How to Install Draw.io Desktop on Ubuntu (26.04, 24.04, 22.04)

Draw.io (also known as diagrams.net) is a free, open-source diagramming application for creating flowcharts, network diagrams, UML diagrams, and database schemas. The desktop version runs entirely offline, bundles a full shape library, and optionally connects to Google Drive or OneDrive for cloud storage. Three methods are available to install Draw.io on Ubuntu 26.04, 24.04, and 22.04 LTS, each with different trade-offs for updates and system integration.

Install Draw.io on Ubuntu

Each method offers different trade-offs between update frequency, system integration, and sandboxing.

Method	Channel	Version	Updates	Best For
.deb Package	GitHub Releases	Latest stable	Manual	Users who want direct system integration
Snap (Stable)	Snapcraft	28.2.x (may lag behind)	Automatic	Most Ubuntu users who prefer proven stability
Snap (Edge)	Snapcraft	Latest release	Automatic	Users who want the newest version with Snap sandboxing
Flatpak	Flathub	Latest stable	Automatic	Users who prefer sandboxed applications

For most users, the Snap stable channel is recommended because Ubuntu includes Snap support by default and updates happen automatically. Snap also offers an edge channel that tracks the latest release for users who want newer versions sooner. Choose Flatpak if you already use Flatpak for other applications or prefer its sandboxing model. The .deb package gives you direct system integration but requires manual updates.

These steps cover Ubuntu 26.04 LTS, 24.04 LTS, and 22.04 LTS. All three installation methods work identically across supported LTS releases. Draw.io bundles its own dependencies, so version-specific issues are rare.

Method 1: Install Draw.io via .deb Package

The official .deb package from GitHub provides a self-contained Electron-based application. Draw.io Desktop bundles all required libraries within the package, and apt install handles any remaining system dependencies automatically. This method gives you direct integration with Ubuntu’s package manager without containerization overhead.

Update Ubuntu System Packages for Draw.io

Refresh your package lists and upgrade installed packages:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

If your Ubuntu user account is not in the sudo group, see how to add a user to sudoers on Ubuntu before continuing.

Install Draw.io Download Dependencies

Install wget and curl, which the download step uses to fetch the .deb package from GitHub. The -y flag automatically confirms the installation prompt:

sudo apt install wget curl -y

Download the Draw.io .deb Package

Download the latest Draw.io desktop package for Ubuntu from the official GitHub releases:

curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/jgraph/drawio-desktop/releases/latest | grep -oP '"browser_download_url": "\K[^"]*amd64[^"]*\.deb' | wget -i -

This command chains three tools together:

• curl -s fetches the latest release data from the Draw.io desktop repository (see our curl command guide for more options).
• grep -oP uses Perl-compatible regex to extract the download URL for the amd64 .deb package (see our grep command guide for pattern matching options).
• wget -i - reads the URL from standard input and downloads the file (see our wget command examples for more download options).

Install the Draw.io .deb Package

Install the downloaded .deb package using apt, which automatically resolves any remaining dependencies:

sudo apt install ./drawio-amd64-*.deb

Verify the installation by checking the package version:

dpkg -s draw.io | grep -E 'Package:|Version:'

Package: draw.io
Version: 29.5.2

Clean up the downloaded .deb file after installation:

rm drawio-amd64-*.deb

Method 2: Install Draw.io via Snap

Ubuntu includes Snap support by default, making this the simplest installation method. The Snap package is maintained by the official Draw.io team (verified publisher), runs in a sandboxed environment, and receives automatic updates. Snap offers two channels: stable for proven releases, and edge for the latest version.

Install Draw.io from Snap Store

Install the stable channel release of Draw.io:

sudo snap install drawio

To install the edge channel instead, which tracks the latest upstream release:

sudo snap install drawio --edge

The edge channel receives new versions before they reach stable. This means you get the latest features sooner, but edge releases may contain bugs not yet caught in testing. You can switch between channels at any time with sudo snap refresh drawio --stable or sudo snap refresh drawio --edge.

Snap handles updates automatically in the background, checking for new versions four times daily and applying them when the application is not running.

