whatsapp-desktop
Free and open source · Fedora · Debian · Ubuntu · Arch
A real desktop app for the WhatsApp you already use. It sits in the tray and tells you the moment a message lands, takes voice and video calls, shares your screen, and draws your chats in the font and the size you want to read them at. Same account, same chats, same phone — nothing to set up but the QR scan.
$ curl -fsSL https://abdallah-shehawey.github.io/shinux-repo/install.sh | sudo sh
==> rpm system detected, installing shinux-release
==> done.
$ sudo dnf install --refresh whatsapp-desktop
Installed: whatsapp-desktop-1.6.1-1.x86_64
$ whatsapp-desktopWhatsApp, behaving like an app your desktop actually knows about.
Not one per chat — one per message, with who wrote it, their picture and what
they said. Click it and that conversation opens. Read it on your phone and it
disappears here on its own. A photo says 📷 Photo and a voice note
says how long it is.
Ring somebody, or pick up, from your computer — camera and microphone just work, and there is nothing to allow first. Share your whole screen or a single window while you talk. Every call opens in a window of its own.
Not one font for everything: a family, a size and a weight for Latin, and another set for Arabic, each with its own switch. So you can give Arabic the face it deserves without touching your English, or the other way round. Left alone, it draws everything in your desktop's own font and follows it when you change it.
Every line takes its direction from its own first word, so Arabic sits against the right and English against the left — in the same message, in a group, and in the replies under a community post. Letters get the room their descenders need, the timestamp stays off the last line, and the notifications read the same way. Nothing to switch on.
Close the window and it keeps running, so nothing is missed while it is out of the way. It can start with your session, already hidden, and the tray icon tells you when somebody is waiting.
One Settings window — Ctrl+, or the tray menu — with the theme, the zoom, start-at-login, what closing the window does, and which sounds you want; the fonts have a window of their own beside it. No text editor anywhere.
Long conversations scroll on the graphics card, a wheel notch glides instead of jumping, and the panel beside a chat slides in and out. Reply to a message and the bar and the conversation above it move as one piece, rather than the bar growing and the messages catching up a frame later. Jump to a message — the pinned one at the top of a chat, a quoted reply, a search result — and you land on it and stay there, instead of sliding a screenful past it. Nothing to turn on — it is how it draws.
It asks GitHub once a day whether a release is out, and when there is one the tray menu names it. It never installs anything itself — your own package manager does that, on your say-so, with the rest of your system.
Inside the window is WhatsApp's own web app, the one you would open in a browser. Nothing is re-implemented, nothing is stored, and no server but WhatsApp's ever sees a message — it is linked from your phone exactly like a browser, and unlinked the same way.
One window — Ctrl+, or the tray menu — and every one of these takes effect the moment you set it. Nothing to restart, nothing to save.
All of it lands in
~/.config/whatsapp-desktop/whatsapp-desktop.conf —
the file is documented below.
Most apps give you one font for everything, which means picking the one that is least wrong for both alphabets. This one has a window — the tray's Fonts… — with the two scripts side by side and a switch on each, so an Arabic face of your own does not oblige you to choose a Latin one, or the other way round.
It costs nothing to draw: the two scripts are two faces of one family split by character range, resolved by the font engine, rather than a style rule the page has to match against every element while you scroll.
About WhatsApp, in the tray menu, has the version you are running and a Check that asks GitHub for the latest release. It also looks once a day on its own, and when there is something newer the tray item says so by name — so you find out from the app rather than from somebody else's screenshot.
It never installs anything. Your package manager does that, and the command for your distribution is a few lines down this page. If you would rather it did not look at all, one switch in the configuration file stops the daily check and leaves the button.
Pick your distribution and copy the commands — everything you need is on this page. The packages are signed and come from a repository, so your usual system update keeps WhatsApp up to date with everything else — and Update has the commands for doing it on its own.
1 · Add the signed repository
curl -fsSL https://abdallah-shehawey.github.io/shinux-repo/install.sh | sudo shOne script for all three package managers: it detects
dnf, apt or pacman, imports the signing key,
writes a single repository file under /etc, and stops there. It
installs no packages of its own. If you would rather not pipe into a shell, the
three tabs beside this one spell the same steps out by hand.
