Flatpak 1.18 adds AMD ROCm support, improved error output, and faster Fish shell start-up

Flatpak 1.18 has been released as the latest update to the widely used Linux application sandboxing and distribution framework. The new version introduces support for the AMD /dev/kfd device, which is exposed by the AMDKFD kernel compute driver. This enhancement means sandboxed Flatpak applications can now request access to AMD ROCm and OpenCL compute features without requiring an override that opens access to all devices.

Alongside the hardware integration, Flatpak 1.18 focuses on usability improvements for command-line tools. The error handling and output messages have been refined for the flatpak-coredumpctl diagnostic tool, providing better feedback during troubleshooting. In addition, the output from the flatpak update command now displays the causes of failures, assisting users in understanding and addressing update issues more efficiently.

Following these technical enhancements, users running Flatpak under the Fish shell will notice improved start-up times. The release also delivers updated Chinese translations and includes several minor bug fixes, continuing Flatpak's commitment to better localization and reliability.