-dpi: 96 s-size: 423x238mm (16.65x9.37")
    s-diag: 485mm (19.11") monitors: <missing: xrandr>
  Monitor-1: LVDS-1 model: AU Optronics 0x223e built: 2010 res: 1600x900
    dpi: 132 gamma: 1.2 chroma: red: x: 0.612 y: 0.349 green: x: 0.322 y: 0.561
    blue: x: 0.149 y: 0.129 white: x: 0.314 y: 0.329
    size: 309x174mm (12.17x6.85") diag: 355mm (14") ratio: 16:9
    modes: 1600x900
  EDID-Warnings: 1: parse_edid: unknown flag 2
  API: EGL v: 1.5 hw: drv: intel crocus platforms: device: 0 drv: crocus
    device: 1 drv: swrast gbm: drv: crocus surfaceless: drv: crocus x11:
    drv: crocus inactive: wayland
  API: OpenGL v: 4.5 compat-v: 3.3 vendor: intel mesa v: 25.0.3-arch1.1
    glx-v: 1.4 direct-render: yes renderer: Mesa Intel HD Graphics 3000 (SNB
    GT2) device-ID: 8086:0126 memory: 1.46 GiB unified: yes
  API: Vulkan Message: No Vulkan data available.
  Info: Tools: api: clinfo, eglinfo, glxinfo, vulkaninfo
    de: kscreen-console,kscreen-doctor wl: wayland-info x11: xdpyinfo,xprop
Audio:
  Device-1: Intel 6 Series/C200 Series Family High Definition Audio
    vendor: Hewlett-Packard driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus-ID: 00:1b.0
    chip-ID: 8086:1c20 class-ID: 0403
  API: ALSA v: k6.12.21-4-MANJARO status: kernel-api with: aoss
    type: oss-emulator tools: alsactl,alsamixer,amixer
  Server-1: JACK v: 1.9.22 status: off tools: N/A
  Server-2: PipeWire v: 1.4.1 status: active with: 1: pipewire-pulse
    status: active 2: wireplumber status: active 3: pipewire-alsa type: plugin
    tools: pactl,pw-cat,pw-cli,wpctl
Network:
  Device-1: Intel 82579LM Gigabit Network vendor: Hewlett-Packard
    driver: e1000e v: kernel port: 4060 bus-ID: 00:19.0 chip-ID: 8086:1502
    class-ID: 0200
  IF: enp0s25 state: down mac: <filter>
  Device-2: Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205 [Taylor Peak] driver: iwlwifi
    v: kernel pcie: gen: 1 speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 1 bus-ID: 24:00.0
    chip-ID: 8086:0085 class-ID: 0280
  IF: wlo1 state: up mac: <filter>
  IP v4: <filter> type: dynamic noprefixroute scope: global
    broadcast: <filter>
  IP v6: <filter> type: noprefixroute scope: link
  Info: services: NetworkManager, systemd-timesyncd, wpa_supplicant
  WAN IP: <filter>
Bluetooth:
  Message: No bluetooth data found.
Logical:
  Message: No logical block device data found.
RAID:
  Message: No RAID data found.
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 74.53 GiB used: 15.36 GiB (20.6%)
  SMART Message: Unable to run smartctl. Root privileges required.
  ID-1: /dev/sda maj-min: 8:0 vendor: Seagate model: ST980411AS
    size: 74.53 GiB block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 3.0 Gb/s
    tech: HDD rpm: 7200 serial: <filter> fw-rev: HP14 scheme: MBR
  Optical-1: /dev/sr0 vendor: hp model: DVD A DS8A5LH rev: 1H68
    dev-links: cdrom
  Features: speed: 8 multisession: yes audio: yes dvd: yes
    rw: cd-r,cd-rw,dvd-r,dvd-ram state: running
Partition:
  ID-1: / raw-size: 66.32 GiB size: 66.32 GiB (100.00%)
    used: 13.43 GiB (20.3%) fs: btrfs dev: /dev/sda1 maj-min: 8:1 label: N/A
    uuid: bb21cae3-13e8-4984-871f-d07348aaf819
  ID-2: /home raw-size: 66.32 GiB size: 66.32 GiB (100.00%)
    used: 13.43 GiB (20.3%) fs: btrfs dev: /dev/sda1 maj-min: 8:1 label: N/A
    uuid: bb21cae3-13e8-4984-871f-d07348aaf819
  ID-3: /home/<filter>/pCloudDrive raw-size: N/A size: 11 GiB
    used: 1.54 GiB (14.0%) fs: fuse source: ERR-102