2 · Install the client
sudo dnf install --refresh whatsapp-desktop # Fedora and friends
sudo apt update && sudo apt install whatsapp-desktop # Debian, Ubuntu 24.04+
sudo pacman -Syu whatsapp-desktop # ArchThe repository is brand new to your machine, so each of these
fetches its list of packages first — that is what --refresh,
apt update and the y in pacman -Syu do.
Without it the package manager reads a list written before the repository existed
and answers "no match".
1 · Trust the signing key
sudo rpm --import https://abdallah-shehawey.github.io/shinux-repo/RPM-GPG-KEY-shinux2 · Add the repository
sudo tee /etc/yum.repos.d/shinux.repo >/dev/null <<'EOF'
[shinux]
name=Shinux Repository
baseurl=https://abdallah-shehawey.github.io/shinux-repo/rpm/
enabled=1
gpgcheck=1
repo_gpgcheck=0
gpgkey=https://abdallah-shehawey.github.io/shinux-repo/RPM-GPG-KEY-shinux
metadata_expire=6h
EOF3 · Install
sudo dnf install --refresh whatsapp-desktopFedora, RHEL, CentOS Stream, Rocky and Alma. Every package is checked against the signing key before it installs.
1 · Trust the signing key
sudo install -d -m 0755 /etc/apt/keyrings
sudo curl -fsSL -o /etc/apt/keyrings/shinux.gpg \
https://abdallah-shehawey.github.io/shinux-repo/shinux.gpg
sudo chmod 0644 /etc/apt/keyrings/shinux.gpg2 · Add the repository
sudo curl -fsSL -o /etc/apt/sources.list.d/shinux.sources \
https://abdallah-shehawey.github.io/shinux-repo/shinux.sources3 · Install
sudo apt update
sudo apt install whatsapp-desktopUbuntu 24.04 and later, Debian 12 and later, Mint 22 and later. Older releases are missing system libraries the app needs and will refuse to install rather than break.
1 · Trust the signing key
curl -fsSL https://abdallah-shehawey.github.io/shinux-repo/shinux.gpg -o /tmp/shinux.gpg
sudo pacman-key --add /tmp/shinux.gpg
sudo pacman-key --lsign-key AE61EBAE9E8236C02D44F731BAD3F4329468897C2 · Add the repository
sudo tee -a /etc/pacman.conf >/dev/null <<'EOF'
[shinux]
Server = https://abdallah-shehawey.github.io/shinux-repo/arch
SigLevel = Required DatabaseOptional
EOF3 · Install
sudo pacman -Syu whatsapp-desktopA native .pkg.tar.zst from a signed repository — not an
AUR recipe, so there is nothing to compile. The y refreshes the package
list first, and the u is how Arch is meant to be installed into: pulling
one package into an out-of-date system is what breaks it. Manjaro and EndeavourOS
take the same steps.
Install a file you already downloaded
sudo dnf install ./whatsapp-desktop-1.6.1-1.x86_64.rpm
sudo apt install ./whatsapp-desktop_1.6.1_amd64.deb
sudo pacman -U ./whatsapp-desktop-1.6.1-1-x86_64.pkg.tar.zstThe leading ./ matters: without it both
dnf and apt look for a package by that name in a
repository instead of reading the file. Grab the file from
the downloads below.
This does not update itself. A file install stays at the version you fetched — the repository above is the only reason to prefer it.
First run. Launch WhatsApp from your applications menu
or run whatsapp-desktop, then link it the way you would link a browser:
on your phone, Settings → Linked devices → Link a device, and scan the code
on screen. Nothing is typed into this client but the QR scan.
The package installs a system-wide autostart entry, so the client starts hidden
in the tray at login. To stop that: Settings → Applications → Startup, or
delete /etc/xdg/autostart/io.github.shehawey.whatsapp-desktop.desktop.
