Show HN: FELF – AppImage-like single binaries without FUSE, root, or a runtime
Hello HN! I've always had a bad time redistributing programs that use shared libraries, AppImage in my opinion does too much, and a container is an overkill - not always integrates smoothly. I've moved to nix since long ago, but redistributing between nix and other distros or vice versa it's still a pain in the ass, more so if you want to run an alien app in nix or a nix app without the package manger in any other distro. For that, with the help of Claude, I've implemented a format that deduces
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Recorded metrics
points · 1 votes
2026-11-08 17:45:21.457Z
cumulative since publication
Research analysis
Project record
Repository: Rucadi/FELF. Source account: Hello HN! I've always had a bad time redistributing programs that use shared libraries, AppImage in my opinion does too much, and a container is an overkill - not always integrates smoothly. I've moved to nix since long ago, but redistributing between nix and other distros or vice versa it's still a pain in the ass, more so if you want to run an alien app in nix or a nix app without the package manger in any other distro. For that, with the help of Claude, I've implemented a format that deduces
Observed adoption & comparisons
Source votes: 1 votes (Nov 8, 2026 UTC; cumulative since publication) Recent records to compare: “Show HN: After decades, I have my almost perfect music player” (Show HN, Nov 8, 2026); “Show HN: Privacy First Compress – compress images without uploading them” (Show HN, Nov 8, 2026). Shared themes are navigation hints; they have not been verified as the same need or independent corroboration.
Adoption decision
Evaluate it against the tool or manual workflow it would replace. The stored record supports discovery; it does not yet establish reliability, lower operating cost or commercial adoption.
Unverified requirements
Not verified: license permissions, required hardware, installation steps, maintenance status and a representative task with its failure cases.
Next test
Choose one real task and a current alternative. Record the commit, environment, input, output, elapsed time and failure behavior; retain the result before recommending adoption.