How to Install GitHub Desktop on Ubuntu (26.04, 24.04, 22.04)

GitHub Desktop provides a graphical interface for Git version control, making it easier to commit changes, create branches, manage pull requests, and collaborate on projects without memorizing command-line syntax. Whether you are new to version control or prefer a visual workflow, GitHub Desktop streamlines repository management on your Ubuntu system. While GitHub does not officially support Linux, the community-maintained shiftkey/desktop fork packages GitHub Desktop for Linux distributions with regular updates and full feature parity.

This guide covers three installation methods: manual .deb package installation for version pinning, APT repository configuration for automatic updates, and Flatpak installation for sandboxed deployment. By the end, you will have a working GitHub Desktop installation ready to clone repositories, create branches, commit changes, and manage pull requests through a visual interface.

Choose Your GitHub Desktop Installation Method

GitHub Desktop can be installed through several channels on Ubuntu. Each method has different trade-offs for maintenance and update frequency.

Method	Channel	Version	Updates	Best For
Manual .deb	GitHub Releases	Latest stable	Manual download	Users who need version pinning or offline installation
APT Repository	Mwt community mirror	Latest stable	Automatic via apt upgrade	Most users who prefer hands-off updates
Flatpak	Flathub	Latest stable	Automatic via flatpak update	Users who prefer sandboxed applications

For most users, the APT repository method is recommended because it integrates with standard system updates and requires no manual intervention. Flatpak provides additional sandboxing if you prefer isolated applications. If you use SSH-based Git workflows, configure SSH authentication alongside GitHub Desktop for seamless credential management.

The community-maintained repositories use a universal package format that works across all current Ubuntu LTS releases, including 26.04, 24.04, and 22.04. Commands shown in this guide work identically regardless of your specific Ubuntu version.

Prepare Your System for Installation

Before proceeding, verify your system architecture to ensure you download the correct package variant:

dpkg --print-architecture

amd64

Most modern Ubuntu systems report amd64. Raspberry Pi and ARM-based systems show arm64 or armhf. Update your system before adding new software to ensure package dependencies resolve correctly:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

Install GitHub Desktop on Ubuntu

Option 1: Install via .deb Package

The manual .deb method gives you direct control over which version to install and works well for offline installations or when you need to pin a specific release. This approach queries the GitHub API to automatically detect the latest version, then downloads the matching package for your architecture:

VERSION=$(curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/shiftkey/desktop/releases/latest | grep -oP '"tag_name": "release-\K[^"]+')
ARCH=$(dpkg --print-architecture)
curl -LO "https://github.com/shiftkey/desktop/releases/download/release-${VERSION}/GitHubDesktop-linux-${ARCH}-${VERSION}.deb"

The first curl command queries GitHub’s API to find the latest release tag, then grep -oP extracts the version number using a Perl-compatible regular expression. The second curl -LO downloads the .deb package, where -L follows redirects (required for GitHub release downloads) and -O saves the file with its original filename. The $(dpkg --print-architecture) expansion automatically detects your system architecture (amd64, arm64, or armhf) to download the correct package variant.

Install the downloaded package using apt, which resolves dependencies automatically:

sudo apt install ./GitHubDesktop-linux-${ARCH}-${VERSION}.deb

Verify the installation by checking the installed package version:

apt-cache policy github-desktop

github-desktop:
  Installed: 3.4.12-linux1
  Candidate: 3.4.12-linux1
  Version table:
 *** 3.4.12-linux1 100
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status

Option 2: Install via APT Repository

Two community-maintained APT repositories mirror the shiftkey/desktop project, both hosted in the United States. This method integrates GitHub Desktop into your standard system update workflow, updating automatically through apt upgrade commands.

