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How to browse Instagram on Linux

On Android and iOS, users can easily use the Instagram photo-sharing service through the official app available on the respective app stores. On the desktop, it’s not was easy because the service doesn’t offer an official app for desktop computers. When it comes to Windows and Mac, there are quite a few downloadable clients users can get going to browse Instagram from the desktop. To browse Instagram on Linux, users can use Instagramport, or Instagraph.

In this guide, we’ll show you how to load up an unofficial Instagram client on your Linux desktop, to make browsing Instagram from the Linux desktop possible.

Method 1 – Instagramport

Instagramport is a native, electron-based wrapper that allows Linux users to browse Instagram from the desktop easily. To get going with this app, you’ll need to install the Snap runtime. Why? Instagramport is a Snap, and it’s currently the only way to install it on Linux since the developer hasn’t made the source code available anywhere.

Getting the Snap runtime working is easy on most Linux distributions. To do it, open up a terminal, install “snapd” and enable the “snapd.service” with Systemd.

If you’re having issues getting Snaps working, follow our tutorial on how to set up Snap packages on Linux. Or, consider switching your current Linux distribution over to Ubuntu Linux, as it comes with Snaps enabled.

When the Snapd runtime is up and running on your system, open up a terminal window by pressing Ctrl + Alt + T or Ctrl + Shift + T on the keyboard and enter the snap install command below to set up Instagramport.

sudo snap install instagramport

Alternatively, search for “Instagramport” in the Snap Store app, click the “install” button and get it that way. Then, after installing the app on your Linux PC, follow the instructions below to learn how to set up Instagram on Instagramport for Linux.

Setting up Instagram in Instagramport

With the Instagramport app installed on your Linux PC, it’s time to set it up to browse from the Linux desktop. To start, launch the app on your system. The Instagramport app can be launched via your desktop’s app menu, or by pressing Alt + F2 on the keyboard and entering the command below.

instagramport

Once the Instagramport application is open on the Linux desktop, you’ll see the Instagram home page in the app. Locate the “login” button and click it to log into Instagram.

After logging into Instagram in the Instagramport application, you’ll be able to browse through your feed. To close the app, right-click the Instagram icon in the system tray and select “Exit.”

Method 2 – Instagraph

Instagramport works pretty well for browsing Instagram on the Linux desktop. Another method is Instagrah, an app (originally designed for Ubuntu phone) that displays Instagram in a web wrapper on the Linux desktop.

The Instagramport app is on the Snap store for installation. To get it working, install the Snapd runtime, and enable the “snapd.socket” service on your system. Otherwise, follow our guide on how to set up the Snap package runtime on Linux.

After setting up the Snapd runtime on your Linux PC, open up a terminal window by pressing Ctrl + Alt + T or Ctrl + Alt + T on the keyboard. With the terminal window open, you’ll be able to set up the Instagraph snap application with the snap install command below.

sudo snap install instagraph

Following the installation command for Instagraph, there are still some more things to do. The reason there are more steps to do is because the app doesn’t automatically connect itself to various technologies in the Linux operating system. To start, connect the app to “Alsa.”

sudo snap connect instagraph:alsa :alsa

Next, connect the app to “Camera.” This connection should allow you to take pictures using a connected cam on the desktop.

sudo snap connect instagraph:camera :camera

Once “Camera” is connected to Instagraph, connect it to “Pulseaudio.”

sudo snap connect instagraph:pulseaudio :pulseaudio

Finally, connect Instagraph to “OpenGL,” and the Instagraph application should work perfectly when in use.

sudo snap connect instagraph:opengl :opengl

When all connections to the Instagraph Snap application are taken care of, move to the instructions below to learn how to browse your Instagram feed directly from the Linux desktop.

Setting up Instagram in Instagraph

Instagraph is a little different from the Instagramport application. It’s not just a simple wrapper for the website. Instead, it’s a native app that feeds off of the service, which you must log into to use.

To log into Instagraph, open up the app by searching for it in your app menu, or by pressing Alt + F2 on the keyboard and running it with the command below.

instagraph

As the app opens, you’ll see a blue login window. Enter your Instagram user and password. Then click the “login” button, and you’ll be able to access your feed.

To take a picture within the app, click the “+” sign in the middle of the screen.

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