What is sword?

Sword is a graphical software store for Linux, aiming to make installing and removing apps as straightforward as doing so on a phone. Its full name stands for System Wide Open Repository Director. The project is a work in progress with no stability guarantees yet. On Linux, software often comes from multiple sources: the system's built-in package manager (Pacman on Arch-based systems), the AUR (a community repository for Arch Linux), and Flatpak (a cross-distribution app delivery system). Each source has its own command-line tool and its own way of listing what is available. Sword unifies these into a single browsable interface, where each application appears only once regardless of how many sources offer it. The interface pre-selects the best source for each app automatically, though you can switch sources manually if you prefer one over another. Currently, the app shows a home screen with popular applications, displays app cards with names, descriptions, icons, and the active source, and includes a search that queries Pacman, Flatpak, and the AUR at once with deduplication. Dark and light themes are both supported with live switching. Planned features include one-click install and remove, a detailed app view with version history and screenshots, a list of installed applications, and a unified update queue covering all sources including system packages. The application is built with Tauri, a framework for building desktop apps using web technologies for the interface and a native backend. The backend is written in Go. The README notes that the developer is prioritizing user experience over minimal memory use.