Install Partner on Linux

Partner ships for Linux from signed package repositories for Debian/Ubuntu, Fedora/RHEL and Arch, and as individual downloads — a .deb, an .rpm, an Arch .pkg.tar.zst and a portable AppImage — all for 64-bit (x86_64) desktops. Partner bundles its own codec and capture libraries; the packages declare the rest (your desktop's GTK and tray libraries) so your package manager installs them for you.

Download for Linux →

Installing a package adds the Partner app, which starts in your tray at every login, and the partnerd service, which is installed but not started. To reach this machine when nobody is logged in, turn on unattended access in the Partner app: it asks for your password once and enables the service to start at boot. The AppImage runs Partner without installing anything and has no service.

Option A — the Partner package repository (recommended)

Add the repository once and Partner is upgraded by whatever you already run — apt upgrade, dnf upgrade, pacman -Syu — with every package's signature verified on the way in. There is nothing to re-download by hand for the next release.

# Debian / Ubuntu
sudo install -d -m 0755 /usr/share/keyrings
curl -fsSL https://partner.gurupras.me/download/repo/apt/current/partner-archive-keyring.gpg \
  | sudo tee /usr/share/keyrings/partner-archive-keyring.gpg >/dev/null
curl -fsSL https://partner.gurupras.me/download/repo/apt/current/setup/partner.list \
  | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/partner.list >/dev/null
sudo apt update && sudo apt install partner

# Fedora / RHEL / Rocky / Alma
curl -fsSL https://partner.gurupras.me/download/repo/rpm/current/setup/partner.repo \
  | sudo tee /etc/yum.repos.d/partner.repo >/dev/null
sudo rpm --import https://partner.gurupras.me/download/repo/rpm/current/RPM-GPG-KEY-partner
sudo dnf install partner

# Arch / Manjaro / EndeavourOS
curl -fsSL https://partner.gurupras.me/download/repo/arch/current/partner-repo-key.asc -o /tmp/partner.asc
sudo pacman-key --add /tmp/partner.asc
sudo pacman-key --lsign-key "$(curl -fsSL https://partner.gurupras.me/download/repo/arch/current/setup/FINGERPRINT)"
curl -fsSL https://partner.gurupras.me/download/repo/arch/current/setup/pacman.conf.fragment \
  | sudo tee -a /etc/pacman.conf >/dev/null
sudo pacman -Sy partner

Holding a version, downgrading, key rotation and uninstalling are all in the package repository guide.

Use the repository or a downloaded package below, not both on the same machine: two owners of one installation will undo each other's work.

Option B — Debian / Ubuntu (.deb)

1. Download partner_<version>_amd64.deb.

2. Install it (apt also installs its dependencies, which dpkg -i does not):

   sudo apt install ./partner_*_amd64.deb

3. Open Partner from your applications menu. It also starts itself at your next login.

4. Optional: turn on unattended access in the app, then confirm the service:

   systemctl status partnerd

   You should see active (running), enabled to start at boot.

Option C — Fedora / RHEL (.rpm)

sudo dnf install ./partner-*.x86_64.rpm

Then open Partner and, if you want it, turn on unattended access as in Option B.

Option D — Arch Linux (.pkg.tar.zst)

sudo pacman -U partner-*-x86_64.pkg.tar.zst

Then open Partner and, if you want it, turn on unattended access as in Option B.

Option E — Portable AppImage

1. Download Partner-<version>-x86_64.AppImage.

2. Make it executable and run it:

   chmod +x Partner-*.AppImage
   ./Partner-*.AppImage status

   The AppImage front-ends the same Partner commands. Because it does not install a managed service, it will not auto-start at boot — keep the terminal open or use the .deb/.rpm for an always-on host.

Verify it is self-contained

Partner ships its own codec and capture libraries under /opt/partner/lib and loads them from there, so it does not depend on system versions:

ldd /opt/partner/bin/partnerd | grep partner
# every codec/capture library resolves inside /opt/partner/lib

The only system libraries Partner needs are your desktop's GTK stack, which the package declares as dependencies and your package manager installs for you.

Check your connection details

Once the service is running, view your machine ID and current connection code:

/opt/partner/bin/partnerd status

This prints a stable machine ID and a short-lived connection code. That is everything someone needs to reach this machine — head to Getting started next.

Where things live

Item	Location
Program	/opt/partner/bin/partnerd (app under /opt/partner/app)
Service unit	systemd unit named partnerd, enabled only once you turn on unattended access; it is what starts at boot. The app starts only when you open it.
Logs	journalctl -u partnerd

To remove Partner later, see Uninstall.