GitHub Desktop for Linux
The actively-maintained fork — signed Ubuntu & Debian packages, installable and auto-updated in one command.
The actively-maintained fork — signed Ubuntu & Debian packages, installable and auto-updated in one command.
sudo mkdir -p /etc/apt/keyrings
curl -fsSL https://apt.guysinc.pub/guysinc-apt.gpg | sudo tee /etc/apt/keyrings/guysinc-apt.gpg > /dev/null
echo "deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/guysinc-apt.gpg] https://apt.guysinc.pub/github-desktop stable main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/guysinc-github-desktop.list
sudo apt update && sudo apt install github-desktopYou'll get updates automatically through apt from here on.
The long-running community fork went quiet in 2025. This one is being kept current — starting where it left off.
Packages are served from a GPG-signed APT repo, so apt verifies every update. No unsigned downloads.
.deb, .rpm, and AppImage for x64 and ARM — pick what fits your distro.
Ships with its own OAuth app, so signing in to GitHub.com just works.
Fingerprint of the primary key — this is the one to check:
F45B B6D3 4D82 EF56 BB97 FBE0 F305 FB33 592B 46C8
gpg --show-keys will also list signing subkeys, one per project, and it is a
subkey that actually signs this repository. The primary certifies them, stays offline, and does not change when a
subkey is rotated — so it is the fingerprint worth writing down.
Nothing here is hand-rolled per release. The signing and publishing steps are being extracted into
archivist — an MIT-licensed tool that turns a directory of
.deb files into a signed apt repository on storage you own. It is still pre-release; if you want the same setup
for your own project, follow along there.