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Install GitHub Desktop on Pop!_OS

Pop!_OS is based on Ubuntu LTS, so you install GitHub Desktop 3.6.10 on Pop!_OS with the same .deb package used on Ubuntu. Pop!_OS 24.04 follows Ubuntu 24.04 and Pop!_OS 22.04 follows Ubuntu 22.04, and both of those bases are tested in CI.

Pop!_OS versions supported

  • Pop!_OS 24.04 (Ubuntu 24.04 base): should work. The same AppArmor profile as Ubuntu 24.04 applies.
  • Pop!_OS 22.04 (Ubuntu 22.04 base): should work.

Pop!_OS itself is not in the CI matrix. Only the 64-bit x86_64 edition can run this build.

Keyring on Pop!_OS

GitHub Desktop stores your sign-in token through the Secret Service API. Both editions run GNOME Keyring by default: Pop!_OS 22.04 through GNOME, and Pop!_OS 24.04 through the COSMIC session (cosmic-session starts gnome-keyring). If you are signed out after every restart anyway, make sure the keyring is installed and unlocked (step 4 below), then sign in again.

How to install GitHub Desktop on Pop!_OS

  1. 01Download the .deb and its checksum

    Download GitHubDesktop-linux-amd64-3.6.10-linux1.deb and GitHubDesktop-linux-amd64-3.6.10-linux1.deb.sha256 from the latest release.

    shell
    cd ~/Downloads
wget https://github.com/yehudah/desktop/releases/download/release-3.6.10-linux1/GitHubDesktop-linux-amd64-3.6.10-linux1.deb \
     https://github.com/yehudah/desktop/releases/download/release-3.6.10-linux1/GitHubDesktop-linux-amd64-3.6.10-linux1.deb.sha256

  2. 02Verify the download

    Check the file against its SHA-256 checksum. The command must print OK.

    shell
    sha256sum -c GitHubDesktop-linux-amd64-3.6.10-linux1.deb.sha256

  3. 03Install the package with apt

    Install the local .deb with apt, which also installs its dependencies (libc6 2.34 or newer and libcurl4).

    shell
    sudo apt install ./GitHubDesktop-linux-amd64-3.6.10-linux1.deb

  4. 04Make sure sign-in will work

    Install a Secret Service keyring and desktop-file-utils if they are missing. Most desktop installs already have both.

    shell
    sudo apt install gnome-keyring desktop-file-utils

  5. 05Start GitHub Desktop

    Open GitHub Desktop from your application menu, or run github-desktop in a terminal.

    shell
    github-desktop

Sign in to GitHub from GitHub Desktop

Choose Sign in to GitHub.com. Your browser opens GitHub's authorization page; approve it, and allow the browser to open the x-github-client:// link. The page names GitHub Desktop's development OAuth app, because unofficial builds cannot use GitHub's production app. If nothing happens after you approve, check that the .deb registered the link handler:

shell
xdg-mime query default x-scheme-handler/x-github-client

It should print github-desktop.desktop. If you get signed out after every restart, your keyring is not running or is locked. See sign-in troubleshooting.

Update GitHub Desktop on Pop!_OS

There is no auto-update. When a new version comes out (check the changelog), download the new .deb and install it the same way. apt upgrades the existing package in place and keeps your repositories and settings.

Uninstall GitHub Desktop

shell
sudo apt remove github-desktop

Your settings stay in ~/.config/GitHub Desktop. Delete that folder too if you want a clean slate. Your cloned repositories are never touched.