Linux

GitHub Desktop on Linux: what are the options?

GitHub Desktop does not officially exist on Linux: its documentation lists macOS and Windows, and states that Linux is not supported yet. That leaves two paths: a community fork, or another native graphical Git client, such as Merathon, which is free and open source.

By Julien Dudek, author of Merathon · published on 4 November 2026

Download Merathon See the demo

Option 1: the community fork of GitHub Desktop

The shiftkey/desktop project adds Linux patches to GitHub Desktop. You get the original interface, but it is not a GitHub product. As of 3 November 2026, its latest published version dates from February 2025: check its activity before you depend on it.

Option 2: a native Git client on Linux

Merathon was designed for Linux and Windows. Compared with GitHub Desktop, it notably adds:

GitLab as well as GitHub: GitLab.com and self-hosted instances, with merge requests.
Review in the application: line comments, approval, CI status and merge.
Full interactive rebase: reorder, rename, edit, squash or delete commits, with the choice to flatten or preserve merges.
A graph of all branches: local, remote and tags, with a solo mode.
A built-in terminal: a shell in the repository, and each action shown as a git command.

To install it, see the installation commands for Linux. For other software, see the comparison of Git clients on Linux.

Information checked on 3 November 2026 in the GitHub Desktop documentation and on the shiftkey/desktop releases.

This page is written by the author of Merathon.

Connect to GitHub from Merathon

Open the Accounts tab and add your GitHub account, by browser login or with a token.
Clone a repository from your account's list, or open a repository already on your disk.
If you prefer SSH, right-clicking the account starts the guided key setup.

Merathon's limits

No macOS version: Merathon runs on Linux, Windows and WSL.
GitHub and GitLab only: Bitbucket and Azure DevOps are not integrated.
x86_64 architecture only, and glibc 2.35 or later on Linux (Ubuntu 22.04, Debian 12 or more recent).
The Windows installers are not signed yet: on first launch, you need to click "More info" then "Run anyway".
Pull requests from a fork are not retrieved by the remote's fetch: you view their diff in the browser.

Frequently asked questions

Is GitHub Desktop available on Linux?

Not officially. GitHub's documentation lists macOS and Windows, and states that Linux is not supported yet. Only community forks offer it.

Can I install GitHub Desktop on Ubuntu?

Only through a community fork such as shiftkey/desktop, which is not a GitHub product. Otherwise, a native client such as Merathon installs with a .deb package on Ubuntu 22.04 or more recent.

Does Merathon work with GitHub?

Yes: clone from your account's list, pull requests, review, CI and notifications. GitLab.com and self-hosted GitLab are also supported.