GitHub Desktop is a popular GUI for Git, but it does not have an official Linux client from GitHub. However, thanks to a high-quality community fork maintained by Brendan Forster (shiftkey), you can easily install and use it on Ubuntu 22.04, 24.04, and newer versions.
If you prefer a manual one-time installation, you can download the package directly from community release pages. how to install github desktop in ubuntu
The first and most critical step in this process is understanding why an alternative installation method is necessary. GitHub Desktop is officially built for Windows and macOS, relying on frameworks and system APIs that are not natively supported on Linux. Fortunately, the open-source community has bridged this gap. Developer Tim "shiftkey" Stewart maintains a forked version of GitHub Desktop that re-packages the application as a Linux-native .deb or .rpm file. This version strips away macOS and Windows dependencies and replaces them with cross-platform alternatives, making it functionally identical to the official client. For Ubuntu users, the shiftkey repository represents the gold standard, as it is actively maintained, automatically updated, and endorsed by a wide swath of the Linux development community. GitHub Desktop is a popular GUI for Git,
# Install the curl utility if not present sudo apt install curl The first and most critical step in this
sudo apt install gnupg