Find your flow.
Navigate your project, edit files and keep your next ideas beside the code they belong to.
PetacoreYOUR LINUX SOFTWARE WORKSHOP
From your first idea.
To your next release.
Write it. Test it. Sign it. Ship it.
One native workspace for the work around your code.
A familiar home for your files, your tools and everything you’re building.
LESS SETUP. MORE MAKING.
Building Linux software
should feel like building.
The code is only part of the project. There are files to organise, changes to test, packages to build and keys to manage. Petacore brings that everyday work into one window, so the next step is easier to find.
Give yourself room.
Keep snapshots of your work and try changes in a separate sandbox session.
Finish what you started.
Build packages, add metadata, sign your release and prepare an APT repository.
01 — YOUR WORKSPACE
A project folder.
A place for everything.
Your project stays an ordinary folder. Your history stays in Git. Your work stays yours.
Petacore gives familiar files a more comfortable home, without turning your project into a proprietary format. Its own project data lives in a hidden .petacore/ folder.
- Find the file you need. Search, filter by file type and preview files as you work.
- Keep moving. Drag and drop, undo changes and use reversible file deletion.
- Take your project with you. Ordinary folders and a Git repository keep your work portable.
02 — WRITE & REFINE
Stay close
to your code.
A lightweight editor for the changes you want to make right now.
Tabs. Highlighting. Focus.
Open files in tabs, read with syntax highlighting and define named line sections. Select a section to dim the rest and concentrate on the part that matters.
Shorten the feedback loop.
When you save, Petacore can offer to copy the file into your installed application’s folder, bringing a change closer to a real test.
Keep your preferred tools.
Petacore’s editor handles everyday work. Your project is still a normal folder, ready to open in the editor or development tools you already use.
03 — MAKE ROOM TO EXPERIMENT
A way forward.
And a way back.
A good workflow leaves room for a change of mind. Petacore combines project snapshots with isolated test sessions to make everyday experimentation more manageable.
Snapshots that remember
the unfinished work.
Save compressed copies of your project manually or on a timer. Snapshots complement Git by keeping the working state, including changes you have not committed.
Before restoring an older snapshot, Petacore takes a snapshot of the current state. Going back does not have to mean losing where you were.
A separate session.
A clearer boundary.
Run a project copy in a bubblewrap sandbox with a read-only root, a masked home directory and isolated process, IPC and hostname namespaces.
Networking starts disabled. If a detected network error indicates access is needed, Petacore asks before allowing it for that session. The session is removed when you close it.
Designed to reduce accidental damage during development. The sandbox is not a boundary for hostile code; use a virtual machine for that. Network failure detection depends on errors the application prints.
04 — STAY CONNECTED
Local first.
Connected when you need it.
Keep your working project on your machine, with options to sync it beyond your desktop.
GitHub, within reach.
Sync your project with GitHub and use an existing GitHub CLI login. Tokens use the desktop keyring where available; Petacore shows the storage mode if it needs an owner-only file fallback.
Google Drive, with a safety net.
Sync through rclone. Removed cloud files move into dated folders, and an upload smaller than the existing cloud copy asks for confirmation.
Optional cloud encryption.
Encrypt names and file contents in cloud storage while keeping ordinary source files locally. Private signing keys stay out of cloud uploads.
05 — PACKAGE & SIGN
Make it ready
for someone else’s machine.
Move beyond a folder of source code. Bring packaging, application metadata and signing into the same workflow as the rest of your project.
Debian and RPM.
Build with the established tools underneath: dpkg-deb for Debian packages and rpmbuild for RPM output.
Introduce your app.
Add AppStream metadata, including a publisher, SPDX licence, summary and homepage, to describe what you are shipping.
Put your name on it.
Generate and manage GPG keys, inspect full fingerprints and embed a signature in the package. Signing is enabled by default.
The key you chose is the key that counts.
If your selected signing key is missing, packaging stops rather than silently choosing another one. Credential files are excluded from packages, and those exclusions are reported.
Take the next step from a single package to a place to publish your releases.
Petacore brings APT repository checking and control into your workflow, alongside tools for assembling a repository from your package pool.
- 01
Assemble
Prepare a repository around your packages.
- 02
Sign
Produce signed indexes and a public verification key.
- 03
Host
Publish the resulting static files on the hosting you choose.
- 04
Check & control
Keep APT repository work alongside your project and release tools.
Repository trust and an embedded package signature are separate. Installing a standalone package may still show a third-party software notice.