Verify Draw.io Snap Installation

To confirm the installation succeeded, list the installed Snap package:

snap list drawio

Name    Version  Rev  Tracking       Publisher  Notes
drawio  28.2.5   255  latest/stable  jgraph**   -

The jgraph** publisher name with the double star confirms this is the official verified package from the Draw.io developers.

Method 3: Install Draw.io via Flatpak

Flatpak provides sandboxed applications with automatic updates and controlled access to your system. Since Ubuntu does not include Flatpak by default, you need to install it first. See How to Install Flatpak on Ubuntu if you have not set it up yet.

Enable Flathub for Draw.io on Ubuntu

Once Flatpak is installed, add Flathub as a remote repository if you have not already:

sudo flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

The --if-not-exists flag skips this step if Flathub is already configured, preventing duplicate remote errors.

Install Draw.io from Flathub

With Flathub enabled, install Draw.io using Flatpak:

sudo flatpak install flathub com.jgraph.drawio.desktop -y

Flatpak downloads the application and any required runtime dependencies during installation. The first Flatpak install on a system takes longer because it downloads shared runtimes that other Flatpak applications can reuse.

Verify Draw.io Flatpak Installation

After installation completes, verify Draw.io appears in your installed Flatpak applications:

flatpak list | grep -i drawio

JGraph    com.jgraph.drawio.desktop    29.5.2    stable    system

Flatpak applications update when you run sudo flatpak update, either manually or through your system’s update manager.

Launch Draw.io on Ubuntu

Launch Draw.io from the Terminal

For .deb and Snap installations, run:

drawio

For Flatpak installations, use the full application ID:

flatpak run com.jgraph.drawio.desktop

Launch Draw.io from the Applications Menu

Draw.io is also accessible from the desktop application menu. Navigate through:

Activities > Show Applications > Draw.io

Manage Draw.io on Ubuntu

Update Draw.io on Ubuntu

Snap and Flatpak installations update automatically in the background, so you typically do not need to do anything. However, if you want to manually trigger an update, use these commands:

Snap:

sudo snap refresh drawio

Flatpak:

sudo flatpak update com.jgraph.drawio.desktop

Update Draw.io .deb Package

The .deb installation does not update automatically. The following script checks the GitHub API for the latest release, compares it against your installed version, and downloads and installs the new package only when an update is available. It includes safety checks for required tools and empty API responses.

Create the update script:

sudo tee /usr/local/bin/update-drawio.sh > /dev/null << 'SCRIPT'
#!/bin/bash
set -e

# Check required tools
for cmd in curl grep wget dpkg; do
  if ! command -v "$cmd" > /dev/null 2>&1; then
    echo "Error: $cmd is required but not installed."
    exit 1
  fi
done

# Get current installed version (or "none" if not installed)
CURRENT_VERSION=$(dpkg-query -W -f='${Version}' draw.io 2>/dev/null || echo "none")

# Fetch latest version from GitHub API
LATEST_VERSION=$(curl -fsSL https://api.github.com/repos/jgraph/drawio-desktop/releases/latest | grep -oP '"tag_name":\s*"v?\K[^"]+')

if [ -z "$LATEST_VERSION" ]; then
  echo "Error: Could not fetch latest version from GitHub."
  exit 1
fi

echo "Installed version: $CURRENT_VERSION"
echo "Latest version:    $LATEST_VERSION"

# Compare versions and exit if already current
if [ "$CURRENT_VERSION" = "$LATEST_VERSION" ]; then
  echo "Draw.io is already up to date."
  exit 0
fi

echo "Updating Draw.io from $CURRENT_VERSION to $LATEST_VERSION..."

