Linux Installation Guide

This guide covers installing the DNAGedcom Client on a Debian-based Linux distribution. The Client is distributed as a .deb package; if you're on a non-Debian distribution, see the “Other distributions” section near the bottom.

System requirements: a 64-bit Debian-based Linux distribution — Ubuntu 22.04 LTS or later, Debian 12 or later, Linux Mint 21 or later, Pop!_OS 22.04 or later, or any derivative built on these. Both AMD64 (x86_64) and ARM64 (aarch64) builds are available.

Step 1: Pick the Right Package

DNAGedcom ships two builds. Pick the one that matches your CPU architecture:

If you're not sure, run this in a terminal:

uname -m

x86_64 → download AMD64. aarch64 → download ARM64.

Step 2: Download the Installer

Pick the package matching your architecture:

Download AMD64 (.deb)   Download ARM64 (.deb)

The file will be named DNAGedcomInstaller4_amd64.deb or DNAGedcomInstaller4_arm64.deb and will land in your ~/Downloads folder by default.

Step 3: Install the Package

You have two equivalent options — pick whichever you prefer.

Option A: Graphical installer

Most desktop Linux distributions ship with a graphical package handler (GNOME Software, Discover, etc.). Double-click the .deb file in your file manager and follow the prompts. Enter your password when asked to authorize the install.

Option B: Terminal

Open a terminal in your Downloads folder and run:

sudo dpkg -i DNAGedcomInstaller4_amd64.deb

(Substitute the ARM64 filename if that's what you downloaded.) If dpkg reports missing dependencies, resolve them with:

sudo apt-get install -f

This pulls the dependencies dpkg flagged and finishes the install.

After installation, find DNAGedcom Client in your applications menu, or launch it from a terminal:

dnagedcom

Step 4: First Launch & Browser Components

The first time you run DNAGedcom, it downloads and unpacks an embedded Chromium browser used for gathering data from A* and 23andMe. This download is roughly 150–200 MB and runs once per install — subsequent launches are fast.

If your firewall asks whether to allow DNAGedcom outbound network access, click Allow. The Client needs network access to log in to your DNAGedcom account, connect to DNA services, download browser components on first launch, and check for updates.

Step 5: Initial Setup

Once the app is running:

  1. Log in with your DNAGedcom credentials.
  2. Click the gear icon in the top-right to open Settings.
  3. Choose a folder for the database. ~/Documents/DNAGedcom is a good default. Avoid ~/.local/share or other hidden folders — you'll want to find this later for backup.
  4. Give the database a name (optionally include the tester's name for kits you manage for others).
  5. Click Save.

You're now ready to start gathering DNA data. See the Getting Started guide for a full walkthrough.

Other Distributions

Fedora, RHEL, openSUSE, Arch — non-Debian distros

DNAGedcom currently ships only as a .deb package. On RPM-based distributions (Fedora, RHEL, openSUSE), one common workaround is to convert with alien:

sudo apt install alien   # if not already installed
sudo alien -r DNAGedcomInstaller4_amd64.deb
sudo rpm -i dnagedcominstaller4-*.rpm

This is unsupported — we test on Debian/Ubuntu and derivatives only — but it usually works for end users on stable RPM distros. On Arch, the AUR is the typical path; check there for community packaging.

Flatpak / Snap

Not currently published. If demand grows we'll add a Flathub or Snap Store listing.

Troubleshooting

Run sudo apt-get install -f immediately after the failed dpkg -i. This tells apt to fetch and install whatever dpkg said was missing, then finalize the DNAGedcom install. If the dependency error mentions a specific library by name and apt can't find it, your distribution's package mirrors may be out of date — run sudo apt update first and try again.

This usually means the first-launch browser component download was blocked or interrupted. Quit DNAGedcom, then delete the browser data folder so it can re-download cleanly:

rm -rf ~/.local/share/DNAGedcom/BrowserData

Relaunch DNAGedcom — it will re-download the browser components on startup. If you're behind a corporate proxy or firewall, you may need to whitelist outbound HTTPS to the DNAGedcom download host.

Check that your user owns the database folder:

ls -ld ~/Documents/DNAGedcom

You should see your username in the owner column. If not (e.g., the folder is owned by root because you ran DNAGedcom with sudo at some point), fix it with:

sudo chown -R $USER:$USER ~/Documents/DNAGedcom

Don't run DNAGedcom as sudo — it never needs root, and doing so creates exactly this kind of permission tangle.

From a terminal:

sudo apt remove dnagedcominstaller4

Or use your distribution's graphical software manager and search for “DNAGedcom.” The database file in ~/Documents/DNAGedcom (or wherever you put it) is left in place — remove it manually if you want to delete your gathered data.

Need help? Email support@dnagedcom.com and include your distribution and version (lsb_release -a), your DNAGedcom username, the Client version, and the log file from the Settings page.