The Mwt mirror is currently recommended as the primary installation source. The official Shiftkey repository (https://apt.packages.shiftkey.dev) is experiencing SSL certificate issues where it presents a mismatched *.azureedge.net certificate instead of a valid certificate for its domain. This Azure CDN configuration error prevents secure HTTPS connections until resolved. Both mirrors ship identical packages and use the same GPG signing key.

Add Mwt Mirror (Recommended)

The Mwt mirror is fully operational with valid SSL certificates and uses the same package signing key as the upstream Shiftkey repository. Download and convert the GPG key to the binary format required by APT:

curl -fsSL https://mirror.mwt.me/shiftkey-desktop/gpgkey | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/mwt-desktop.gpg

The gpg --dearmor command converts the ASCII-armored GPG key into the binary format that APT requires. Desktop Ubuntu systems include gnupg by default; minimal server installations may need to install it first with sudo apt install gnupg.

Add the repository using modern DEB822 format with shell expansion for automatic architecture detection:

cat <<EOF | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mwt-desktop.sources
Types: deb
URIs: https://mirror.mwt.me/shiftkey-desktop/deb/
Suites: any
Components: main
Architectures: $(dpkg --print-architecture)
Signed-By: /usr/share/keyrings/mwt-desktop.gpg
EOF

Add Shiftkey Mirror (Alternative with SSL Issues)

The official Shiftkey repository is currently presenting an SSL certificate for *.azureedge.net instead of apt.packages.shiftkey.dev, causing certificate validation failures. This is an Azure CDN configuration issue that prevents secure HTTPS connections. Use the Mwt mirror above until this issue is resolved. Only attempt these commands if you have confirmed the SSL certificate has been fixed by running curl -I https://apt.packages.shiftkey.dev/gpg.key and receiving an HTTP 200 response without certificate errors.

If the SSL certificate issue has been resolved, download and convert the GPG key:

curl -fsSL https://apt.packages.shiftkey.dev/gpg.key | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/shiftkey-packages.gpg

Add the repository using modern DEB822 format with shell expansion for automatic architecture detection:

cat <<EOF | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/shiftkey-packages.sources
Types: deb
URIs: https://apt.packages.shiftkey.dev/ubuntu/
Suites: any
Components: main
Architectures: $(dpkg --print-architecture)
Signed-By: /usr/share/keyrings/shiftkey-packages.gpg
EOF

Install from Repository

After adding either repository, refresh the package lists to include the new source:

sudo apt update

Install GitHub Desktop from the repository:

sudo apt install github-desktop

Verify the installation:

apt-cache policy github-desktop

github-desktop:
  Installed: 3.4.12-linux1
  Candidate: 3.4.12-linux1
  Version table:
 *** 3.4.12-linux1 500
        500 https://mirror.mwt.me/shiftkey-desktop/deb any/main amd64 Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status

Option 3: Install via Flatpak

Flatpak delivers GitHub Desktop in a sandboxed container with isolated dependencies. This approach provides consistent behavior across Ubuntu versions and other distributions while maintaining application security through restricted system access.

Flatpak is not pre-installed on Ubuntu. If you have not set up Flatpak yet, follow the Flatpak installation guide for Ubuntu to install the runtime and configure Flathub before proceeding.

Enable Flathub Repository

Add the Flathub repository system-wide to access the GitHub Desktop package:

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

Install from Flathub

Install GitHub Desktop from Flathub. The --system flag installs the application for all users on the system:

sudo flatpak install --system -y flathub io.github.shiftey.Desktop

Verify the Flatpak installation:

flatpak list | grep -i github

GitHub Desktop    io.github.shiftey.Desktop    3.4.12    system

Launch GitHub Desktop

Launch GitHub Desktop from Terminal

For .deb or APT installations, start GitHub Desktop from the terminal:

github-desktop

For Flatpak builds, the runtime requires the full application ID:

flatpak run io.github.shiftey.Desktop

Launch GitHub Desktop from Application Menu

GitHub Desktop also appears in the standard application menu. Search for “GitHub Desktop” in your desktop environment’s application launcher.

