PalaceChat has been shipping on Windows for years and on macOS for months. This is the first public release for Linux, built natively, with no Windows compatibility layers. It is newer than the other two, so if something looks off we want to hear about it.
Version 5.0.280.0, 64-bit Intel/AMD. Not sure which one? The table below tells you.
If PalaceChat sent you here to update, pick the same format you installed with.
All three contain the same program from the same build, and only the packaging differs. Pick the row that matches your system.
| Your distro | File | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Debian, Ubuntu, Mint, Pop!_OS, elementary, Zorin, MX, Kali, Parrot, Deepin | .deb | Proper install, menu entry, dependencies handled by apt |
| Arch, Manjaro, EndeavourOS, Garuda, CachyOS, ArcoLinux, Artix, SteamOS 3+ | .zip | Builds a real pacman package |
| Fedora, RHEL, Rocky, Alma, openSUSE, Void, Gentoo… or anything else | .AppImage | Nothing to install, no dependencies to chase |
The AppImage works on every distro in this table, including the first two rows. If you would rather not install anything, or if your native installer gives you trouble, that is the one to reach for.
64-bit Intel/AMD only (x86_64 / amd64, the same thing named two ways,
because the two families label it differently). There is no ARM build yet, so a Raspberry Pi or
an ARM laptop will not run these.
On a Chromebook? There is a short section for you further
down. The answer is the .deb, but you have to switch Linux on first.
One file. Nothing is installed, no package manager involved, no root. Run it from your Downloads folder if you like.
chmod +x PalaceChat-*.AppImage ./PalaceChat-*.AppImage
Double-click works too if your file manager honours the executable bit. If it
refuses to run, the chmod +x is almost always what is missing.
If it complains about FUSE, some current distros no longer ship the library AppImages use to mount themselves. Nothing to install:
./PalaceChat-*.AppImage --appimage-extract-and-run
It will not appear in your applications menu, which is normal for an AppImage unless you integrate it yourself. To uninstall, delete the file.
.deb packagesudo apt install ./palacechat_*.deb
apt pulls everything it needs on its own, including GTK3, WebKit2GTK 4.1, the GStreamer codecs and speech-dispatcher. Double-clicking the file also works in most desktops; the software centre opens it and asks for your password.
If apt objects that the package is unsigned:
sudo dpkg -i palacechat_*.deb
sudo apt-get install -f # pulls anything missing
Uninstall with sudo apt remove palacechat.
This is the one that gets exercised most: every build is installed and launched on our Ubuntu VM before it ships.
.zipunzip palacechat-arch-*.zip cd palacechat-arch-* ./install.sh
install.sh copies the files to ~/palacechat-build/
(so makepkg works even if you downloaded onto a USB stick or a shared folder),
then runs makepkg -si. That verifies the tarball checksum against the PKGBUILD,
builds the package, asks for your sudo password, and lets pacman pull the dependencies:
gtk3, webkit2gtk-4.1, the GStreamer codecs, speech-dispatcher and bind.
If you would rather not use the helper, makepkg -si in that folder
does the same thing. Uninstall with sudo pacman -Rns palacechat.
Worth knowing: this package is produced on an Ubuntu machine and has never been
built on a real Arch system. Running makepkg on it for real is itself one of
the things we are hoping to learn from.
If it fails, that is genuinely useful, so please send the output. Try the AppImage first so you have something working either way.
Chromebooks run Linux apps inside a small Debian system, so the
.deb is the one you want, the same family as the first row of that
table.
Settings → Advanced → Developers → Linux development environment → turn it on. It downloads a small Debian the first time, which takes a few minutes. When it finishes you get a Terminal app in your launcher, and everything below happens there.
In that terminal:
uname -m
x86_64, Intel or AMD. The .deb above is yours. This is
the usual answer; most Chromebooks are Intel or AMD.aarch64, an ARM Chromebook. There is no ARM build yet, so none of these
files will run. Tell us anyway, since knowing somebody wants it is how it gets built.To install, put the .deb in the Linux files folder in the
Files app, which is the terminal's home directory, then run the same
sudo apt install ./palacechat_*.deb from there.
Two limits, so you do not chase them:
School or work Chromebooks. The administrator can switch the Linux environment off completely. If the setting is missing or greyed out, that is what happened, and there is nothing to do from your side.
Older machines. Chromebooks from roughly 2019 onward have this; much older ones may not offer the setting at all.
If it does run: a Chromebook is one of the most interesting places to test this. It draws through Wayland rather than X11, and the graphics and sound both pass through the container, so anything that looks or sounds wrong there is worth telling us about even if it seems minor.
If PalaceChat does not start, or the install ends badly, these two things tell us the most.
makepkg get all the
way through?
Useful in a report, roughly in order:
.deb, or the Arch package).Small things are worth sending. A menu that reads oddly, a font that looks off, a button in the wrong place. On a platform this new, those are findings too.
Where to send it: email alexandra@elitepalaces.com, or use Help → Bug Report from inside PalaceChat, which is usually quicker.