Signal Desktop will get a collapsable side bar in the next version:
5 Likes
You are true about ARM64, there was an issue opened in their github where it is confirmed that flatpak version is for x86_64 only.
BTW : how can we manage updates ? Is it done with sudo apt update or do we have to compile every time ? Thank you very much.
1 Like
@Skalman Hello both, I don’t know if you can see it in your “L5” version, but I confirm that in Signal Flatpak desktop, the left panel can now collapse and show avatars only (without the last message preview).
1 Like
I just sent my first Signal message from signal-desktop on my L5.
I installed signal-desktop as flatpak following the instructions here:
https://elagost.com/flatpak/
Before running signal-desktop, I set the display scaling of the L5 to 100% in order to see the QR-code to scan for linking to my Signal on Android.
Many thanks to everybody who made this possible!
11 Likes
Now, if only that android wasn’t necessary…
3 Likes
I just linked Signal Desktop running on my Librem 5 with my account created with Axolotl (also running on my Librem 5, using a phone number from jmp.chat). Neither an iPhone nor an Android was necessary. Freaking amazing.
11 Likes
This is my dream—a stand-alone signal client on the Librem 5 
Can’t wait till I receive mine!
3 Likes
To be clear, it wasn’t particularly easy to set up, and Signal Desktop is not optimized for a mobile interface, but it can be done and does work as it does on a regular desktop computer (e.g. messaging, calling, etc).
1 Like
I think Signal Desktop must have updated, because it is fitting on the Librem 5 screen much better now and is actually usable with 200% screen zoom. This is very cool.
6 Likes
I guess flatpaks update automatically by default, right?
1 Like
8 Likes
Hi there, I’m responsible for the flatpak (though I don’t build the actual binaries myself). Let me know if you have any troubles or if you’d make any improvements. There are .deb builds available in the gitlab if you’d rather use those on PureOS or Mobian.
4 Likes
Hello! Are you saying that there is a flatpak for Signal Desktop for aarch64 architecture, that could be used to install Signal Desktop on the Librem 5? If so, could you point to exactly where that is and how to use it for aarch64? (I earlier believed that it was only for x86_64 and therefore would not work on the Librem 5)
Which gitlab do you mean, where?
There is! It’s right here: https://elagost.com/flatpak/ (posted earlier in the topic too)
The source for all this is (link removed, new user can only post 2 links, same repo as the link below)
You can get the .deb packages here: https://gitlab.com/undef1/signal-desktop-builder/-/packages
It’s essentially a copy of the x86_64 flatpak on Flathub, which uses Signal’s official .deb release, tears it apart, and puts it into the flatpak. We just use an arm64 .deb instead, which I personally do not build. More information is in that repos’ readme.
I use it on PostmarketOS and verified it works on Arch Linux and Mobian too. I do not have a Librem 5, just a Pinephone.
9 Likes
The Flatpak of Signal Desktop is working great on my Librem 5. Thanks!
4 Likes
Would it make sense to have a Purism/Debian notification background process, similar to google play notifications or apple notifications? I guess this could potentially save battery life, because the L5 wouldn’t need to keep many apps (such as Signal) active in the background to receive notifications. Having such a service that is free and open-source would mitigate many of the freedom-restricting aspects of google/apple notifications.
Thoughts on similar solutions that already exist or how such a thing could be implemented?
3 Likes
As a heads up, Signal Desktop updated and when I next launched it, the user list on the left side of the screen was too large to make it usable (with 200% zoom, which is what I prefer to keep my Librem 5 at). I was able to shrink the user list back to circles for each user when I connected a mouse and used the cursor to click on the vertical bar and drag it to the left. If anybody else is using Signal Desktop on their Librem 5 and has this issue, hopefully this helps.
1 Like
Apparently the update broke something, as I am no longer able to call out or receive a call back in on Signal Desktop on my Librem 5 (whereas before the update I could).
I confirm this issue, and I reported this issue here:
3 Likes
Can you check if you can make a call from or receive a call to Signal Desktop on your Librem 5 now that it’s updated? I cannot (whereas before I could), but I don’t know if it’s because I’ve messed with something else in my Librem 5 (I doubt this is the case, but I just want to make sure).