Manage Updates and Removal

Update GitHub Desktop

Update procedures vary by installation method. Flatpak and APT repository installations receive updates automatically through their respective package managers, while manual .deb installations require downloading new releases.

Update Flatpak installations system-wide:

sudo flatpak update --system

For APT repository installations, GitHub Desktop updates alongside other system packages:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

Manual .deb installations require downloading the latest package from the shiftkey/desktop releases page and reinstalling with sudo apt install ./GitHubDesktop-*.deb.

Remove GitHub Desktop

Removal commands match the installation method used. Choose the appropriate command below based on how you originally installed GitHub Desktop.

Remove APT Repository Installation

Remove the GitHub Desktop package and clean up any unused dependencies:

sudo apt remove github-desktop
sudo apt autoremove

If you added the Mwt mirror repository, remove the source file and GPG keyring so APT no longer polls an unused source:

sudo rm /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mwt-desktop.sources
sudo rm /usr/share/keyrings/mwt-desktop.gpg

If you used the Shiftkey mirror instead, remove its files:

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

Remove Flatpak Installation

Remove GitHub Desktop and its associated data from Flatpak:

sudo flatpak remove --system -y --delete-data io.github.shiftey.Desktop

Remove Manual .deb Installation

Manual .deb installations use the same package name and can be removed with the same APT commands. No additional cleanup is required since manual .deb installations do not add repository source files:

sudo apt remove github-desktop
sudo apt autoremove

Troubleshooting

Fix "Unable to locate package github-desktop"

If APT cannot find the github-desktop package, first verify that a repository source file exists:

ls /etc/apt/sources.list.d/*shiftkey*.sources /etc/apt/sources.list.d/*mwt*.sources 2>/dev/null

If no files appear, return to Option 2 and add one of the repository mirrors. After confirming the source file exists, refresh your package lists:

sudo apt update

If both shiftkey-packages.sources and mwt-desktop.sources exist, temporarily remove one mirror so apt relies on a single repository:

sudo rm /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mwt-desktop.sources
sudo apt update

Retry the installation:

sudo apt install github-desktop

Fix Flatpak Remote or App ID Errors

Flatpak errors commonly occur when the Flathub remote is missing or misconfigured. First, list configured remotes to verify whether Flathub is present:

flatpak remotes

Name    Options
flathub system

If Flathub does not appear in the output, re-add the system-wide remote:

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

Ensure the application ID is correct when installing or launching GitHub Desktop:

sudo flatpak install --system -y flathub io.github.shiftey.Desktop
flatpak run io.github.shiftey.Desktop

Fix .deb Installation Dependency Issues

If the .deb package installation fails because of missing dependencies, use APT to resolve them automatically instead of calling dpkg directly. From the directory containing the downloaded .deb file, run:

sudo apt install ./GitHubDesktop-*.deb

If you already attempted installation with dpkg and see unresolved dependency errors, repair them with:

sudo apt -f install

Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree... Done
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.

After dependencies resolve, rerun sudo apt install ./GitHubDesktop-*.deb to complete the installation.

FAQ

Conclusion

You now have GitHub Desktop configured on Ubuntu with verified repository access, package authentication through scoped GPG keyrings, and automatic updates through your chosen installation method. The visual interface handles branch creation, commit staging, pull request workflows, and merge conflict resolution without requiring command-line expertise. For production workflows, configure SSH keys for authentication, set up branch protection rules in repository settings, and enable two-factor authentication on your GitHub account.

Consider integrating GitHub Desktop with your existing development tools by pairing it with Visual Studio Code for editing or configuring custom diff tools for specialized file types. For terminal-based GitHub workflows that complement the visual interface, such as managing issues, pull requests, and releases from the command line, the GitHub CLI provides powerful automation capabilities. When you need to perform advanced Git operations, refer to guides on undoing Git commits, renaming branches, or clearing the Git cache.