Vendor downloads
Almost everything in the Install menu comes from apt, Flathub or mise, and updates with the rest of the machine. A few rows can't, because the vendor ships the app only its own way or its licence doesn't let Based pass it on. Those rows fetch the vendor's own download when you pick them.
Based's update doesn't move these apps. Most have an updater of their own. For the rest, the vendor's page has the new version.
The ones that stay vendor downloads
| row | what it fetches | why it can't be a package |
|---|---|---|
| Google Antigravity | a pinned tarball, unpacked into /opt |
proprietary, no Debian, Flathub or mise build |
| Charles | adds Charles's own apt source, then installs from it | proprietary, only in the vendor's repo |
| CrossOver | a pinned deb from CodeWeavers | a commercial trial Based may not redistribute |
| Cursor | a pinned deb from Cursor | proprietary, shipped only as the vendor's deb or AppImage |
| DaVinci Resolve | nothing: it opens Blackmagic's download page | the download needs a registration |
| GameMaker | a pinned deb from the vendor | proprietary and behind a licence agreement |
| GeForce NOW | NVIDIA's installer, which adds NVIDIA's own Flatpak remote | NVIDIA ships it no other way |
| Grok Bot | an AppImage into ~/Applications, for you alone |
proprietary, AppImage only |
| LM Studio | an AppImage into ~/Applications, for you alone |
proprietary, AppImage only |
| MEGAsync | a pinned deb for your base | proprietary, only in MEGA's own repo |
| OVHcloud AI CLI | OVH's install script | the binary lives only on OVH's own host |
| Private Internet Access | PIA's pinned installer, which adds a root service | the vendor's installer is the only Linux route |
| Stirling PDF | the newest deb from Stirling's own releases | its licence bars redistribution |
| Windsurf | a pinned deb from Windsurf's repo | proprietary, only in the vendor's repo |
"Pinned" means the row names one version and checks the download's checksum before installing it. LM Studio and GeForce NOW take whatever the vendor currently calls latest, with no checksum. Stirling PDF shows you its licence first, then checks the checksum Stirling publishes with the release. Using it for business needs a licence from Stirling.
Others that go around apt today
Some rows reach outside apt, Flathub and mise even though a package route exists, and they're
being moved over. Claude Code under Install, then AI runs Anthropic's install script into
~/.local/bin and updates itself; picking Claude Code under Setup, then Defaults, then
Agent installs it through mise instead. VirtualBox adds Oracle's apt source. A few language rows
use the language's own installer, such as rustup for Rust and opam for OCaml, the way upstream
Omarchy does.
Seven AI tools aren't in the menu at all, because their installers want more of your machine than Based will hand over. Developer tools lists them and why.