With last month’s GNOME 49 release, the 32-bit Compatibility extension for the GNOME Flatpak Runtime is no more. This is part of the broader effort of phasing out 32-bit support.
The 32-bit compatibility extension with org.gnome.Platform.i386.Compat for the GNOME FLatpak Runtime is now eliminated. The original intent was for helping Wine with a 32-bit environment.
One of the motivating factors for eliminating that 32-bit compatibility extension was GNOME developers losing their main pool of donated continuous integration (CI) machines and builders with that extension being the first on their chopping block as a result.
The GNOME Flatpak Runtime is now only available for x86_64 and AArch64. With ARMv7 previously removed as well as the entire i386 build previously dropped, there is no longer any 32-bit target QA being done by GNOME.
The announcement by Jordan Petridis around the GNOME Flatpak Runtime dropping its 32-bit compatibility extension ends with:
“If you are a distributor, relying on 32 bit builds of GNOME, you will now be expected to debug and fix issues on your own for the majority of the projects. Alternatively you could also get involved upstream and help avoid further bit rot of 32 bit builds.”
