How to install the Writefull editor on Linux
Writefull is a unique writing application that gives automatic suggestions to the user when writing academic material. As you type, the app searches through dozens of sources to help you improve the factual accuracy of your paper.
Writeful comes as a desktop app that can be installed on Mac, Linux, and Windows. There’s also a browser extension that users can add to Google Chrome, Chromium, and any browser that supports the Google extension store. Here’s how to get the Writefull editor on Linux.
Ubuntu/Debian instructions
The Writefull editor has a Debian package available for Ubuntu and Debian users. Though, it’s not labeled on the website. If you’re using Debian Linux, or Ubuntu Linux, or any operating system with a Debian or Ubuntu base, start the installation process for Writefull by opening up a terminal window. To open up a terminal window on Linux, press Ctrl + Alt + T or Ctrl + Shift + T on the keyboard.
With the terminal interface open, use the wget command to download the latest release of Writefull directly from the internet.
Note: don’t want to download the latest Writefull DEB package through the Linux command-line? Head over to the official Writefull website. Then, once on the site, look for the Linux “Download” option, hover over it and select either ” i386 (bits)” or “x64 (bits)” option.
64-bit DEB
wget https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/writefull-binaries/3.0.0-beta19/writefull_3.0.0-beta19_amd64.deb
32-bit DEB
https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/writefull-binaries/3.0.0-beta19/writefull_3.0.0-beta19_ia32.deb
Downloading shouldn’t take too long, as the DEB package is quite small. When the package is done downloading, the installation can begin. Using the dpkg command, install either the 64-bit or 32-bit package to your Ubuntu or Debian PC.
sudo dpkg -i writefull_3.0.0-beta19_*.deb
Installation should go smoothly, and no errors should appear. If there are any dependency issues, follow our tutorial to learn how to correct dependency errors on Ubuntu and Debian.
Arch Linux instructions
Looking to use Writefull on Arch Linux? If so, you’ll be glad to know that there’s an unofficial AUR package of the app ready to install. The first step in installing the Writefull software from the AUR is to install the Base-devel and Git packages. These packages are important, and without them, interacting with AUR packages isn’t possible.
To install Base-devel and Git on your Arch Linux PC, open up a terminal window by pressing Ctrl + Alt + T or Ctrl + Shift + T on the keyboard. From there, use the Pacman package command below.
sudo pacman -S git base-devel
With both the Git and Base-devel packages installed on your Arch Linux PC, it’s time to download the Writefull AUR package using the git clone command.
git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/writefull-bin.git
When the Writefull AUR package is done downloading with git clone, move the terminal into the folder using the CD command.
cd writefull-bin
Finally, build and install the Writefull package from the AUR on your Arch Linux PC by running the makepkg command below.
makepkg -sri
Keep in mind that when running the makepkg command that accidents can happen. Be sure to read the comments on the Writefull AUR page for trouble-shooting purposes.
Snap instructions
There’s a Snap release of the Writefull application. To install it, you’ll need to first enable the Snap runtime. For more information on how to enable it, head over to this guide.
After enabling the Snap runtime on your Linux PC, open up a terminal window with Ctrl + Alt + T or Ctrl + Shift + T on the keyboard. Then, use the snap install command below to get it working.
sudo snap install writefull
Generic Linux instructions
Writefull has a standalone Linux application for those not using Ubuntu, or Debian, and have no access to Snap packages or the AUR. It’s quite easy to get going, as the program doesn’t need to be installed, just extract and run! To start the setup process, open up a terminal window by pressing Ctrl + Alt + T or Ctrl + Shift + T on the keyboard. Then, with the command-line available, use the wget command below to download the latest Writefull Linux binary to your PC.
32-bit
wget https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/writefull-binaries/3.0.0-beta19/writefull_3.0.0-beta19_ia32.zip
64-bit
wget https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/writefull-binaries/3.0.0-beta19/writefull_3.0.0-beta19_amd64.zip
When the downloading process is complete, use the following unzip command to fully extract the Linux Writefull ZIP archive into your home directory (~).
unzip writefull_3.0.0-beta19_*.zip
Once the unzip command is complete, rename the folder “Writefull-linux-x64” to “writeful” using the mv command.
mv Writefull-linux-x64 writefull
Place the “writefull” folder inside of “/usr/local/” on your Linux PC using the mv command.
sudo mv writefull /usr/local/
Move the included desktop shortcut file inside of the “writefull” folder (now in “/usr/local”) into the applications directory with the mv command.
sudo mv /usr/local/writefull/writefull.desktop /usr/share/applications/
With the shortcut moved, you’ll be able to launch the Writefull program directly from the application menu on your Linux PC!
