Environment Setup

For Windows, Windows 11 is recommended—Windows 10 may encounter component installation issues. Install Visual Studio 2022 with the "Desktop development with C++" workload enabled. Also install Python 3 and Git, ensuring that python (not just python3) is accessible from the Run dialog (Win+R).

On macOS or Linux, dependency are generally easier to satisfy.

Source Compilation

Clone the repository and check out the specific version:

git clone https://github.com/signalapp/Signal-Desktop.git
cd Signal-Desktop
git checkout -b v7.50.0 tags/v7.50.0

Check the required Node.js version:

cat .nvmrc  # e.g., 22.14.0

If your local Node version doesn’t match (e.g., you have v20.18.0), download the correct binary—for example, Node v22.14.0 for Windows—extract it, add it to your PATH, and restart your terminal.

Then install dependencies:

node --version
npm install -g pnpm
pnpm install

To speed up downloads, configure a mirror:

npm config set registry https://registry.npmmirror.com

Build and launch:

pnpm run generate
pnpm start

This starts the debug version. Close the DevTools panel to see the main interface.

Note: By default, the app connects to Signal’s staging environment. Scanning the QR code with the official mobile app will fail unless you reconfigure it to use your own server.

Connecting to a Private Server

Edit config/default.json in your editor (e.g., VS Code) to point to your self-hosted Signal backend. Basic messaging should work immediately, though message history synchronization may require additional setup.

Ubuntu Build Instructions

Install system dependenceis:

sudo apt install -y gcc g++ make autoconf cmake vim git

Set up Node.js v22.14.0:

cd /opt
mkdir node && cd node
wget -c https://registry.npmmirror.com/-/binary/node/v22.14.0/node-v22.14.0-linux-x64.tar.xz
tar xf node-v22.14.0-linux-x64.tar.xz

cat >> $HOME/.bash_profile <<EOF
export PATH=/opt/node/node-v22.14.0-linux-x64/bin:$PATH
EOF

source ~/.bash_profile
node --version

Install pnpm globally and clone the repo:

/opt/node/node-v22.14.0-linux-x64/bin/npm install -g pnpm
cd ~/
mkdir workspace && cd workspace
git clone https://github.com/signalapp/Signal-Desktop.git

Use mirrors during install:

npm config set registry https://registry.npmmirror.com
ELECTRON_MIRROR=https://npmmirror.com/mirrors/electron/ pnpm install

Generate assets and start:

pnpm run generate
pnpm start

You may encounter a sandbox error on first launch:

FATAL:setuid_sandbox_host.cc(163)] The SUID sandbox helper binary was found, but is not configured correctly...

Fix it by adjusting permissions:

pushd ~/workspace/Signal-Desktop/node_modules/.pnpm/electron@35.1.4/node_modules/electron/dist/
sudo chown root:root chrome-sandbox
sudo chmod 4755 chrome-sandbox
popd

Then relaunch:

pnpm start

To build a .deb package:

ELECTRON_MIRROR=https://npmmirror.com/mirrors/electron/ pnpm run build

The resulting package appears in the release/ directory.