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https://github.com/k3d3/claude-desktop-linux-flake

Nix Flake for Claude Desktop on Linux
https://github.com/k3d3/claude-desktop-linux-flake

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Nix Flake for Claude Desktop on Linux

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README 

        
***THIS IS AN UNOFFICIAL BUILD SCRIPT!***



If you run into an issue with this build script, make an issue here. Don't bug Anthropic about it - they already have enough on their plates.



# Claude Desktop for Linux (Nix)



Supports MCP!

![image](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/93080028-6f71-48bd-8e59-5149d148cd45)



Supports the Ctrl+Alt+Space popup!

![image](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/1deb4604-4c06-4e4b-b63f-7f6ef9ef28c1)



Supports the Tray menu! (Screenshot of running on KDE)



![image](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/ba209824-8afb-437c-a944-b53fd9ecd559)



This is a Nix flake for running Claude Desktop on Linux.



# Usage



To run this once, make sure Nix is installed, then run



```bash

NIXPKGS_ALLOW_UNFREE=1 nix run github:k3d3/claude-desktop-linux-flake --impure

```



The "unfree" part is due to the fact that Claude Desktop is not an open source application, and thus, Nix's licensing rules

are dictated by the application itself, not the build script used to build the application.



## Installation on NixOS with Flakes



Add the following to your `flake.nix`:

```nix

inputs.claude-desktop.url = "github:k3d3/claude-desktop-linux-flake";

inputs.claude-desktop.inputs.nixpkgs.follows = "nixpkgs";

inputs.claude-desktop.inputs.flake-utils.follows = "flake-utils";

```



And then the following package to your `environment.systemPackages` or `home.packages`:

```nix

inputs.claude-desktop.packages.${system}.claude-desktop

```



## Other distributions



This repository only provides a Nix flake, and does not provide a package for e.g. Ubuntu, Fedora, or Arch Linux.



Other known variants:

- https://github.com/wankdanker/claude-desktop-linux-bash - A bash-based Claude Desktop builder that works on Ubuntu and possibly other Debian derivatives



If anyone else packages Claude Desktop for other distributions, make an issue or PR and I'll link it here.



# How it works



Claude Desktop is an Electron application. That means the majority of the application is inside an `app.asar` archive, which usually contains minified Javascript, HTML, and CSS, along with images and a few other things.



Despite there being no official Linux Claude Desktop release, the vast majority of the code is completely cross-platform.



With the exception of one library.



## `claude-native-bindings`



![image](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/9b386f42-2565-441a-a351-9c09347f9f5f)



Node, and by extension Electron, allow you to import natively-compiled objects into the Node runtime as if they were regular modules.

These are typically used to extend the functionality in ways Node itself can't do. Only problem, as shown above, is that these objects 

are only compiled for one OS. 



Luckily enough, because it's a loadable Node module, that means you can open it up yourself in node and inspect it - no decompilation or disassembly needed:



![image](https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/b2f1e72c-f763-45c0-8631-2de5555ae653)



There are many functions here for getting monitor/window information, as well as for controlling the mouse and keyboard.

I'm not sure what exactly these are for - my best guess is something unreleased related to [Computer Use](https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/build-with-claude/computer-use),

however I'm not a huge fan of this functionality existing in the first place.



As for how to move forward with getting Claude Desktop working on Linux, seeing as how the API surface area of this module is relatively

small, it looked fairly easy to just wholesale reimplement it, using stubs for the functionality.



## `patchy-cnb`



The result of that is a library I call `patchy-cnb`, which uses NAPI-RS to match the original API with stub functions.

Turns out, the original module also used NAPI-RS. Neat!



From there, it's just a matter of compiling `patchy-cnb`, repackaging the app.asar to include the newly built Linux module, and

making a new Electron build with these files.



# License



The build scripts in this repository, as well as `patchy-cnb`, are dual-licensed under the terms of the MIT license and the Apache License (Version 2.0).



See [LICENSE-MIT](LICENSE-MIT) and [LICENSE-APACHE](LICENSE-APACHE) for details.



The Claude Desktop application, not included in this repository, is likely covered by [Anthropic's Consumer Terms](https://www.anthropic.com/legal/consumer-terms).



## Contribution



Unless you explicitly state otherwise, any contribution intentionally submitted

for inclusion in the work by you, as defined in the Apache-2.0 license, shall be dual licensed as above, without any

additional terms or conditions.