GitHub Desktop for Linux
A community-maintained Linux build of GitHub Desktop, kept up to date with each official release.
Note
This is an unofficial fork. It is not affiliated with, maintained or endorsed by GitHub. Please report problems specific to Linux here, not to the official project: see I have a problem with GitHub Desktop.
GitHub Desktop is an open-source Electron-based GitHub app. It is written in TypeScript and uses React.
GitHub Desktop has no official Linux version. For years, Linux users relied on shiftkey/desktop, the fork recommended by the official README, which packaged the application for Linux. Its last release, 3.4.13-linux1, dates from February 2025, while the official application kept moving forward.
This fork picks up where shiftkey/desktop left off:
- it starts from the current official release of
desktop/desktop; - it re-applies the Linux work done in
shiftkey/desktopon top of it (packaging, Linux-specific adjustments to the application, continuous integration), updated for the current codebase; - it fixes the problems found on Linux along the way;
- it follows each new official release.
The original Linux work is the work of Brendan Forster (@shiftkey) and the contributors of shiftkey/desktop. Their commits keep their authors in this repository.
Each version carries the number of the official version it is built from, followed by a Linux revision number: X.Y.Z-linuxN. For example, 3.6.6-linux1 is the first Linux build of the official 3.6.6, and 3.6.6-linux2 a Linux fix on the same base.
Three channels are available, each with a link that never changes:
| Channel | What it is | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Stable | The most recent version that has been in use for a while without known issues. It is promoted by hand, never on the day it is released. | Stable release |
| Latest | The most recent non-beta version, as soon as it is published. It may not have been proven yet. | Latest release |
| Beta | Built from the official beta versions, to test new features and fixes before everyone else. | Beta release |
Most of the time, Stable and Latest are the same version. They differ after a new release, until it has been proven.
Each release provides, for x86_64:
- a
.debpackage, for Debian, Ubuntu and their derivatives; - a
.rpmpackage, for Fedora, openSUSE and their derivatives; - an
.AppImage, for any distribution; - a
.flatpakbundle, for any distribution with Flatpak, in the versions built since it was added. The Stable release offersgithub-desktop-stable.flatpakrefinstead, for the reason given below.
Each file comes with a .sha256 checksum file.
The packages are also published in an APT, RPM and Flatpak repository, https://packages-github-desktop.nitramo.fr/. Installed from it, GitHub Desktop is updated by apt, dnf or flatpak along with the rest of the system. The repository offers the same three channels as the links above: the commands below follow the stable channel, and replacing stable with latest or beta follows another one.
# Debian, Ubuntu and their derivatives
curl -fsSL https://packages-github-desktop.nitramo.fr/gpg.key \
| sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/github-desktop.gpg
echo "deb [arch=amd64 signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/github-desktop.gpg] \
https://packages-github-desktop.nitramo.fr/deb stable main" \
| sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/github-desktop.list
sudo apt update && sudo apt install github-desktop
# Fedora, RHEL and their derivatives
sudo rpm --import https://packages-github-desktop.nitramo.fr/gpg.key
sudo curl -fsSL -o /etc/yum.repos.d/github-desktop.repo \
https://packages-github-desktop.nitramo.fr/rpm/stable/github-desktop.repo
sudo dnf install github-desktop
# Flatpak, on any distribution, for your account only
flatpak install --user \
https://packages-github-desktop.nitramo.fr/flatpak/github-desktop-stable.flatpakrefThe Flatpak identifier is io.github.nitramo_yt.Github-Desktop. Its runtime, shared with many other applications, comes from Flathub. A channel offers the Flatpak from the first of its versions that comes with one: the repository page shows which channels already do.
The repository is signed with the key 0A63 E20B 6AF5 A6EC D45B D895 6B53 59F0 1735 4722. Its page explains how to move to another channel later.
Download the file for your distribution from one of the links above, then:
# Debian, Ubuntu and their derivatives
sudo apt install ./GitHubDesktop-linux-amd64-<version>.deb
# Fedora
sudo dnf install ./GitHubDesktop-linux-x86_64-<version>.rpm
# openSUSE
sudo zypper install ./GitHubDesktop-linux-x86_64-<version>.rpm
# AppImage, on any distribution
chmod +x GitHubDesktop-linux-x86_64-<version>.AppImage
./GitHubDesktop-linux-x86_64-<version>.AppImage
# Flatpak, on any distribution
flatpak install --user ./GitHubDesktop-linux-x86_64-<version>.flatpakOn Ubuntu 24.04 and its derivatives, the AppImage needs one extra step before it starts: see the known issues. The .deb and the .rpm are not affected.
To check a download, put its .sha256 file next to it and run sha256sum -c <file>.sha256.
A downloaded .deb, .rpm or AppImage is not updated automatically. To update, download the new version from the same link and install it the same way, or install from the package repository instead. The .flatpak bundle is the exception: installing it subscribes to the package repository, on the latest channel, or on beta for a beta, and flatpak update then brings the versions that follow. That is why the Stable release leaves it out, and offers github-desktop-stable.flatpakref instead: opened, it installs the stable channel, like the command above.
GitHub Desktop stores your credentials through the Secret Service API, which needs a provider running in your session, such as GNOME Keyring or KDE Wallet (KWallet). Desktop environments usually start one automatically. Without one, your credentials are not saved between sessions.
This fork only provides Linux builds. On Windows and macOS, use the official installers.
All previous versions are available on the Releases page.
This document describes the focus of GitHub Desktop and who the product is most useful for.
Note: The GitHub Desktop Code of Conduct applies in all interactions relating to the GitHub Desktop project, and to this fork as well.
First, check the known issues on Linux: some of them have workarounds.
Then, where to report depends on the problem:
- It is specific to Linux or to this build (installation, packaging, desktop integration, or anything that works on Windows and macOS): search the issues of this fork, and open a new issue if yours is not there.
- It also happens on Windows or macOS: it comes from the application itself. Search the open issues and closed issues of the official project, and report it there if needed. Fixes made there reach this fork with the next release.
This fork is maintained by a single volunteer. If nobody has responded to your issue in a few days, you're welcome to respond to it with a friendly ping. Please do not respond more than a second time if nobody has responded.
Contributions to the Linux support (packaging, desktop integration, fixes specific to Linux) are welcome here: open an issue or a pull request on this repository.
The page of the package repository can be translated into other languages, with a single file per language: script/resources/repo/locales/ explains how.
Everything else, such as new features or fixes that concern every platform, belongs to the official project. Its CONTRIBUTING.md document will help you get set up and familiar with the source, and the documentation folder contains more resources.
To set up your development environment for building Desktop, check out setup.md, and setup-linux.md for the dependencies needed on Linux.
See the README of the official project and desktop.github.com for more product-oriented information about GitHub Desktop.
See the official getting started documentation for more information on how to set up, authenticate, and configure GitHub Desktop.
The MIT license grant is not for GitHub's trademarks, which include the logo designs. GitHub reserves all trademark and copyright rights in and to all GitHub trademarks. GitHub's logos include, for instance, the stylized Invertocat designs that include "logo" in the file title in the following folder: logos.
GitHub® and its stylized versions and the Invertocat mark are GitHub's Trademarks or registered Trademarks. When using GitHub's logos, be sure to follow the GitHub logo guidelines.