Install

The latest files, with their install commands, are on the Download page. This page explains the options and what each one needs.

Which way to pick

The apt and dnf repository (recommended)

Add the TuxShell package repository once, and your system updates TuxShell along with everything else (sudo apt upgrade, sudo dnf upgrade).

# Debian, Ubuntu
sudo curl -fsSLo /etc/apt/keyrings/tuxshell.asc https://pkg.tuxshell.io/tuxshell.asc
echo "deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/tuxshell.asc] https://pkg.tuxshell.io/apt stable main" \
  | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/tuxshell.list
sudo apt update && sudo apt install tuxshell

# Fedora, RHEL, AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux
sudo curl -fsSLo /etc/yum.repos.d/tuxshell.repo https://pkg.tuxshell.io/rpm/tuxshell.repo
sudo dnf install tuxshell

• Supported: Debian 13+, Ubuntu 24.04+, Fedora 39+, RHEL, AlmaLinux and Rocky Linux 10. x86_64 only.
• Signed: the packages and the repository are signed. dnf asks you once to accept the key.
• The key: “TuxShell Packages”, fingerprint A82A 6FBD 31D2 861C 5A22 0E33 D390 FC47 AB2E B455. Compare it with what dnf shows before you accept.
• What it is: plain static files, served like any other download.

Single files

If you’d rather not add a repository, download a package from the Download page and install it:

# Fedora, RHEL, AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux
sudo dnf install ./tuxshell-<version>-1.x86_64.rpm

# Debian, Ubuntu
sudo apt install ./tuxshell_<version>-1_amd64.deb

Then update by installing the next release’s file the same way.

Requirements

• Linux: GTK 4 and WebKitGTK 6.0. The packages pull them in.
• Remote hosts: GNU find, for the file browser.
• Remote desktops in their own window: FreeRDP 3 (freerdp on Fedora, freerdp3-x11 on Debian and Ubuntu). The packages recommend it and install it where available. Remote desktops in a tab need nothing extra.
• 1Password references: the 1Password CLI (op). See Passwords.

The Flatpak

In the Flatpak, ssh runs inside the sandbox; local shell tabs, the 1Password CLI and FreeRDP run on your system. Its data is kept in ~/.var/app/io.github.vgrigolaia.TuxShell/, so export your hosts from another TuxShell (Preferences → Hosts) and import them there. To update, install the next release’s .flatpak the same way.

macOS (beta)

The app isn’t notarized by Apple yet, so the first start is blocked. Open it once, then go to System Settings → Privacy & Security and click Open Anyway. Or, in Terminal:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/TuxShell.app

TuxShell uses the ssh that comes with macOS. Optional, with Homebrew: brew install freerdp for remote desktops in their own window.

Updates

TuxShell checks GitHub for a new release at startup and when you ask (Preferences → About). If you installed it from the repository, it tells you which command updates it; otherwise it links to the new release. It never downloads or installs anything itself. You can turn the check off.