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berkorbay/github_desktop_ubuntu.md

Last active February 11, 2026 21:08
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To install Github Desktop for Ubuntu
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github_desktop_ubuntu.md

IMPORTANT

See the following links for further updates to Github Desktop for Ubuntu. These are official instructions. (also mentioned by fetwar on Nov 3, 2023)

For the sake of "maintaining the tradition" here is the updated version.

# UPDATE (2024-01-24)

## Direct copy-paste from official instrubtions
## Github Desktop for Ubuntu
## Get the @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'
## Install Github Desktop for Ubuntu
sudo apt update && sudo apt install github-desktop

There are other methods mentioned in the comments. Many thanks to their contributions.

Archive

# UPDATE (2022-11-07): Thanks to Sxvxgee's message, the updated code is as follows

sudo wget https://github.com/shiftkey/desktop/releases/download/release-3.1.1-linux1/GitHubDesktop-linux-3.1.1-linux1.deb
### Uncomment below line if you have not installed gdebi-core before
# sudo apt-get install gdebi-core 
sudo gdebi GitHubDesktop-linux-3.1.1-linux1.deb


# UPDATE (2021-10-18): Thanks to Amin Yahyaabadi's message, the updated code is as follows

#sudo wget https://github.com/shiftkey/desktop/releases/download/release-2.9.3-linux3/GitHubDesktop-linux-2.9.3-linux3.deb
### Uncomment below line if you have not installed gdebi-core before
# sudo apt-get install gdebi-core 
#sudo gdebi GitHubDesktop-linux-2.9.3-linux3.deb

# UPDATE (2021-03-05): Thanks to PaoloRanzi81's comment, the updated code is as follows https://gist.github.com/PaoloRanzi81

#sudo wget https://github.com/shiftkey/desktop/releases/download/release-2.6.3-linux1/GitHubDesktop-linux-2.6.3-linux1.deb
### Uncomment below line if you have not installed gdebi-core before
# sudo apt-get install gdebi-core 
#sudo gdebi GitHubDesktop-linux-2.6.3-linux1.deb

## Initial post
#sudo wget https://github.com/shiftkey/desktop/releases/download/release-2.1.0-linux1/GitHubDesktop-linux-2.1.0-linux1.deb
#sudo gdebi GitHubDesktop-linux-2.1.0-linux1.deb
@MrZeeGaming
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MrZeeGaming commented Mar 19, 2025 •
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can someone help me I can't sign in with github desktop
This will be helpful for our school project

image

@phanect
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phanect commented Mar 19, 2025 •
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@MrZeeGaming Is your browser installed from Flatpak? Its path was a bit irregular and GitHub Desktop couldn't communicate with browser properly on my end.
IIRC, I installed the browser from snap or deb repository.

Hope it helps.

@Raquel-VF
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Raquel-VF commented Apr 27, 2025

thanks ! you save me !!!

@Eaglemann
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Eaglemann commented Apr 27, 2025 •
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Try this:

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'

sudo apt update && sudo apt install github-desktop

Reference

@ExilProductions
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ExilProductions commented May 3, 2025

Thank you sooo much

@Vishwa021
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Vishwa021 commented Jul 28, 2025

thank you very much this is amazing

@ZoanHy
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ZoanHy commented Aug 5, 2025

thank you very much really good

@iberno
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iberno commented Aug 12, 2025

Try this:

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'

sudo apt update && sudo apt install github-desktop

Reference

Thanks Man, works for me, Ubuntu Budgie

@Demetrius-ch
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Demetrius-ch commented Aug 12, 2025 via email

@mcportal12345
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mcportal12345 commented Nov 1, 2025

would it work on arch with pacman pckage manager

@Kjrm00
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Kjrm00 commented Nov 25, 2025

how can i install github desktop in fedora workstation 43

@cedricve
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cedricve commented Dec 11, 2025

Try this:

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'

sudo apt update && sudo apt install github-desktop

Reference

Thanks Man, works for me, Ubuntu Budgie

worked! thanks

@jackfido
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jackfido commented Dec 12, 2025

Try this:

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'

sudo apt update && sudo apt install github-desktop

Reference

this reference works to me on Debian 13, thank you all

@Dimacat-exe
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Dimacat-exe commented Dec 14, 2025

would it work on arch with pacman pckage manager

Well you need to adjust it if you want, anyways isn't Arch has its own GH Desktop? https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/github-desktop-bin

@Dimacat-exe
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Dimacat-exe commented Dec 14, 2025

Try this:

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'

sudo apt update && sudo apt install github-desktop

Reference

Work so well man. Thank you

@akindeleb648-lang
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akindeleb648-lang commented Jan 18, 2026

Uploading 198544.jpg…

@smitdylan2001
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smitdylan2001 commented Jan 25, 2026

Works for me, thanks

@samillen
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samillen commented Jan 27, 2026

Thank you! This works really well.

@PiezoGo
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PiezoGo commented Feb 1, 2026

is it safe??

@tbohlender
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tbohlender commented Feb 8, 2026

Currently I get for this the hint for an invalid certificate. Tried to check it

echo | openssl s_client \
  -connect apt.packages.shiftkey.dev:443 \
  -servername apt.packages.shiftkey.dev 2>/dev/null \
| openssl x509 -noout -subject -issuer -ext subjectAltName

and here the result

subject=C=US, ST=WA, L=Redmond, O=Microsoft Corporation, CN=*.azureedge.net
issuer=C=US, O=Microsoft Corporation, CN=Microsoft Azure ECC TLS Issuing CA 04
X509v3 Subject Alternative Name: 
    DNS:*.azureedge.net

Guess the hint for not matching CN seems to be right.

@Eaglemann
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Eaglemann commented Feb 8, 2026

Currently I get for this the hint for an invalid certificate. Tried to check it

echo | openssl s_client \
  -connect apt.packages.shiftkey.dev:443 \
  -servername apt.packages.shiftkey.dev 2>/dev/null \
| openssl x509 -noout -subject -issuer -ext subjectAltName

and here the result

subject=C=US, ST=WA, L=Redmond, O=Microsoft Corporation, CN=*.azureedge.net
issuer=C=US, O=Microsoft Corporation, CN=Microsoft Azure ECC TLS Issuing CA 04
X509v3 Subject Alternative Name: 
    DNS:*.azureedge.net

I hope this helps:

Remove broken repo

sudo rm /etc/apt/sources.list.d/shiftkey-packages.list
sudo rm /usr/share/keyrings/shiftkey-packages.gpg

Add working mirror (officially documented in shiftkey/desktop README)

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'

sudo apt update

@cybertecklabs-labs
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cybertecklabs-labs commented Feb 11, 2026

@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

Launch
This isn't mentioned in the guide but you'll find GitHub Desktop in Applications > Accessories, or you can launch it from the Terminal using github-desktop

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