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Linux Specific Pre-requisites ​

  • These are tested on Ubuntu 24.04.2 LTS and Ubuntu 22.04 LTS (thanks to "FP Coetzee")

System Requirements ​

  • Disk space ~1.2G for basic build.
  • RAM: Minimum 4GB recommended (for Electron builds)

Pre-requisites ​

  • Node.js (22.19.0)
  • Ubuntu Packages: git, build-essential and xorg-dev

1. Install System Packages ​

for ubuntu

bash
sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y git build-essential xorg-dev

for fedora

bash
sudo dnf install -y xorg-x11-server-devel libxkbfile-devel

2. Install Node ​

  • I recommend using nvm

Common Issues & Solutions ​

Issue: npm install fails with native-keymap error ​

Error message:

bash
npm error code 1
npm error path ~/marktext/node_modules/native-keymap
npm error command failed
npm error command sh -c node-gyp rebuild
npm error gyp info it worked if it ends with ok
npm error gyp info using node-gyp@11.2.0
npm error gyp info using node@22.18.0 | linux | x64

Solution: This occurs when xorg-dev is missing. Install it:

bash
sudo apt install xorg-dev

Then retry:

bash
npm install

Issue: Electron fails to start with libglib error ​

Error message:

bash
~/marktext/node_modules/electron/dist/electron: error while loading shared libraries:
libglib-2.0.so.0: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory

Solution: Install the X11/GUI development libraries:

bash
sudo apt install xorg-dev

If the issue persists, you may need the full X11 environment:

bash
sudo apt install xorg

Issue: Permission errors during npm install ​

Solution: Make sure you're not running npm commands with sudo. If you have permission issues:

bash
# Fix npm permissions (if needed)
mkdir ~/.npm-global
npm config set prefix '~/.npm-global'
echo 'export PATH=~/.npm-global/bin:$PATH' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc