ayy

ayy is a package manager specifically designed for AppImage files, addressing common user experience issues with this portable application format. It enables decentralized distribution by allowing any web server to host packages, independent of centralized app stores.

Key Features

• Desktop Integration — Automatically adds menu entries and icons to GNOME/KDE desktop environments from embedded AppImage metadata.
• Decentralized Distribution — Works with existing AppImage packages hosted anywhere; no permission or centralized store required.
• Fast Operations — Optimized for speed with installation completing in under a second in typical cases.
• Update Management — Updates all installed applications with a single command when they embed update information.
• Alias Management — Creates command-line aliases for AppImages in the user's PATH for terminal access.
• TOFU Security — Uses Trust-On-First-Use signature scheme similar to Android for package verification.
• No Daemons — Runs as a single static binary without background processes or system services.

Philosophy

ayy believes package management should be simple, fast, and decentralized—allowing developers to distribute software directly to users without intermediaries while maintaining good desktop integration.