# Download the latest .deb package to a temporary directory
WORK_DIR=$(mktemp -d)
cd "$WORK_DIR"

echo "Downloading Draw.io $LATEST_VERSION..."
DEB_URL=$(curl -fsSL https://api.github.com/repos/jgraph/drawio-desktop/releases/latest | grep -oP '"browser_download_url": "\K[^"]*amd64[^"]*\.deb')

if [ -z "$DEB_URL" ]; then
  echo "Error: Could not find .deb download URL."
  rm -rf "$WORK_DIR"
  exit 1
fi

wget -q --show-progress "$DEB_URL"

echo "Installing Draw.io $LATEST_VERSION..."
sudo apt install ./*.deb -y

# Clean up downloaded file
rm -rf "$WORK_DIR"

# Verify the update
NEW_VERSION=$(dpkg-query -W -f='${Version}' draw.io 2>/dev/null || echo "unknown")
echo "Draw.io updated to $NEW_VERSION"
SCRIPT

Make the script executable:

sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/update-drawio.sh

Since the script is installed to /usr/local/bin, run it from any terminal directory:

update-drawio.sh

Installed version: 29.5.2
Latest version:    29.5.2
Draw.io is already up to date.

When an update is available, the script downloads the new .deb package, installs it over the existing version, and verifies the result.

Avoid automating this script with cron. Network failures or unexpected upstream changes can break the installation silently. Run the script manually so you can monitor the output and address any issues immediately.

Remove Draw.io from Ubuntu

If you decide to remove Draw.io later, use the command matching your installation method:

.deb package:

sudo apt remove draw.io

Verify the package was removed:

apt-cache policy draw.io

draw.io:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: (none)
  Version table:

Snap:

sudo snap remove drawio

However, Snap retains application data in ~/snap/drawio/ after removal. To completely remove this data, delete the directory with rm -rf (remove recursively, force no confirmation prompts):

rm -rf ~/snap/drawio/

Flatpak:

sudo flatpak remove --delete-data com.jgraph.drawio.desktop -y

The --delete-data flag removes application data stored in the Flatpak sandbox. After removal, clean up unused runtimes with sudo flatpak uninstall --unused.

Remove Draw.io Configuration Data

The following commands permanently delete your Draw.io settings, recent files list, and cached data. Export any important diagrams before proceeding, as this action cannot be undone.

For .deb installations, residual configuration and cache directories remain after uninstallation. To remove them completely, delete both directories with rm -rf:

rm -rf ~/.config/draw.io ~/.cache/draw.io

Troubleshoot Common Draw.io Issues on Ubuntu

Fix Draw.io Launch Failures on Ubuntu

If Draw.io fails to start or closes immediately, launch it from the terminal to see error messages. The 2>&1 syntax redirects error output to standard output so head -20 captures the first 20 lines of both. For .deb and Snap installations:

drawio 2>&1 | head -20

For Flatpak, use:

flatpak run com.jgraph.drawio.desktop 2>&1 | head -20

Common causes include missing display server connections (especially on Wayland) or GPU driver issues. If you see GPU-related errors, try launching with GPU acceleration disabled:

drawio --disable-gpu

Fix Draw.io Flatpak File Dialog Issues

Flatpak applications use portals to access files outside their sandbox. If file open/save dialogs do not work correctly, ensure the portal packages are installed:

sudo apt install xdg-desktop-portal xdg-desktop-portal-gtk

Afterward, log out and log back in for the portal services to start properly.

Fix Draw.io Snap File Access Issues

By default, Snap applications have limited file system access. If Draw.io cannot open files from certain directories, you may need to grant additional permissions. Check current connections with:

snap connections drawio

For example, to allow access to removable media (USB drives), run:

sudo snap connect drawio:removable-media

Fix Draw.io HiDPI Scaling on Ubuntu

On high-resolution displays, Draw.io may appear too small or blurry. For the .deb installation, set the GDK_SCALE environment variable before launching to force a specific scaling factor (where 2 means 200% zoom):

GDK_SCALE=2 drawio

Alternatively, for Electron-based applications like Draw.io, you can also try the --force-device-scale-factor flag:

drawio --force-device-scale-factor=1.5

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

Draw.io is installed on Ubuntu and ready to create flowcharts, network diagrams, UML diagrams, and database schemas offline or with cloud storage. Snap users can switch between stable and edge channels as needed, Flatpak users have sandboxed isolation with automatic updates, and .deb users have direct system integration with manual update control. For related graphics and productivity tools, see how to install Inkscape on Ubuntu for vector editing, install GIMP on Ubuntu for image manipulation, or install LibreOffice on Ubuntu for a complete office suite.