Links won't open when using the linux AppImage in "portable mode"

Reproduction steps

Download .AppImage to e.g. "Downloads"
create a folder in the same dir as the file that's the same name as the AppImage but with ".home" appended to make the AppImage run in "portable mode" (e.g. "Fluxer.AppImage" as File and "Fluxer.AppImage.home" as folder Screenshot_20261101_195206.png
open Fluxer
click on any link in chat, regardless of trusted or untrusted

Note: The "portable mode" is a AppImage feature. Links can be opened normally via the Flatpak version. Links can also be opened via AppImage when NOT run in "portable mode", like when the .home folder wasn't created manually be the user. But I run all my AppImages in Portable mode to have the config and everything it uses in the same place as the app.

Expected behaviour

It should open the Link in a browser when clicking a trusted link or after I click "Visit Site" on untrusted links

Actual behaviour

It does nothing. A browser is not opened and nothing happens. On untrusted links only the modal with the warning dissapears like normal but the site is still not being opened.

Build information

Stable Desktop 2026.1101.102918, Web 2026.1101.102918, Linux 7.3.0-203.nobara.fc44.x86_64 (x64), Electron 44.10.0, Chrome 152.0.7977.169, Node 24.22.1, Locale en-GB

Platform

Linux

Evidence

I can't show any log output or screenshot because nothing is happening. The dev console does nothing when clicking the link. Also running the AppImage via Terminal ./Fluxer.AppImage doesn't output anything on click and there is no browser opening.

== ~/Personal/AppImages/Fluxer.AppImage.home == ··•> tree -ad -L 2 ./Fluxer.AppImage.home/ ./Fluxer.AppImage.home/ ├── .cache │ ├── flatpak │ ├── fontconfig │ └── nvidia ├── .config │ ├── autostart │ ├── fluxer │ └── pulse ├── .local │ └── share └── .nv └── ComputeCache

== ~/Personal/AppImages == ··•> tree -a ./Fluxer.AppImage.home/ | grep -i "brave" == ~/Personal/AppImages == ··•> tree -a ./Fluxer.AppImage.home/ | grep -i "firefox" == ~/Personal/AppImages == ··•>

2 comments

FullestReviewer 1 vote 1h ago

Hello, this is a neat feature I didn't know about AppImages! Unfortunately, I am not able to reproduce this issue exactly as described. Tested on Stable Desktop 2026.1101.102918, Web 2026.1101.175711, Linux 7.2.11-200.fc44.x86_64 (x64), Electron 44.10.0, Chrome 152.0.7977.169, Node 24.22.1, Locale en-GB I have noticed however that all links that should open in a browser end up opening in a separate Firefox profile for me, which I suspect might be related to your issue since it looks like opening AppImages in this way changes the $HOME environment variable within this scope. What browser do you have set as your default? Do you see files related to that browser in your AppImages portable .home/.config folder? Do you expect links to open in your default browser session or is the portable and separate browser profile opening links what you are expecting? If you have any other information you feel is relevant, please feel free to share. Thanks!

Jinx OP1 vote 1h ago

What browser do you have set as your default?

I've set Brave as my default browser, installed via dnf. I've also set Flatpak Firefox as default and tried opening a link via Fluxer AppImage in portable mode and it didn't open a link. only when using it without portable mode it works, and opens in my default browser.

Do you see files related to that browser in your AppImages portable .home/.config folder?

No, the only folders in the .home folder are:

And there are no files or folders that have a partial match for firefox or brave as name

Do you expect links to open in your default browser session or is the portable and separate browser profile opening links what you are expecting?

I expect it to open in my default browser as it does with other AppImages where I click a link which then opens my default browser, just like it does when the Fluxer AppImage is not running in Portable mode. Using the AppImage in "portable" mode is just to keep the Apps Data in one place, like running it off on a USB stick which you then could use on different machines and keep all your data. If I can provide more information I'm happy to help. I'll also try more scenarioes and if I find something I'll report it. Might try a different distro and another device as well, but can't do that right now.