FlatFree

Why FlatFree?

FlatFree exists because the established gatekeepers have forgotten what open source is supposed to be. We do not believe in rejecting software because of who wrote it or how it was made.

On AI-Generated Submissions

FlatFree fully accepts and welcomes submissions that use AI assistance. If a tool helps a developer build better software faster, we see that as a good thing. We do not police how code is written — we care about whether it works, whether it's useful, and whether it respects user freedom.

Flathub's Guidelines Are Exclusionary

Flathub, the dominant Flatpak repository, has adopted submission guidelines that ban applications "generated predominantly by AI with minimal human involvement." This sounds reasonable on the surface, but in practice it creates an impossible standard:

"Applications that are generated predominantly by AI with minimal human involvement are not accepted."

Let's be honest about what this really means:

• It is unenforceable. There is no tool that can reliably determine how much AI assistance was used in a project. The rule is enforced by vibes and suspicion, not evidence.
• It creates a double standard. Large corporations use AI-assisted development constantly. But when a solo developer uses the same tools, suddenly it's "minimal human involvement."
• It is fundamentally anti-competitive. The rule exists to keep out the flood of new developers that AI empowers — exactly the people open source should be welcoming.
• It punishes transparency. Developers who openly credit their AI tools are rejected, while those who hide their usage sail through review. This incentivizes dishonesty.
• It misunderstands open source. Open source has always been about the freedom to use, study, modify, and share software — not about policing the methods used to create it.

Flathub's guidelines also demand that each submission be "the work of a human or group of humans." We find this phrasing telling. At FlatFree, we believe that any tool used by a human is human work. A developer using AI assistance is no different from a developer using Stack Overflow, a linter, a code generator, or a compiler. They are all tools.

We are not "inspired" by Flathub. We are the alternative. FlatFree will never reject your work based on how you made it. If it builds, if it runs, if it's free software — it belongs here.