Install GitHub Desktop on Ubuntu

Want to install GitHub Desktop on Ubuntu? In this tutorial, I will show you two simple ways to do so:

• Using the .deb file (recommended)
• Using the install script (unofficial)

So let's start with the first one.

Method 1: Install GitHub Desktop using the .deb file

This is what I'd recommend.

Why? Because it is the official way.

This method involves downloading the .deb package and the installation.

First, go to the official download page of the GitHub desktop and find the latest version ending with the .deb extension:

From here, you have two options, you can either click on the .deb file and directly download it or you copy the link and then use the wget command to download it.

I will go with the wget command method:

First, right-click on the GitHub desktop deb file and select the Copy Link option:

Now, open your terminal and use the wget command in the following manner to download it:

wget <Copied_link>

In my case, the latest version was 3.3.3, so my command would look like this:

wget https://github.com/shiftkey/desktop/releases/download/release-3.3.3-linux2/GitHubDesktop-linux-amd64-3.3.3-linux2.deb

No matter if you directly downloaded the deb file from the browser or used the wget command, here's what you need to use to install that deb file:

sudo apt install ./GitHubDesktop*.deb

Once done, you can find the option to use the GitHub desktop from your system menu.

Method 2: Install GitHub Desktop using install script

While doing research for this guide, I came across a bash script that will automate the process of downloading and installing the GitHub desktop.

Here's the link to the GitHub script if you want to learn more:

To use this script, first, you need to install curl in Ubuntu:

sudo apt install curl

Once done, use the following command to download the script:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kontr0x/github-desktop-install/main/installGitHubDesktop.sh -o installGitHubDesktop.sh

Finally, execute the script:

bash ./installGitHubDesktop.sh

That's it!

Uninstall GitHub Desktop from Ubuntu

No matter what method you choose to install the GitHub desktop, it is only available in the .deb packaging format.

And uninstalling such packages needs one little extra step as you first have to find the package name.

For that, you need to use the apt list command with the grep command as shown:

apt list --installed | grep -i GitHub

The package name is github-desktop and now, you can easily remove it using the apt remove command:

sudo apt remove github-desktop

That's it!

More on Git

Here's how to install and configure Git on Ubuntu:

How to Uninstall Apt Packages from Ubuntu

Installed a package but no longer need it? Learn how to remove a package using the apt command in Ubuntu.

Learn UbuntuSagar Sharma

A quick look at git commands:

Basic Git Commands You Must Know [Download Cheat Sheet]

This quick guide shows you all the basic Git commands and their usage. You can also download these commands for quick reference.

It's FOSSAbhishek Prakash

I hope you will find this guide helpful.