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Installing the Zulip desktop app

Zulip on your macOS, Windows, or Linux desktop is even better than Zulip on the web, with a cleaner look, tray/dock integration, native notifications, and support for multiple Zulip accounts.

To install the latest stable release (recommended for most users), find your operating system below. If you're interested in an early look at the newest features, consider the beta releases.

Install the latest release

  • macOS
  • Windows
  • Linux

  1. Download Zulip for macOS.

  2. Open the file, and drag the app into the Applications folder.

The app will update automatically to future versions.

Homebrew

  1. Run the command brew install --cask zulip from a terminal.

  2. Run Zulip from Applications.

The app will update automatically to future versions. Alternatively, you can run the command brew upgrade zulip to immediately upgrade.

  1. Download and run Zulip for Windows.

  2. Run Zulip from the Start menu.

The app will update automatically to future versions.

Offline installer (for isolated networks)

  1. Download zulip-x.x.x-x64.nsis.7z for 64-bit desktops (common), or zulip-x.x.x-ia32.nsis.7z for 32-bit (rare).

  2. Copy the installer file to the machine you want to install the app on, and run it there.

  3. Run Zulip from the Start menu.

The app will NOT update automatically. You can repeat these steps to upgrade to future versions.

APT (Ubuntu or Debian 8+)

  1. Enter the following commands into a terminal:

    sudo curl -fL -o /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/zulip-desktop.asc \
    https://download.zulip.com/desktop/apt/zulip-desktop.asc
echo "deb https://download.zulip.com/desktop/apt stable main" | \
    sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/zulip-desktop.list
sudo apt update
sudo apt install zulip

    These commands set up the Zulip Desktop APT repository and its signing key, and then install the Zulip client.

  2. Run Zulip from your app launcher, or with zulip from a terminal.

The app will be updated automatically to future versions when you do a regular software update on your system, e.g. with sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade.

  1. Download Zulip for Linux.

  2. Make the file executable, with chmod a+x Zulip-x.x.x-x86_64.AppImage from a terminal (replace x.x.x with the actual name of the downloaded file).

  3. Run the file from your app launcher, or from a terminal.

No installer is necessary; this file is the Zulip app. The app will update automatically to future versions.

Snap

  1. Make sure snapd is installed.

  2. Execute following command to install Zulip:

    sudo snap install zulip

  3. Run Zulip from your app launcher, or with zulip from a terminal.

Install a beta release

Get a peek at new features before they're released!

macOS, Windows, and most Linux distros

Start by finding the latest version marked "Pre-release" on the release list page. There may or may not be a "Pre-release" later than the latest release. If there is, download the appropriate Zulip installer or app from there, and follow the instructions for your operating system above.

Linux with apt (Ubuntu or Debian 8+)

If installing from scratch, follow the instructions above, except in the command starting echo "deb https://... replace stable with beta.

If you've already installed the stable version, edit zulip-desktop.list and reinstall:

sudo sed -i s/stable/beta/ /etc/apt/sources.list.d/zulip-desktop.list
sudo apt update
sudo apt install zulip

Don't see an answer to your question? Contact this Zulip server's administrators for support.