GitHub Desktop - The Linux Fork

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

What is this repository for?

This repository contains specific patches on top of the upstream desktop/desktop repository to support Linux usage.

It also publishes releases for various Linux distributions:

• AppImage (.AppImage)
• Debian (.deb)
• RPM (.rpm)

Installation via package manager

You can use your operating system’s package manager to install github-desktop and keep it up to date on Debian and RPM-based distributions.

Debian/Ubuntu

There are two APT package feeds available, both hosted in the US. You only need to add one or the other here, as both of these are generated based on the releases from this repository.

@shiftkey package feed

wget -qO - https://apt.packages.shiftkey.dev/gpg.key | gpg --dearmor | sudo tee /usr/share/keyrings/shiftkey-packages.gpg > /dev/null
sudo sh -c 'echo "deb [arch=amd64 signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/shiftkey-packages.gpg] https://apt.packages.shiftkey.dev/ubuntu/ any main" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/shiftkey-packages.list'

@mwt package feed

wget -qO - https://mirror.mwt.me/shiftkey-desktop/gpgkey | gpg --dearmor | sudo tee /usr/share/keyrings/mwt-desktop.gpg > /dev/null
sudo sh -c 'echo "deb [arch=amd64 signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/mwt-desktop.gpg] https://mirror.mwt.me/shiftkey-desktop/deb/ any main" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mwt-desktop.list'

Installation

Once you have a feed configured, run this command to install the application:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install github-desktop

Red Hat/CentOS/Fedora

There are two RPM package feeds available, both hosted in the US. You only need to add one or the other here, as both of these are generated based on the releases from this repository.

@shiftkey package feed

sudo rpm --import https://rpm.packages.shiftkey.dev/gpg.key
sudo sh -c 'echo -e "[shiftkey-packages]\nname=GitHub Desktop\nbaseurl=https://rpm.packages.shiftkey.dev/rpm/\nenabled=1\ngpgcheck=1\nrepo_gpgcheck=1\ngpgkey=https://rpm.packages.shiftkey.dev/gpg.key" > /etc/yum.repos.d/shiftkey-packages.repo'

@mwt package feed

sudo rpm --import https://mirror.mwt.me/shiftkey-desktop/gpgkey
sudo sh -c 'echo -e "[mwt-packages]\nname=GitHub Desktop\nbaseurl=https://mirror.mwt.me/shiftkey-desktop/rpm\nenabled=1\ngpgcheck=1\nrepo_gpgcheck=1\ngpgkey=https://mirror.mwt.me/shiftkey-desktop/gpgkey" > /etc/yum.repos.d/mwt-packages.repo'

Installation

Once you have a feed configured, run this command to install the application:

# if yum is your package manager
sudo yum install github-desktop

# if dnf is your package manager
sudo dnf install github-desktop

# if zypper is your package manager
sudo zypper ref && sudo zypper in github-desktop

OpenSUSE

There are two RPM package feeds available, both hosted in the US. You only need to add one or the other here, as both of these are generated based on the releases from this repository.

@shiftkey package feed

sudo rpm --import https://rpm.packages.shiftkey.dev/gpg.key
sudo sh -c 'echo -e "[shiftkey-packages]\nname=GitHub Desktop\nbaseurl=https://rpm.packages.shiftkey.dev/rpm/\nenabled=1\ngpgcheck=1\nrepo_gpgcheck=1\ngpgkey=https://rpm.packages.shiftkey.dev/gpg.key" > /etc/zypp/repos.d/shiftkey-packages.repo'

@mwt package feed

sudo rpm --import https://mirror.mwt.me/shiftkey-desktop/gpgkey
sudo sh -c 'echo -e "[mwt-packages]\nname=GitHub Desktop\nbaseurl=https://mirror.mwt.me/shiftkey-desktop/rpm\nenabled=1\ngpgcheck=1\nrepo_gpgcheck=1\ngpgkey=https://mirror.mwt.me/shiftkey-desktop/gpgkey" > /etc/zypp/repos.d/mwt-packages.repo'

Installation

sudo zypper ref && sudo zypper in github-desktop

Other Distributions

Arch Linux

Arch Linux users can install GitHub Desktop from the AUR.

gnome-keyring is required and the daemon must be launched either at login or when the X server is started. Normally this is handled by a display manager, but in other cases following the instructions found on the Arch Wiki will fix the issue of not being able to save login credentials.

Cross-Distribution Packages

GitHub Desktop is also available cross-platform as a Flatpak and AppImage.

deb-get

Debian/Ubuntu users can also install directly from this repository using deb-get: deb-get install github-desktop.

Known issues

If you’re having troubles with Desktop, please refer to the Known issues document for guidance and workarounds for common limitations.

If your package manager is still trying to reach PackageCloud, refer to the cleanup instructions for details about migrating away.

More information

Please check out the README on the upstream GitHub Desktop project and desktop.github.com for more product-oriented information about GitHub Desktop.

See our getting started documentation for more information on how to set up, authenticate, and configure GitHub Desktop.

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.