How to install Simplenote on Linux
Simplenote is a note-taking application for Linux (and other platforms) developed by the creators of WordPress. It allows users to create and save text-based notes, categorize them with tags, and even share posts with friends. The app is a favorite in the Linux community as it is open-source, can keep your notes in-sync across the internet, and has a companion mobile application for both iOS and Android. In this guide, we’ll be going over how to install Simplenote on Linux.
To use this app, you must be running Ubuntu, Debian, Arch Linux, Fedora, and OpenSUSE. Run none of these distributions? You must install Snap packages or be able to run AppImage files instead.
Ubuntu/Debian Instructions
Simplenote, like many mainstream applications, supports Ubuntu, Debian and other Debian-based Linux distributions with a downloadable DEB package. So, if you’re on Ubuntu, Debian, Linux Mint, Elementary OS or another distribution that uses DEB packages, you’ll be able to install the software quite easily.
When you download and install the Simplenote DEB on your Linux PC, you should keep in mind that it doesn’t include a self-updating repository, and with each new update to Simplenote, you’ll need to go to the official website, download the new package and re-install it as an update.
Note: dislike re-downloading DEB packages? Consider following the Snap instructions instead.
To start the installation, follow this link to the Simplenote page. Scroll down the page, locate the “Download for Linux” button and click it to navigate to the Simplenote GitHub release page. Then, find the DEB package link on the page to start the downloading process.
After the Simplenote DEB package is done downloading, launch a terminal and CD into the ~/Downloads folder.
cd ~/Downloads
Install Simplenote with:
sudo dpkg -i Simplenote-linux*.deb sudo apt install -f
Arch Linux Instructions
Arch Linux is quite popular among many in the community, but to mainstream software developers, this isn’t enough, and as a result, it doesn’t get an official release for most of the popular software that comes to Linux. Instead, Arch users looking to use a tool like Simplenote need to resort to the unofficial AUR package. It decompiles and sets up the latest Simplenote app for Arch Linux. To set up this package on your system, launch a terminal window and follow the step-by-step instructions.
Step 1: To interact with the AUR, you must install Git and Base-devel with the Pacman package management tool.
sudo pacman -S git base-devel
Step 2: Using the Git program, clone the latest AUR release of Simplenote to your computer.
git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/simplenote-electron-bin.git
Step 3: Move the terminal into the AUR code folder with CD.
cd simplenote-electron-bin
Step 4: Compile the code and install Simplenote to Arch with makepkg. Keep in mind that you may need to manually install some of the dependencies on the Simplenote page if the build doesn’t go smoothly.
makepkg -sri
Fedora/OpenSUSE Instructions
For a long time, Simplenote had no RPM package available for Fedora and SUSE users. Thankfully, times are changing, and it’s now easier than ever to use the RPM version of the app. To install it on your Fedora or SUSE distribution, head over to the official Simplenote page, click on “Download for Linux,” and search the Simplenote GitHub release page for the RPM download link.
Once the Simplenote RPM file is done downloading on your PC, launch a terminal, CD into the ~/Downloads directory and follow the instructions to get it working on Fedora or SUSE.
cd ~/Downloads
Fedora
sudo dnf install Simplenote-linux*.rpm
OpenSUSE
sudo zypper install Simplenote-linux*.rpm
Snap Package Instructions
A while ago, Simplenote came to the Snap package store. Installing Simplenote on Linux as a Snap is easy, and it gives those who can’t install DEBs or RPMs an easy way to get the app working quickly. Please note, that before you attempt to install Simpelnote on Linux as a Snap package, you must follow our guide and get Snapd set up and working.
With Snapd running on your Linux PC, run the snap install command below in a terminal window to get Simplenote.
sudo snap install simplenote
AppImage Instructions
Simplenote developers have long distributed a TarGZ archive for Linux users that don’t run Ubuntu or Debian and instructed everyone to use it as the preferred way to install. However, in recent months, things have changed, and there’s now a more straightforward way to get the program working if you use a lesser-known Linux OS: AppImage.
With AppImage, there’s no need to install anything. Just download the file, update the permissions, run it, and you’ll have access to your Simplenote account on the desktop. To download the Simplenote AppImage, go to the official webpage, click on “Download for Linux.” Then, locate the Simplenote AppImage download link on the GitHub release page.
When you’ve got your hands on the latest Simplenote AppImage, launch a terminal and do the following:
cd ~/Downloads mkdir -p ~/AppImages mv Simplenote-linux*.AppImage ~/AppImages cd ~/AppImages sudo chmod +x Simplenote-linux*.AppImage
Run the AppImage for the first time with:
./Simplenote-linux*.AppImage
I have kali linux arm64 on mac1 so it has to be arm64, and I cannot install onto my system.