DISCLAIMER: This is NOT an official WhatsApp application. This is an independent, open-source project that wraps WhatsApp Web in a native desktop window. WhatsApp is a trademark of Meta Platforms, Inc.
A simple and lightweight WhatsApp desktop wrapper for Linux, built with Electron. No bloat, no unnecessary features — just WhatsApp Web running cleanly as a first-class desktop application. If you're tired of keeping a browser tab open just for WhatsApp, this app gives you a dedicated, distraction-free window with proper desktop integration, right where you'd expect it in your applications menu.
Features
Getting started
Once installed, launch the app and scan the QR code with your phone's WhatsApp app to link your account. From there, everything works exactly as you'd expect from WhatsApp Web.
Requirements
An active WhatsApp account linked to a mobile device An internet connection snapd (already included on Ubuntu and most modern distros)
Open source
This project is open source and licensed under the MIT License. Contributions, bug reports, and feature requests are welcome on GitHub.
This application connects to WhatsApp Web and does not store or process your messages locally. All communication goes through WhatsApp's own servers.
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Snaps are applications packaged with all their dependencies to run on all popular Linux distributions from a single build. They update automatically and roll back gracefully.
Snaps are discoverable and installable from the Snap Store, an app store with an audience of millions.
On Arch Linux, snap can be installed from the Arch User Repository (AUR). The manual build process is the Arch-supported install method for AUR packages, and you’ll need the prerequisites installed before you can install any AUR package. You can then install snap with the following:
git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/snapd.git
cd snapd
makepkg -si
Once installed, the systemd unit that manages the main snap communication socket needs to be enabled:
sudo systemctl enable --now snapd.socket
If AppArmor is enabled in your system, enable the service which loads AppArmor profiles for snaps:
sudo systemctl enable --now snapd.apparmor.service
To enable classic snap support, enter the following to create a symbolic link between /var/lib/snapd/snap and /snap:
sudo ln -s /var/lib/snapd/snap /snap
Either log out and back in again, or restart your system, to ensure snap’s paths are updated correctly.
To install OpenWhats, simply use the following command:
sudo snap install openwhats
Browse and find snaps from the convenience of your desktop using the snap store snap.
Interested to find out more about snaps? Want to publish your own application? Visit snapcraft.io now.