Desktop AppLinux (Ubuntu / Debian)

CADbuildr Prototype on Linux (Ubuntu / Debian)

There are three ways to install the desktop app on Linux. The .deb package is recommended on Ubuntu and Debian; the AppImage is a portable, no-root option that runs on any distribution.

Quick install (one line)

The fastest way — downloads the latest .deb for your architecture and lets apt resolve its dependencies:

curl -fsSL https://cadbuildr.com/install.sh | sh

That’s it — launch CADbuildr Prototype from your applications menu when it finishes.

Prefer not to pipe a script into your shell? Inspect it first: curl -fsSL https://cadbuildr.com/install.sh and run it once you’re happy.

Install the .deb manually

Download the package

curl -fL -o cadbuildr-prototype.deb \
  "https://cadbuildr.com/api/download/desktop?platform=linux&format=deb"

Install it with apt

apt installs a local .deb and pulls in its runtime dependencies automatically:

sudo apt install ./cadbuildr-prototype.deb

On older systems whose apt can’t install a file path directly, use: sudo dpkg -i cadbuildr-prototype.deb && sudo apt-get -f install

AppImage (any distro, no root)

If you’re not on Debian/Ubuntu — or you just want a portable binary — grab the AppImage instead:

curl -fL -o CADbuildr-Prototype.AppImage \
  "https://cadbuildr.com/api/download/desktop?platform=linux&format=appimage"
chmod +x CADbuildr-Prototype.AppImage
./CADbuildr-Prototype.AppImage

Or via the one-line installer (drops it in ~/.local/bin):

curl -fsSL https://cadbuildr.com/install.sh | CADBUILDR_FORMAT=appimage sh
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AppImages need FUSE. On a minimal Ubuntu install: sudo apt install libfuse2.

Requirements

  • A 64-bit (x86_64) machine. arm64 builds aren’t published yet.
  • A WebKitGTK runtime — the .deb declares libwebkit2gtk-4.1-0 and libgtk-3-0 as dependencies, so apt installs them for you. Supported out of the box on Ubuntu 22.04+ and Debian 12+.

Signing in

The GitHub sign-in flow opens your browser and returns to the app through a cadbuildr-prototype:// deep link. The .deb registers this URL scheme automatically. With the AppImage, launch the app once first so the handler gets registered before you start the GitHub login.

Updating

The app auto-updates on launch. To update manually, just re-run the installer or re-install the latest .deb — it upgrades in place.

Uninstall

sudo apt remove cadbuildr-prototype

Troubleshooting

  • error while loading shared libraries: libwebkit2gtk-4.1.so — your WebKitGTK runtime is missing. Install it with sudo apt install libwebkit2gtk-4.1-0.
  • A blank or white window — try launching from a terminal with WEBKIT_DISABLE_COMPOSITING_MODE=1 cadbuildr-prototype to rule out a GPU compositing issue.
  • GitHub sign-in doesn’t return to the app — confirm the deep link is registered: xdg-mime query default x-scheme-handler/cadbuildr-prototype should print the app’s .desktop file.
OverviewSetup