appimagetool vs fpm
appimagetool
github.comfpm
fpm.readthedocs.ioSide by side
| Figure | appimagetool | fpm |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Software Packaging Tools | 7.8 (#11) | 7.8 (#13) |
| License | The repository’s original source code is licensed under the MIT License, subject to exceptions for files or directories with different terms and for dependencies. | The project’s RubyGems listing identifies the license as MIT-like. |
| Purpose | appimagetool generates an AppImage from an existing AppDir. | fpm is a command-line tool for creating packages for existing package systems with less effort. |
| Support | The AppImage project site points users to its Discourse forum and mailing list for questions, and to the #AppImage channel on irc.libera.chat for live chat. | The documentation invites users to report problems through the project issue tracker. |
Plans
In their own words
appimagetool
appimagetool is a free Linux command-line utility that creates an AppImage from an existing AppDir. It is intended for application authors packaging desktop Linux software for distribution across common Linux distributions. The project describes it as a low-level component and recommends community higher-level tools for most users. Command-line options cover listing AppImage files, setting or guessing update information, selecting Squashfs compression, and excluding files. GPG signing is supported with a signing key and additional arguments. When update information is embedded and zsyncmake is installed, the tool can create a zsync file. Build instructions list x86_64, i686, aarch64, and armhf targets. The current version downloads the latest AppImage runtime, or accepts a local runtime file. Update information can be guessed from GitHub Actions and GitLab CI environment variables. An AppDir is required, and ARCH must be set when binary architecture cannot be determined, such as with multiple architectures or shell scripts. Source code is under the MIT License, subject to stated exceptions and dependency terms.
fpm
fpm is a free, open-source command-line tool for creating packages for existing package systems. It accepts sources such as local directories, npm packages, CPAN modules, Python packages, Ruby gems, and existing RPM or Debian packages. Outputs include Debian, RPM, FreeBSD, macOS, Arch Linux, Alpine, Solaris, Snap, tar, zip, shell archive, and other listed formats. fpm can convert an RPM package to Debian, remove files, change metadata or dependencies, and strip pre, post, or maintainer scripts. It is written in Ruby and installed with `gem install fpm`; Ruby must be installed first, and some formats need additional system tools. Docker is documented as a way to run fpm without installing those tools locally. Building an osxpkg package requires macOS. The tool supports Linux, macOS, and self-hosted use. Documentation is described as a work in progress and not extensive. The listed release is version 1.18.0, released August 26, 2026. The license is identified as MIT-like.