Sigil Flatpak and Java

[jcsalomon]

Has anyone using Sigil on Linux via Flatpak gotten epubcheck to work? Right now it seems to fail because Java is not visible to the sandboxed Sigil installation.

[Doitsu]

Originally Posted by jcsalomon

Has anyone using Sigil on Linux via Flatpak gotten epubcheck to work? Right now it seems to fail because Java is not visible to the sandboxed Sigil installation.

Since Sigil doesn't need Java, you'll probably have to modify the Sigil Flatpak manifest using the instructions on this website.

[DiapDealer]

How does Sigil Flatpak run plugins (assuming you're talking about the epubcheck plugin)? Does it use its own sandboxed python or the system python?

[bookman156]

In use Sigil on Linux in Flatpak but I use epubcheck in the terminal and that works great. Just install epubcheck via your package manager.

[KevinH]

Kinda defeats the who purpose of plugins though.

[bookman156]

Yes and no. I managed to get the BibiReader and EpubJSReader plugins working fine in a Linux Flatpak, but not the ReadiumReader. I can't say as I miss epubcheck as it works really well in the terminal.

Actually I see Sigil 1.9.10 is now available in my depository without need of using a Flatpak. It wasn't before.

[Doitsu]

Originally Posted by bookman156

[...]until Sigil is available for Linux without needing to use a Flatpak.

Building Sigil from source is relatively easy thanks to DiapDealer's fool-proof instructions.

[bookman156]

Building Sigil from source is relatively easy thanks to DiapDealer's fool-proof instructions.

Thankfully someone else seems to have recently done it for my distro. Far too complex otherwise.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Doitsu

Building Sigil from source is relatively easy thanks to DiapDealer's fool-proof instructions.

I suggest building from source and getting rid of Flatpak. That would solve your plugins problem.

[philja]

I repost on this thread in case anyone else has flatpak problems -

At the end of November, 2022, before getting too involved in making my own build - although I did look at DiapDealer's remarkably clear instructions - I made a visit to the Sigil flatpak's github site.

I posted an 'issue' about the matter of difficulty for the plugin to get in touch with java. I also mentioned ODTimport which also needs java.

Overnight, this issue has been taken into account with an update pushed. The Readme has also been updated to state :

For plugins that need java runtime

flatpak install flathub org.freedesktop.Sdk.Extension.openjdk17//22.08

I used that line of code to install openjdk17 and installed the updated flatpak version of Sigil 1.9.20. I tested this satisfactorily with my epub file and EpubCheck.

[retiredbiker]

Just to add a later note: I'm going to try Sigil because the Calibre Editor is increasingly slow/messy on Linux and full of useless tidbits. And window positioning no longer works.

Running Sigil 2.0.1 on Pop!_OS 22.04

Found Sigil in the Pop!_Shop. What it loads is a flatpak, though they don't tell you that going in...but it is the latest version and seems to work fine.

So I downloaded the epubcheck plugin and got the python thing working without much problem (do the "auto" and restart Sigil).

Then it couldn't find the epubcheck.jar file. Had to download the epubcheck zip file as a stand-alone and copy the files into the preferences location. That worked.

But then it couldn't find the java executable, so I tried the command:

flatpak install flathub org.freedesktop.Sdk.Extension.openjdk17//22.08

as above - thank you philja! Good old flatpak downloaded some 800 megabytes to put java into itself! Holy cow.

But it worked, the epubcheck now works inside Sigil. (It also works fine from the command line after having to download it separately, so I may just dump the plugin.)

But what a great waste of space! One day if I feel very bored, I'll try the build instructions and get rid of all the flatpak crap...but that looks like a real big job.

[philja]

Originally Posted by retiredbiker

... But what a great waste of space! One day if I feel very bored, I'll try the build instructions and get rid of all the flatpak crap...but that looks like a real big job.

It's not so big and bad as you might fear. I had a problem getting another Sigil plugin to work in flatpak - (the one which does svg images) and the flatpak forum didn't come up with an answer in four or five weeks so I bit the bullet.

For details of my traumas building for the first time on Ubuntu as well as all the help I received leading to a successful build, see the recent thread:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=357115

Since then, I have rebuilt a couple of times to take advantage of some improvements Kevin implemented before release. The first-time build is the greatest mind obstacle.

[retiredbiker]

Originally Posted by philja

It's not so big and bad as you might fear.

Thank you! With your encouragement, I'm giving it a try...and have landed in a whole different set of problems. Qt6 stuff really is a mess. We'll see...