Everything above is signed with
AE61 EBAE 9E82 36C0 2D44 F731 BAD3 F432 9468 897C
Straight from the latest GitHub release — the latest release. Every file is built by CI from the tag, never uploaded by hand.
whatsapp-desktop-…x86_64.rpm
DEBwhatsapp-desktop_…_amd64.deb
PKGwhatsapp-desktop-…pkg.tar.zst
SRCwhatsapp-desktop-…-source.tar.gz
Also in the release: a debug package for Arch and
SHA256SUMS
over the lot.
Older releases.
curl -fLO https://github.com/abdallah-shehawey/whatsapp-desktop/releases/latest/download/SHA256SUMS
sha256sum -c SHA256SUMS --ignore-missingPackages from the shinux repository are GPG-signed as well, and
dnf, apt and pacman check that for you.
There is no updater inside the client: it is a package like any other, and your usual system upgrade carries it along. These are the commands for updating it on its own, and each one refreshes the repository's package list first — a release published this morning is not in the copy your machine downloaded yesterday.
1 · Update the client
sudo dnf upgrade --refresh whatsapp-desktop--refresh throws away the cached package list and asks
the repository again. Without it dnf answers from a list that can be a day old, and
says there is nothing to upgrade when there is.
2 · Or with everything else — optional
sudo dnf upgrade --refresh1 · Refresh the package list
sudo apt update2 · Update the client
sudo apt install --only-upgrade whatsapp-desktop--only-upgrade keeps apt from installing anything that
is not already on the machine — it upgrades this package and nothing else.
3 · Or with everything else — optional
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade1 · Update the client
sudo pacman -Syu whatsapp-desktopThe whole system goes up with it, which is how Arch is meant to be updated: upgrading one package on its own is what leaves a machine half a release behind itself.
2 · If the new version is still not offered
sudo pacman -Syyu whatsapp-desktopThe second y downloads the database again even when
pacman believes the one it has is current.
Installed from a file, not the repository
sudo dnf install ./whatsapp-desktop-*.rpm # Fedora and friends
sudo apt install ./whatsapp-desktop_*.deb # Debian, Ubuntu 24.04+
sudo pacman -U ./whatsapp-desktop-*.pkg.tar.zst # ArchFetch the new file from Downloads and install it over the old one — the settings, and the linked session, are in your home directory and stay where they are. Nothing tells you a release is out this way, which is the reason the repository exists.
Your session survives an update. The link to your phone and every setting live in your home directory, so the client comes back to the conversation you left. Restart it after an update — a running copy keeps the old files open until it is quit from the tray.
Every switch in that window is also a line in a file, for anyone
who would rather keep it there:
~/.config/whatsapp-desktop/whatsapp-desktop.conf. Each key is
optional, and deleting one puts the default back.
Grouped the way the file itself is: the section name is the heading, and each key under one is written the way it appears under it.
| Key | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| [view] | ||
theme | system | follows the desktop, or force dark / light |
font | GNOME's | family for everything the client draws |
font-size | 16 | size of the whole interface, in px |
zoom | 1.0 | also set with Ctrl++/- |
force-font | true | draw the page in one family |
| [fonts] — every key twice, once per script | ||
latin-inherit, arabic-inherit | true | that script follows the system font until you say otherwise |
latin-family, arabic-family | the system's own | a font per script, chosen in the Fonts window |
latin-size, arabic-size | 100 | that script's size, as a % of the family's own |
latin-bold, arabic-bold, and the italics | false | the family's own bold or italic face — nothing is synthesised |
| [notifications] | ||
enabled | true | off hands notifications back to Chromium |
sound | true | a tone for the banners this client raises |
outgoing-sound | false | WhatsApp's tone for a message you send |
whatsapp-sound | false | let WhatsApp play its own arrival tone |
banner-seconds | 12 | before a banner is refiled silently |
hide-preview | false | on, a banner names the chat and never the words |
| [media] | ||
ask-where-to-save | true | every download asks; off, they land in ~/Downloads |
download-dir | — | where the last one went, so the chooser opens there |
download-stickers | true | fetch stickers whether or not photos are, like the phone |
hide-controls-when-paused | true | the desktop's media card goes when a voice note is paused |
| [behaviour] | ||
close-to-tray | true | closing leaves the client running |
minimize-to-tray | false | minimise is not close |
spellcheck | true | Chromium's own, in the box you type in |
| [window] · [links] · [updates] — the short ones | ||
[window] remember-size | true | opens the way it was left, maximised or at its size, written as it changes; off, it opens as below and never writes it — for a tiling WM, or a config in git |
[window] maximized | false | open maximised, remembered as it changes |
[window] width, height | 1200×800 | remembered as it changes, while remember-size is on |
[links] claim-scheme | true | open whatsapp: links here, not in a browser tab |
[updates] check | true | the daily look for a newer release; off, only About's Check asks |
No banners on GNOME? The tray needs the AppIndicator extension,
and GNOME suppresses banners while a window is fullscreen, while presence is BUSY,
and while show-banners is off. Check that a plain
notify-send hello world floats first.
