Signal Desktop - how to install for use in multiple app VMs

What is the best practice for installing apps that I would like to use in more VMs?
In the template OS VM that App VMs are based on?

I tried to install Signal Desktop but with the key installation I already got the first error.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Would be nice if the standard list op applications could be extended with more applications that are commonly used for work or private life. This can lower the barrier for the non-Linux guru users to actually use the OS and to also supply feedback for the usability side that can aid in making this initiative more successful.

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This is how to install signal in a debian-10-minimal template, it will
for sure work for a debian-10 template too. I don’t know how to install
it in Fedora.

sudo su -

apt install --no-install-recommends curl qubes-core-agent-networking dunst

curl --proxy http://127.0.0.1:8082/ -s
https://updates.signal.org/desktop/apt/keys.asc | apt-key add -

echo “deb [arch=amd64] http://HTTPS///updates.signal.org/desktop/apt
xenial main” | tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list.d/signal-xenial.list

apt update
apt full-upgrade
apt install --no-install-recommends signal-desktop

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Sorry, I made a mistake in copy & paste there. The like should be:

echo "deb [arch=amd64]https://updates.signal.org/desktop/apt xenial 
main" | tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list.d/signal-xenial.list
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Hello Sven,

Thanks for the help! It worked and I could install Signal successfully.
At first there was an error but I discovered that a space was missing in the echo command between …amd64] and https://…

Best regards,

Peter

hi Sven,
I am a not familiar with linux command line.

I tried to copy-paste commands in Debian template terminal, as mentioned in Singal website

But it gave error - resolving updates.signal.org…failed : temporary failure in name resolution.
wget : unable to resolve host address ‘updates.signal.org
gpg : no valid OpenPGP data found.

Can you help explain in detail how to install Signal in Qubes-Debian ?

Thanks.

Hi @Jac11, I’ll explain in more detail:

The first line installs the curl program needed to download the signal signing key. This is just like on the signal website. I added two more packages: one to enable networking and the other to install a basic notifications daemon (xfce4-notifyd would be an alternative to dunst). These additions are only needed for debian-minimal templates and if you are using the standard debian template you only need to install curl.

apt install --no-install-recommends curl qubes-core-agent-networking dunst

The next line is also straight from the signal website, but I added --proxy http://127.0.0.1:8082/ to the curl command:

curl --proxy http://127.0.0.1:8082/ -s https://updates.signal.org/desktop/apt/keys.asc | apt-key add -

You wrote:

I tried to copy-paste commands in Debian template terminal, as mentioned in Singal website. But it gave error - resolving updates.signal.org…failed : temporary failure in name resolution. wget : unable to resolve host address ‘updates.signal.org

The reason for the error is that curl was not able to connect to the internet to download the signing key for the signal package. In Qubes OS templates do not have networking access for good reason. However, to be able to install software via the ‘apt’ command there is a proxy service provided that gives network access. This proxy is at localhost (127.0.0.1) port 8082.

So by adding the --proxy http://127.0.0.1:8082/ parameter to the curl command you are telling it how to connect to the internet. Then the download works.

You also saw:

gpg : no valid OpenPGP data found.

The later part of the above command apt-key add - adds the downloaded key to your system so signal packages can be verified. However since your download failed there was not key, hence the error.

The next lines are straight from the signal homepage again:

echo "deb [arch=amd64] https://updates.signal.org/desktop/apt xenial main" | tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list.d/signal-xenial.list

… adds the signal repository to your system.

apt update

… fetches all repositories (now including the newly added signal repository)

apt full-upgrade

… brings your qube up-to-date.

apt install --no-install-recommends signal-desktop

… actually and finally installs signal.

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There is a signal guide on the community docs. Maybe it needs an update (haven’t checked if it’s broken or not). See

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hi @Sven I have successfully installed signal desktop on R4.0 but it first said failed to connect to server when trying to connect to the internet. is there a command to run a different port other than the :8082 or is this a firewall/proxy setting?

@stonethegerlad:

  • have you set a netvm for this qube?
  • are any firewall rules set?
  • have you installed it based on debian-minimal?
  • have you installed qubes-core-agent-networking?

Quoting an alternative full soution: (the following commands should be ran in dom0).

Thanks! This worked for me.

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