Install / Linux / Linux Mint

Install on Linux Mint.

Step-by-step installation guide for Linux Mint.

Ilopad for Linux Mint is published as a Debian package (.deb) in the Ilopad repository. Add the repository once and apt installs it and every later release, the same way it handles the rest of your system.

Add the Ilopad repository

The recommended way. Three commands, and updates arrive on their own afterwards.

Trust the signing key

Fetch the key that apt uses to verify every Ilopad package. The first two lines refresh the package lists and install curl, which a minimal install may not have:

sudo apt update sudo apt install -y ca-certificates curl sudo install -d -m 0755 /usr/share/keyrings sudo curl -fsSLo /usr/share/keyrings/ilopad-archive-keyring.pgp \ https://dl.ilopad.com/ilopad-archive-keyring.pgp

Add the repository

Point apt at the Ilopad repository:

sudo curl -fsSLo /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ilopad.sources \ https://dl.ilopad.com/ilopad.sources

Install Ilopad

Refresh the package lists and install. apt pulls in the runtime libraries it needs:

sudo apt update sudo apt install ilopad-server

From now on apt keeps Ilopad current along with the rest of your system: each new release arrives with sudo apt upgrade. Every package and every index is signed, and apt refuses anything that does not verify.

Start Ilopad

Launch the server from the terminal, or open the menu, type Ilopad and press Enter:

ilopad-server

The first time, Ilopad shows Permission Required, because it needs access to the input device. Click Allow and enter your password. The Ilopad window then opens. Step 6 below shows these screens.

The window shows this computer’s name under Server Name, with a green power button beside it while the server is running. Click Add Device, give the device a name, then click Generate QR. Scan the code with the Ilopad app on your iPhone to connect.

Install a single release by hand

Use this if you would rather not add a repository. It installs one release and nothing more: Ilopad will not update itself, so you repeat these steps for each new version. Prefer to point and click? On Linux Mint, double-clicking the downloaded .deb opens it in the Package Installer, which installs local packages and their dependencies. No extra tools required.

Download the package

This link always points at the newest release:

Download the .deb

Find the downloaded package

Open Files and go to your Downloads folder. You should see ilopad-server_amd64.deb.

The Ilopad .deb package shown in the Files app Downloads folder on Linux Mint

Open it in the Package Installer

Double-click the .deb. It opens in the Package Installer, which shows ilopad-server and its version. Click Install Package.

Linux Mint Package Installer showing ilopad-server with the Install Package button

Authenticate

Enter your password and click Authenticate.

Finish

The Package Installer installs Ilopad and its dependencies. When it shows The installation was successful, close it.

Linux Mint Package Installer: The installation was successful, ilopad-server is now installed

Start Ilopad

Open the menu, type Ilopad and press Enter. The first time, Ilopad shows Permission Required: it makes a virtual mouse, keyboard and pen, and for this it needs access to the input device. Click Allow.

Ilopad window titled Permission Required, with the Allow button

Enter your password and click Authenticate. The Ilopad window opens. Click Add Device to pair your iPhone.

The Ilopad window on Linux Mint in dark mode, showing the server name, a green power button and the No Devices Paired empty state

The server shows this computer’s name under Server Name, with a green power button beside it while the server is running. If you turned on the firewall (ufw), Ilopad asks for your password one more time, to open its network ports (UDP 4444 and 5353).

Uninstall

To remove Ilopad, with its settings and the permissions that it added, follow Uninstall on Linux Mint.