GitHub Desktop for Linux (unofficial)

English | 简体中文

⚠️ Important
This branch is community-maintained and is not an official GitHub release for Linux. All Linux packaging, adaptation, and testing are contributed by the community. Use at your own discretion.

GitHub Desktop is an open-source Electron-based GitHub app. It is written in TypeScript and uses React.

This branch adds Linux support (unofficial) to GitHub Desktop, including Debian/Ubuntu (.deb), Fedora/RHEL (.rpm), Arch Linux (.pkg.tar.zst) , AppImage and tar.gz packages for both x86_64 and arm64 architectures.

Downloads

Go to the Releases page and download the build for your required architecture and format.

Installation

Debian / Ubuntu

sudo apt install ./GitHubDesktop-linux-*.deb

Fedora / RHEL

sudo dnf install ./GitHubDesktop-linux-*.rpm

Arch Linux

sudo pacman -U ./GitHubDesktop-linux-*.pkg.tar.zst

AppImage

chmod +x GitHubDesktop-linux-*.AppImage
./GitHubDesktop-linux-*.AppImage

tar.gz

tar -xzf GitHubDesktop-linux-*.tar.gz
cd GitHubDesktop-linux-*
chmod +x desktop
./desktop

Building from Source

Prerequisites

• Node.js >= 24.x
• Yarn 1.x
• Linux build tools:
  • Debian/Ubuntu: sudo apt-get install dpkg-dev fakeroot
  • Fedora/RHEL: sudo dnf install rpm-build
  • Arch Linux: sudo pacman -S base-devel zstd

Build Steps

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/venti1112/github_desktop_for_linux.git
cd github_desktop_for_linux

# Install dependencies
yarn install

# Build the production app
yarn build:prod

# Package for all available formats
yarn package

The built packages will be in the dist/ directory.

What's Different from the Original

This branch adds the following Linux-specific changes:

• Packaging scripts for .deb, .rpm, .pkg.tar.zst, .AppImage, .tar.gz
• Linux OAuth callback fix for protocol handling in second-instance
• Desktop notifications are now supported on Linux
• Auto-update disabled on Linux (no official update server supports Linux)
• Desktop integration with .desktop file, icons, and MIME type handlers
• CI/CD workflow for automated builds on GitHub Actions
• Unofficial disclaimer: This branch is a community-maintained unofficial version and is not affiliated with GitHub's official macOS/Windows releases. All Linux-specific changes are contributed by the community and have not been tested or endorsed by GitHub. Please be aware of this when using it.

Known Limitations

• Auto-update is not available on Linux.
• This is an unofficial community fork, which may lack the quality assurance, regular updates, and stability guarantees of the official release. Use at your own risk.

Contributing

If you'd like to contribute to this Linux port, please see the original CONTRIBUTING.md for general guidelines.

License

MIT

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.