  ID-4: /var/cache raw-size: 66.32 GiB size: 66.32 GiB (100.00%)
    used: 13.43 GiB (20.3%) fs: btrfs dev: /dev/sda1 maj-min: 8:1 label: N/A
    uuid: bb21cae3-13e8-4984-871f-d07348aaf819
  ID-5: /var/log raw-size: 66.32 GiB size: 66.32 GiB (100.00%)
    used: 13.43 GiB (20.3%) fs: btrfs dev: /dev/sda1 maj-min: 8:1 label: N/A
    uuid: bb21cae3-13e8-4984-871f-d07348aaf819
Swap:
  Kernel: swappiness: 60 (default) cache-pressure: 100 (default) zswap: no
  ID-1: swap-1 type: partition size: 8.2 GiB used: 398 MiB (4.7%)
    priority: -2 dev: /dev/sda2 maj-min: 8:2 label: swap
    uuid: 32378780-270d-4398-8b44-eacf21f79e58
Unmounted:
  Message: No unmounted partitions found.
USB:
  Hub-1: 1-0:1 info: hi-speed hub with single TT ports: 2 rev: 2.0
    speed: 480 Mb/s (57.2 MiB/s) lanes: 1 mode: 2.0 chip-ID: 1d6b:0002
    class-ID: 0900
  Hub-2: 2-0:1 info: full speed or root hub ports: 3 rev: 2.0
    speed: 480 Mb/s (57.2 MiB/s) lanes: 1 mode: 2.0 chip-ID: 1d6b:0002
    class-ID: 0900
  Hub-3: 2-1:2 info: Intel Integrated Rate Matching Hub ports: 6 rev: 2.0
    speed: 480 Mb/s (57.2 MiB/s) lanes: 1 mode: 2.0 chip-ID: 8087:0024
    class-ID: 0900
  Hub-4: 3-0:1 info: super-speed hub ports: 2 rev: 3.0
    speed: 5 Gb/s (596.0 MiB/s) lanes: 1 mode: 3.2 gen-1x1 chip-ID: 1d6b:0003
    class-ID: 0900
  Hub-5: 4-0:1 info: full speed or root hub ports: 3 rev: 2.0
    speed: 480 Mb/s (57.2 MiB/s) lanes: 1 mode: 2.0 chip-ID: 1d6b:0002
    class-ID: 0900
  Hub-6: 4-1:2 info: Intel Integrated Rate Matching Hub ports: 8 rev: 2.0
    speed: 480 Mb/s (57.2 MiB/s) lanes: 1 mode: 2.0 chip-ID: 8087:0024
    class-ID: 0900
  Device-1: 4-1.4:3 info: Chicony Integrated HP HD Webcam type: video
    driver: uvcvideo interfaces: 2 rev: 2.0 speed: 480 Mb/s (57.2 MiB/s)
    lanes: 1 mode: 2.0 power: 500mA chip-ID: 04f2:b230 class-ID: 0e02
    serial: <filter>
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 42.0 C mobo: N/A
  Fan Speeds (rpm): N/A
Repos:
  Packages: 1263 pm: pacman pkgs: 1245 libs: 354 tools: pamac pm: flatpak
    pkgs: 18
  Active pacman repo servers in: /etc/pacman.conf
    1: https://mega.nz/linux/repo/Arch_Extra/$arch
  Active pacman repo servers in: /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist
    1: https://mirror.init7.net/manjaro/stable/$repo/$arch
Processes:
  CPU top: 5 of 231
  1: cpu: 100% command: ps pid: 10152 mem: 3.82 MiB (0.1%)
  2: cpu: 12.4% command: brave pid: 9617 mem: 293.5 MiB (7.6%)
  3: cpu: 5.3% command: brave pid: 8537 mem: 181.8 MiB (4.7%)
  4: cpu: 4.6% command: konsole pid: 10083 mem: 228.6 MiB (5.9%)
  5: cpu: 3.8% command: zsh pid: 10098 mem: 9.84 MiB (0.2%)
  Memory top: 5 of 231
  1: mem: 580.9 MiB (15.2%) command: soffice.bin pid: 8372 cpu: 0.7%
  2: mem: 433.4 MiB (11.3%) command: plasmashell pid: 728 cpu: 1.1%
  3: mem: 426.5 MiB (11.1%) command: pamac-manager pid: 9579 cpu: 0.7%
  4: mem: 308.0 MiB (8.0%) command: brave pid: 8474 cpu: 3.5%
  5: mem: 293.5 MiB (7.6%) command: brave pid: 9617 cpu: 12.4%
Info:
  Processes: 231 Power: uptime: 3h 45m states: freeze,mem,disk suspend: deep
    avail: s2idle wakeups: 0 hibernate: platform avail: shutdown, reboot,
    suspend, test_resume image: 1.48 GiB services: org_kde_powerdevil,
    power-profiles-daemon, upowerd Init: systemd v: 257 default: graphical
    tool: systemctl
  Compilers: N/A Shell: Zsh v: 5.9 default: Bash v: 5.2.37
    running-in: konsole inxi: 3.3.38
1 Like
2

