Gmail for Linux

A Gmail app for Linux that isn’t a browser tab

Google doesn’t make a Gmail app for Linux, so Gmail there usually means a browser tab, a web wrapper, or an IMAP client like Thunderbird. Dodosend is a desktop Gmail client packaged for Linux: labels, Gmail-style search, your calendar, and a key for everything.

Get the desktop appDownload

Free for one Gmail mailbox, on macOS, Windows, and Linux.
AppImage for any distribution · .deb for Debian, Ubuntu and Mint · .rpm for Fedora and openSUSE · x86_64

Try it before you install

The app’s own keys, on sample mail, right in this page. Press them yourself, or let the guide show you. Nothing here touches a real mailbox.

Interactive demo. A hands-on look at how it works: use your keyboard or mouse, and the guide shows you what to do. The mail is made up.

Dodosend

Inbox

3 unread

Maya Chen

10 threads

Step 1 of 4

Press ↓ to move to the next thread.Tap “Show me” to move to the next thread.

Move, star and archive from the keyboard. Nothing is final: undo brings it back.

Why a Gmail app on Linux

Everything Gmail already knows about your mail, in a desktop app you run from the keyboard.

Gmail, not IMAP

Thunderbird and Geary reach Gmail over IMAP, where labels become folders and Gmail’s search operators don’t apply. Dodosend works with Gmail itself, so labels stay labels and from: or has:attachment work as they do in Gmail.

A desktop app, not a wrapped tab

Its own window, and the keys a browser keeps for itself: Ctrl+W closes a Dodosend tab, Ctrl+Tab moves to your next mailbox.

Keyboard-first, like the rest of your tools

Every action has a key, ! shows the ones for the screen you’re on, and Ctrl+K opens a palette for everything else.

Your calendar, next to your mail

G then C opens your week, 0 shows today beside the inbox, and Ctrl+Shift+A pastes your free slots into a draft as a sentence.

Dodosend’s Inbox in dark mode on Linux, on sample mail, with the colour theme turned rust to teal: the sidebar, threads with stars and attachments, and the shortcut bar at the bottom. — The Inbox in dark mode, on sample mail.

Your options for Gmail on Linux

Google makes no Linux app for Gmail, so the choice is between its website, an app that wraps the website, and a mail app that signs in to Gmail. These are the ones most people weigh.

Option	What it is	Gmail’s labels and search	Cost
Gmail in Chrome or Chromium	The website, installed as an app with a window of its own	Everything, as Gmail does it	Free
Wavebox or WebCatalog	Web wrappers: Gmail’s website in an app window, with each Google account kept apart	Everything, as Gmail does it: it’s the website inside	Free for two accounts; paid plans for more
Meru (formerly Gmail Desktop)	An open-source app that wraps Gmail’s website, as an AppImage or a .deb	Everything, as Gmail does it: it’s the website inside	Free for personal use, one account; Pro is paid once
Thunderbird	Mozilla’s free, open-source app, as a Flatpak, a Snap or your distribution’s package	Over IMAP: labels show up as folders, and search is the app’s own	Free
Mailspring	A free, open-source mail app for any provider, as a Snap, a Flatpak, a .deb or an .rpm	Labels, with a label picker, once signed in with Google; its own search reads Gmail-style from: and has:attachment	Free; Pro is $8 a month
Evolution or Geary	GNOME’s mail apps, signed in to Gmail through GNOME Online Accounts	Over IMAP: labels show up as folders, and search is the app’s own	Free
Dodosend	A desktop app made for Gmail, run from the keyboard	Kept as Gmail has them: labels stay labels, and from: or has:attachment work	Free for one mailbox

Older articles still suggest WMail and the Gmail Desktop Snap. WMail became Wavebox, and its repository was archived in 2021. The Snap hasn’t been updated since July 2020: its maker now ships the app as Meru, above.

Install Gmail as an app from Chrome

If the website is all you need, Chrome can install it as an app with a window of its own; browsers built on Chromium have a similar option, under their own menus. It’s still Gmail’s website inside, run by the browser, and most of Gmail’s single-key shortcuts stay off until you turn them on in its settings.

Chrome

1Open mail.google.com in Chrome.
2In the More menu (⋮, top right), choose Cast, save, and share › Install page as app…, or click the Install icon at the end of the address bar.
3Click Install, and Gmail opens in a window of its own.
4To remove it, open More in that window and choose Uninstall Gmail, then Remove. Every app Chrome installed is listed at chrome://apps.

Requirements and install

Every Linux build is on the download page, free for one Gmail mailbox.

A 64-bit x86 machine (x86_64)
Most distributions, through the AppImage; a .deb for Debian and Ubuntu, an .rpm for Fedora and openSUSE
A Gmail or Google Workspace account

Tested on

Installed fresh and signed in, with Dodosend 0.9.14 in November 2026.

System	Desktop	Packages
Ubuntu 26.04 LTS	GNOME	AppImage and .deb
Linux Mint 22.3	Cinnamon	.deb and AppImage
Fedora 45	KDE Plasma	.rpm and AppImage

At sign-in: While Google reviews Dodosend, it may say it hasn’t verified the app: choose Advanced, then Go to Dodosend.

AppImage (any distribution)

Make it executable, then run it:chmod +x Dodosend_*_amd64.AppImage && ./Dodosend_*_amd64.AppImage
If it won’t start, install FUSE 2 (libfuse2, or libfuse2t64 on Ubuntu 24.04 and later).

Debian, Ubuntu, Mint, Pop!_OS (.deb)

Install it with apt:sudo apt install ./Dodosend_*_amd64.deb

Fedora, RHEL, openSUSE (.rpm)

Install it with dnf:sudo dnf install ./Dodosend-*.x86_64.rpm
On openSUSE, with zypper:sudo zypper install ./Dodosend-*.x86_64.rpm

Questions

Is there an official Gmail app for Linux?

No. Google doesn’t make a desktop Gmail app for any system. On Linux the usual options are the website, a web wrapper such as Meru or Wavebox, or a mail app such as Thunderbird or Mailspring.

Which distributions does it run on?

It’s tested on Ubuntu 26.04, Linux Mint 22.3 and Fedora 45. The AppImage runs on most x86_64 distributions. The .deb is for Debian, Ubuntu and their derivatives; the .rpm for Fedora, RHEL and openSUSE.

Is there an ARM build, a Flatpak or a Snap?

Not yet. Today the Linux builds are x86_64 only, as an AppImage, a .deb or an .rpm.

Is it free?

Yes, for one Gmail mailbox, with every feature. The Multi-mailbox plan, billed monthly or yearly, is for connecting more than one. Dodosend is in beta, and the download is open to everyone.

Gmail, at home on Linux

Your labels, your search, your calendar, and a key for everything. Your mail stays on your computer, and Google lets you revoke access anytime.