AppImage is a universal Linux package format that allows you to distribute applications as a single executable file that works on most Linux distributions without installation.

Features

Package any .NET MAUI Linux app as an AppImage
Automatic .desktop file generation
Icon embedding
Built-in install/uninstall support
No root access required

Prerequisites

.NET 9 SDK or later
appimagetool - Download from AppImageKit releases

Installing appimagetool

# Download
wget https://github.com/AppImage/AppImageKit/releases/download/continuous/appimagetool-x86_64.AppImage

# Make executable
chmod +x appimagetool-x86_64.AppImage

# Move to PATH
sudo mv appimagetool-x86_64.AppImage /usr/local/bin/appimagetool

Installation

As a .NET tool (recommended)

dotnet tool install --global OpenMaui.AppImage

From source

git clone https://github.com/AuroraNetworks/openmaui-appimage.git
cd openmaui-appimage
dotnet build

Usage

1. Publish your MAUI app

cd YourMauiApp
dotnet publish -c Release -r linux-x64 --self-contained false

2. Create the AppImage

openmaui-appimage \
    --input bin/Release/net9.0/linux-x64/publish \
    --output YourApp.AppImage \
    --name "Your App" \
    --executable YourMauiApp \
    --icon path/to/icon.png \
    --category Utility \
    --version 1.0.0

Options

Option	Short	Required	Description
`--input`	`-i`	Yes	Path to published .NET app directory
`--output`	`-o`	Yes	Output AppImage file path
`--name`	`-n`	Yes	Application name
`--executable`	`-e`	No	Main executable name (defaults to app name)
`--icon`		No	Path to icon (PNG or SVG)
`--category`	`-c`	No	Desktop category (default: Utility)
`--version`	`-v`	No	App version (default: 1.0.0)
`--comment`		No	App description

Desktop Categories

Common categories: Utility, Development, Game, Graphics, Network, Office, AudioVideo, System

Running the AppImage

# Make executable (first time only)
chmod +x YourApp.AppImage

# Run
./YourApp.AppImage

# Install to system (adds to app menu)
./YourApp.AppImage --install

# Uninstall
./YourApp.AppImage --uninstall

Example: Packaging ShellDemo

# Build and publish
cd maui-linux-samples/ShellDemo
dotnet publish -c Release -r linux-x64 --self-contained false

# Create AppImage
openmaui-appimage \
    -i bin/Release/net9.0/linux-x64/publish \
    -o ShellDemo.AppImage \
    -n "OpenMaui Shell Demo" \
    -e ShellDemo \
    --icon Resources/Images/logo_only.svg \
    -c Utility \
    -v 1.0.0 \
    --comment "OpenMaui Controls Demonstration"

How It Works

AppDir Structure: Creates the standard AppImage directory structure:

YourApp.AppDir/
├── AppRun              # Entry point script
├── YourApp.desktop     # Desktop integration
├── YourApp.svg         # Application icon
└── usr/
    └── bin/            # Your published .NET app

AppRun Script: A bash script that:
- Sets up the environment (PATH, LD_LIBRARY_PATH)
- Handles --install and --uninstall flags
- Launches the .NET application via dotnet
appimagetool: Packages everything into a single executable AppImage file

Self-Contained vs Framework-Dependent

Framework-Dependent (smaller, requires .NET runtime)

dotnet publish -c Release -r linux-x64 --self-contained false

Smaller AppImage (~50-100MB smaller)
Requires .NET runtime on target system

Self-Contained (larger, no dependencies)

dotnet publish -c Release -r linux-x64 --self-contained true

Larger AppImage
Works on any Linux system without .NET installed
Recommended for distribution

Troubleshooting

"appimagetool not found"

Install appimagetool as described in Prerequisites.

"Could not find executable"

Use --executable to specify the correct DLL name (without .dll extension).

AppImage won't run

Ensure it's executable: chmod +x YourApp.AppImage
Check for missing dependencies: ./YourApp.AppImage (errors will be shown)

FUSE errors

Some systems require FUSE to mount AppImages. Install with:

sudo apt install fuse libfuse2  # Debian/Ubuntu
sudo dnf install fuse fuse-libs  # Fedora

Or extract and run:

./YourApp.AppImage --appimage-extract
./squashfs-root/AppRun

License

MIT License - see LICENSE