System Requirements Before installing GitHub Desktop, ensure your system meets these requirements:
macOS 10.13 High Sierra or later
64-bit processor
At least 500 MB of available disk space
Windows 10 (64-bit) or later
Windows 11 supported
At least 500 MB of available disk space
.NET Framework 4.5 or later (usually pre-installed)
64-bit Linux distribution
Supported distributions: Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, CentOS, openSUSE, and more
At least 500 MB of available disk space
Installing GitHub Desktop
Download the installer
Download GitHub Desktop for macOS: The installer will automatically detect your Mac’s architecture.
Install the application
Open the downloaded .zip file
Drag GitHub Desktop.app to your Applications folder
Launch GitHub Desktop from Applications or Spotlight
On first launch, macOS may ask for permission to open the app. Click Open to continue.
Verify installation
Once launched, GitHub Desktop will:
Prompt you to sign in to GitHub
Configure Git with your account information
Show the welcome screen
You can verify the installation by checking GitHub Desktop → About GitHub Desktop to see the version number. Alternative: Homebrew You can also install GitHub Desktop using Homebrew: brew install --cask github
Download the installer
Download GitHub Desktop for Windows: The user install is recommended for most users. Use the MSI installer for enterprise deployments.
Run the installer
Run the downloaded GitHubDesktopSetup.exe or .msi file
Follow the installation wizard
GitHub Desktop will launch automatically after installation
The installer may require administrator privileges for machine-wide installations.
Verify installation
Once launched, GitHub Desktop will:
Prompt you to sign in to GitHub
Configure Git with your account information
Show the welcome screen
You can verify the installation by checking Help → About GitHub Desktop to see the version number. Alternative: Package Managers winget install github-desktop
Linux is not officially supported by GitHub, but community packages are available through the shiftkey/desktop
Choose your distribution
Visit the shiftkey/desktop releases page to find packages for your distribution:
.deb packages for Debian/Ubuntu.rpm packages for Fedora/CentOS/RHEL.AppImage for universal Linux support
Install the package
Debian/Ubuntu
Fedora/CentOS/RHEL
AppImage
# Download the .deb package wget https://github.com/shiftkey/desktop/releases/download/release-X.X.X-linuxX/GitHubDesktop-linux-amd64-X.X.X-linuxX.deb # Install with apt sudo apt install ./GitHubDesktop-linux-amd64-X.X.X-linuxX.deb
# Download the .rpm package wget https://github.com/shiftkey/desktop/releases/download/release-X.X.X-linuxX/GitHubDesktop-linux-X.X.X-linuxX.rpm # Install with dnf or yum sudo dnf install ./GitHubDesktop-linux-X.X.X-linuxX.rpm
# Download the AppImage wget https://github.com/shiftkey/desktop/releases/download/release-X.X.X-linuxX/GitHubDesktop-linux-amd64-X.X.X-linuxX.AppImage # Make it executable chmod +x GitHubDesktop-linux-amd64-X.X.X-linuxX.AppImage # Run it ./GitHubDesktop-linux-amd64-X.X.X-linuxX.AppImage
Launch and verify
Launch GitHub Desktop from your application menu or by running github-desktop from the terminal. The application will prompt you to sign in and configure your Git settings.
Beta Channel Want to test new features before they’re released to everyone? Install the beta channel:
Beta builds may contain bugs and unstable features. Use at your own risk.
Release notes for beta versions are available at desktop.github.com/release-notes/?env=beta .
First Launch After installing GitHub Desktop, you’ll be guided through initial setup:
Sign in to GitHub
Click Sign in to GitHub.com and authorize GitHub Desktop in your browser. For GitHub Enterprise, click Sign in to GitHub Enterprise Server and enter your server URL.
Configure Git
GitHub Desktop will automatically configure Git with:
Your GitHub username
Your GitHub email address
You can change these later in Preferences → Git .
Choose repositories
You can:
Clone a repository from GitHub
Add an existing local repository
Create a new repository
Verifying Your Installation To verify GitHub Desktop is installed correctly:
Open GitHub Desktop
Go to About GitHub Desktop (macOS) or Help → About GitHub Desktop (Windows/Linux)
Check the version number
Run a test by cloning a repository
GitHub Desktop requires Git to be installed. The app includes a bundled version of Git via dugite , so you don’t need to install Git separately. Troubleshooting Installation If you encounter issues during installation:
macOS: 'GitHub Desktop is damaged and can't be opened'
This is a macOS Gatekeeper issue. To fix:
Open Terminal
Run: xattr -cr /Applications/GitHub\ Desktop.app
Try launching again
Windows: Installation hangs or fails
Ensure you have administrator privileges
Temporarily disable antivirus software
Try the MSI installer instead of the user installer
Check Windows Event Viewer for error details
Linux: Missing dependencies
Ensure you have required dependencies: sudo apt install libsecret-1-0 gnome-keyring
sudo dnf install libsecret gnome-keyring
For more troubleshooting help, see our Troubleshooting Guide .
Next Steps
Quickstart Guide Get started with your first repository
Configuration Customize GitHub Desktop to your preferences