Hint: Formatting will look better if you change:

    running-in: konsole inxi: 3.3.38 [/code]

to:

    running-in: konsole inxi: 3.3.38 
[/code]

:wink:

EDIT: Thanks for editing, now I can read it! :grin:

2 Likes
3

As far as the subject matter, I believe there is a similar report either somewhere here on the forum and/or upstream on GitHub. I can’t find it right now.

4

Yes, we discussed this maybe last month - pamac GUI has some issues


Last year I evangelised that pamac GUI was great because it enabled us to search everywhere


This year we had THIS thread
 Discover and the built in package manager - #4 by Ben

TL;DR

  • Flatpak - search plexHTPC works
 but this wouldn’t work either with pamac or yay AUR searches.
  • Pamac - search plexHTPC fails, search HTPC works and as we would prefer, brings up both AUR and flatpak results (so now I switched back to AUR) as well as any matching Repos


So yes, to search flatpak right now, command line works best - and Pamac GUI sucks :wink: so perhaps websearch remains the best solution.

Then the question remains:

Will there be an improvement in this situation, that we can comfortably search pamac GUI and get all relevant results across all enabled plugins?

2 Likes
5

Can you link to that issue?

6
7

I meant the GitHub issue that was being alluded to.

1 Like
8

Hmmmm I found one suggestion here: [feature request] replace search with `fzf` · Issue #508 · manjaro/pamac · GitHub from 5th June.

There doesn’t seem to be a relevant one that’s open to be honest
 maybe make a new one?

However, do take note that there is extremely little activity on this project; which is sad, because I think Pamac GUI is one of the biggest draws of Manjaro.

It’s okay once you know how to massage it into giving you results, but then so is the terminal


For newcomers this is a serious papercut.

1 Like
9

Issue on Github should specify using pamac-gtk3 and libpamac-flatpak-plugin from Manjaro extra
(not AUR packages :wink:)

What packages are shown if you click on Flatpak in the sidebar?

Have you tried using flatpak search to “resync” Pamac GUI searches?

1 Like
10

Absolutely no packages found
 yet pamac search does find celeste with an ‘e’
 I just don’t search for software in pamac-manager now, I use the browser and then install what I need without using the GUI; it’s a bit of a waste of space.

11

I have tried running flatpak search but it has no effect on pamac-manager searches.

1 Like
12

@Ben
Checking flatpak search in CLI would discount the possibility of an error upstream

If you click Flatpak in the sidebar after using “cel” is the package visible?
If you continue typing package name, when does it disappear from Flatpak category?
more screenshots to confirm this might help maintainers

@viggy96
Gnome DE should be using pamc-gtk v11.7.3 based on GTK4

13

Ah yes, that’s what I meant. Yes I am running that version of pamac-gtk, 11.7.3-3.

14

If issue occurs in both versions of Pamac GUI it is likely something in libpamac-flatpak-plugin

15

Yes, and no difference GTK or GTK3. Adding an ‘e’ to Celeste filters out Celeste!!!

I initially found this mildly annoying when typing ‘plex-htpc’, as I would with yay or pamac in termina


The HYPEN discards the results; but searching ‘plex htpc’ works
 so the result is worse, for example, than if you do (in a terminal):

flatpak install celeste
Looking for matches

Remotes found with refs similar to ‘celeste’:

   1) ‘flathub’ (system)
   2) ‘flathub-beta’ (system)
   3) ‘flathub’ (user)
   4) ‘flathub-beta’ (user)

Which do you want to use (0 to abort)? [0-4]: 1
Similar refs found for ‘celeste’ in remote ‘flathub’ (system):

   1) app/com.exok.Celeste64/x86_64/stable
   2) app/com.hunterwittenborn.Celeste/x86_64/stable

Which do you want to use (0 to abort)? [0-2]:

The opposite happens with the term ‘plex-htpc’; Flatpak won’t find that.

The trouble comes from using Flatpak plus repos plus AUR in the same search.