07 — SEE WHAT’S NEXT
The next release
starts here.
Keep ideas with the project.
Use Next Updates for titles, notes, priorities and attachments. Your plans travel and sync with the project they belong to.
Understand what you’re building.
See file, line and character counts, language shares and an inferred target operating system. Export project statistics as a shareable image.
The operating system estimate is inferred from project files and content.
NATIVE BY DESIGN
At home
on your Linux desktop.
Built with Python, GTK 4 and libadwaita. Made for GNOME.
Petacore brings established Linux tools together behind a native interface. Work runs on background threads to keep the interface responsive. When an optional tool is missing, its feature explains what is needed rather than stopping the whole application.
GitGnuPGbubblewraprclonedpkgrpmbuild
Available in five interface languages. Open source under GNU GPLv3.
GET PETACORE
Download & install Petacore.
This package is a beta release. Installation and application startup have not been tested.
Choose how to install.
Use either the direct download or the repository method. Commands run in your terminal; sudo asks for your computer password. Download commands require wget; repository setup requires curl.
01 / Download only
wget "https://get.kotechsoft.com/pool/main/p/petacore/petacore_1.0~beta2_all.deb"02 / Download and install
wget -O "petacore_1.0~beta2_all.deb" "https://get.kotechsoft.com/pool/main/p/petacore/petacore_1.0~beta2_all.deb" && sudo apt update && sudo apt install "./petacore_1.0~beta2_all.deb"03 / Install a file you already downloaded
cd ~/Downloads && sudo apt update && sudo apt install "./petacore_1.0~beta2_all.deb"The third command assumes your browser saved the file in ~/Downloads. If you chose another folder, change that path.
Install through our APT repository.
Add the repository once to receive future package updates through APT. This uses the repository key, which is separate from the Petacomm package-signing key.
Add the repository and install
(repo_tmp=$(mktemp -d) && trap 'rm -rf "$repo_tmp"' EXIT && curl -fsSL https://get.kotechsoft.com/kotech-archive-keyring.gpg -o "$repo_tmp/key.gpg" && curl -fsSL https://get.kotechsoft.com/kotech.sources -o "$repo_tmp/kotech.sources" && sudo install -d -m 0755 /etc/apt/keyrings && sudo install -m 0644 "$repo_tmp/key.gpg" /etc/apt/keyrings/kotech-archive-keyring.gpg && sudo install -m 0644 "$repo_tmp/kotech.sources" /etc/apt/sources.list.d/kotech.sources && sudo apt update && sudo apt install petacore)Repository already added?
sudo apt update && sudo apt install petacoreUpdate an existing installation
sudo apt update && sudo apt install --only-upgrade petacoreRemove the package
sudo apt remove petacoreSource installation and additional setup
GET STARTED
Your next project
has a new home.
Install Petacore from the source repository and open your Linux software workshop.
Installation guide ↗- System
- Ubuntu 24.04+ and Debian derivatives
- Desktop
- GNOME · x86-64
- Runtime
- Python 3.10+
- Memory
- 2 GB
INSTALL FROM SOURCE
git clone https://github.com/petacomm/petacore.git
cd petacore
./install.shRun the installer as your regular user. It requests administrator access only for dependencies and refuses to run as root. The installer uses APT; producing RPM packages does not imply installation support on RPM-based distributions.
A FEW THINGS TO KNOW
Before you begin.
Who is Petacore for?
Individual developers and small studios making software for Linux. It assumes familiarity with files and software projects, without requiring command-line fluency for the everyday interface.
Does it replace my IDE or Git?
Petacore includes a lightweight editor and works with Git. It brings project and release tasks together while leaving your files available to other tools. It is not intended to be a full IDE.
Is there a shared team server?
No. The documented release is a desktop workspace, without a shared server, team access controls or a code-review workflow.
How do updates and removal work?
The documented release does not update itself automatically. Use the installation flow to upgrade. To remove it, run ./uninstall.sh from the source directory; the uninstaller asks separately about the application, settings and snapshots.
Can I build software under my own licence?
Yes. Petacore is distributed under GNU GPLv3. Its licence does not automatically apply to the packages you create with it.
Where can I report a problem?
Open an issue in the Petacore GitHub repository with your system, version and reproduction steps. Send sensitive security reports privately to [email protected].
PETACORE BY PETACOMM
Good ideas deserve
a finished release.
Bring your next Linux project to life.