How to "install" web apps in ubuntu 22.04

Question

I'd like to be able to launch some web apps from the launcher, and wish that they'd run in their own independent windows.

Ideally, they'd be using firefox to do so.

How can I do this?

Answer 1

You can launch web apps with firefox with the help of extensions! Mozilla mention this on their guide.

Once installed, the PWA behaves just like other installed applications: clicking on the application icon opens the PWA, even when the user is offline. [...] Firefox requires a PWA extension.

With a link to this extension which has a website and it's open source. I tried and seems to be working. After installing, you have some steps to follow (where the extension will guide you) and you're good to go.

Answer 2

Chromium

Chromium based browsers have a web app functionality build in. The easiest approach would be to install Chromium and create web apps there.

Linux Mint webapp manager

The people over at Linux Mint developed the tool Webapp manager. It provides an easy interface to turn a website into a webapp. When using Chromium based browsers, it uses the native functionality of the browser. For Firefox, it achieves the effect by creating dedicated firefox profiles.

The .deb installation file is installable on Ubuntu, including 22.04. Install it with a command like

sudo apt install ~/Downloads/webapp-manager_1.1.9_all.deb 

assuming you downloaded the file webapp-manager_1.1.9_all.deb in your "Downloads" directory.

Nativefier

Somewhat more difficult to get started with for newer linux users, nativefier creates something that really feels as a stand alone app, based on electron and using a chromium web engine.

Answer 3

You can create a desktop application from any web without using webapp-manager https://askubuntu.com/a/1420129

You can't create a desktop shortcut to launch as a web app in Firefox like you can in Chrome.

However, to create a desktop shortcut to open as a web app in Firefox, you need linux mint webapp-manager.

Download the latest version from here http://packages.linuxmint.com/pool/main/w/webapp-manager/

$ sudo apt install '/home/mate/Documents/webapp-manager_1.2.4_all.deb'
$ webapp-manager

Add the Site and Browser

It will be listed in Menu > Web > website.com

No pin it to desktop