But it’s a mystery why ‘celeste’ can’t pull up the Flatpak there, whilst anything from ce to celest puts the Flatpak top of the list.

It would work better if you simply searched ‘c’ and then used a filter to think down those results! Sadly there’s no option to search, then filter, in the GUI
 and also frustrating is that pamac-cli cannot get plugins to handle other sources.

The developer of yay said that this was something being considered
 but it never happened.

My conclusion, then (not having used Mint or Ubuntu for a decade) is that people who want a robust GUI software manager should use Mint or Ubuntu.

đŸ—č Browser Search plus Ctrl⎇ AltT using primary selection to paste:

Summary
  1. GitHub - hwittenborn/celeste: GUI file synchronization client that can sync with any cloud provider offers installation from Flathub and Snap via select/middle click terminal paste:
  • flatpak install flathub com.hunterwittenborn.Celeste
  • snap install celeste

  1. OMG! Linux article, which finishes by stating " You can find Celeste on Flathub, Canonical’s Snap Store, and GitHub.".

  2. GitHub project: GitHub - hwittenborn/celeste: GUI file synchronization client that can sync with any cloud provider
    Flathub page: Install Celeste on Linux | Flathub
    Snap page: Install Celeste on Linux | Snap Store

  3. Reddit announcement 3 years ago

Development

GitHub project: GitHub - hwittenborn/celeste: GUI file synchronization client that can sync with any cloud provider
Flathub page: Install Celeste on Linux | Flathub
Snap page: Install Celeste on Linux | Snap Store

This is by far the most robust
 and makes a mockery of amateur attempts at a ‘Software Centre’. I’m sure there are issues which aren’t trivial to solve; but then rather than ‘Add/Remove Software’ the name should be changed.

So @Nachlese - What do you get if you open Mint’s software centre and type ‘celeste’?

16

I actually had to hunt a bit to even find that Software Center - “Anwendungsverwaltung” is the german name.
I never used it until today - too cluttered and too simplistic at the same time, for my taste.

I’m used to be using apt and dpkg 
 the command line tools, from the very beginning back in the last century. :wink:

What I do use sometimes is “Synaptic” - another graphical front end.
It’s not even installed by default - but since I know it from back when, I install it, just in case it would come in handy.

To finally answer your question:

typing, searching for “celeste” in that Software Center, works as one would expect:
the list of results gets narrower the more letters you type - it ends with only two results
Celeste (as a Flatpak) and Olympus (also a Flatpak)

17

This is why I run warehouse cause in the software store I was not able to find fooyin but warehouse had no issue.

18

I think you picked a VERY bad example
 pamac-manager has absolutely no issues with that search:

Screenshot_20250824_104930
Screenshot_20250824_104930770×671 63.3 KB

Notice here that fooyin here is 0.91-2 at 11.4 MB, whereas fooyin Flatpak is marked as 22.2 MiB.

Overall we prefer Arch repos, then we judge whether AUR or Flatpak are better alternatives (again, case by case) which is why we want to type ‘fooyin’ or ‘celeste’ and see all options listed.

So let’s look at your chosen ‘Warehouse’ and search for ‘celeste’


đŸ—” Warehouse finds nothing!

‘Warehouse’ is a GUI for only Flatpak - which in itself appears to be a pretty bad idea to me, as it will not include any sources at all. With Manjaro not being an immutable or stable/LTS distribution, the choice of Flatpak should not be a default choice without mitigating circumstances.

That would mean probably Proprietary or Untrusted software (like Google Chrome perhaps).

The point of ‘add/remove software’ should be a point where you enter ‘Celeste’ and get comprehensive results from chosen sources
 not only flatpak, but inclusive of Arch, AUR, and flatpak and also Snap if you are thoroughly evil :imp:

The point remains - searching Celeste in a browser finds direct results, searching in Software manager does not find the flatpak instance - and this thread is about add/remove software not doing that.

19

One good example is “Collision”. Typing in the full name only finds the one from the official repos. To find the one from Flathub, I have to type in “coll”.

1 Like
20

Issue #532 was closed 31 Aug 2025:
fix flatpak search in app id · manjaro/libpamac@cc74f2f · GitHub

Latest version of libpamac also includes:
fix flatpak transaction · manjaro/libpamac@5639633 · GitHub
fix flatpak search · manjaro/libpamac@bbddf55 · GitHub

$ pamac info libpamac
Name                  : libpamac
Version               : 11.7.3-7
Description           : Library for Pamac package manager based on libalpm
URL                   : https://github.com/manjaro/libpamac

Build Date            : Mon 01 Sep 2025 17:52:43 BST
1 Like