Two things went onto your machine: the client, and the repository it updates from. Pick your distribution and run the steps in order — the last one is optional and is the only one that touches your session.
1 · Remove the client
sudo dnf remove whatsapp-desktop2 · Remove the repository
sudo rm -f /etc/yum.repos.d/shinux.repo3 · Remove the signing key
sudo rpm -e $(rpm -q gpg-pubkey --qf '%{NVR} %{SUMMARY}\n' | grep -i shinux | cut -d' ' -f1)The key is stored under a name made from its own fingerprint, which is why it is looked up rather than typed. Leaving it costs nothing; removing it means nothing of this repository is trusted any more.
4 · Your session and settings — optional
rm -rf ~/.local/share/whatsapp-desktop ~/.config/whatsapp-desktop1 · Remove the client
sudo apt purge whatsapp-desktop2 · Remove the repository
sudo rm -f /etc/apt/sources.list.d/shinux.sources3 · Remove the signing key
sudo rm -f /etc/apt/keyrings/shinux.gpg
sudo apt updateapt update afterwards is what makes the change take:
until then your machine still lists packages from a repository it can no longer
check.
4 · Your session and settings — optional
rm -rf ~/.local/share/whatsapp-desktop ~/.config/whatsapp-desktop1 · Remove the client
sudo pacman -Rns whatsapp-desktop2 · Remove the repository
sudo nano /etc/pacman.confDelete the three [shinux] lines you added, save, and
then sudo pacman -Sy to forget its package list.
3 · Remove the signing key
sudo pacman-key --delete AE61EBAE9E8236C02D44F731BAD3F4329468897C4 · Your session and settings — optional
rm -rf ~/.local/share/whatsapp-desktop ~/.config/whatsapp-desktopNothing on your phone changes. This client is a linked device, like a browser tab: removing it here leaves the link listed on your phone under Settings → Linked devices, and that is where you end the session for good. Your messages live with WhatsApp and are all still on the phone afterwards.
For anyone who would rather read the source than trust a package. Needs Node and nothing else; the licence is GPL-3.0-or-later.
git clone https://github.com/abdallah-shehawey/whatsapp-desktop
cd whatsapp-desktop
make # fetches Electron
make install # ~/.local, plus a desktop entry and icons
make autostart # also start hidden at login
make test # replays a chat list past the watcherpackaging/build-rpm.sh # dist/*.rpm
packaging/build-deb.sh # dist/*.deb
makepkg -si # packaging/PKGBUILDThe same three scripts CI runs on every v*.*.* tag,
so a local build is the same package as the release.
Something broken, or something missing? Both go to the same place — the issue tracker on GitHub, where every report is read and the fix rides the next release.
A short form asks what happened, the version you are running, your distribution and the steps that bring it back. That is usually all it takes to fix it.
The version is in About WhatsApp, in the tray menu. For the
log the form asks about, start the client from a terminal with
whatsapp-desktop and copy what it prints.
Ideas belong in the same tracker: what you are trying to do, and what you would like the client to do about it.
Worth reading the open ones first — somebody may have asked already, and a comment on that one carries further than a second issue.
An issue is public the moment you open it. Nothing is fixed any faster by a phone number, the text of a message or a screenshot of a conversation, so leave them out and redact a log before pasting it. Opening one needs a GitHub account, which is free.