How to Install Discord on Arch Linux

Discord is an instant messaging application. It is available on almost all operating systems. Discord is a VoIP social platform using which you can communicate with other people. Discord has a feature of voice calls, video calls, and text messaging. It is used by tens of millions of people to talk and hang out with their communities and friends. You can also share media and files over the discord channels.

Discord is available on multiple platforms, including Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, and web browsers. This tutorial will guide you through the process of installing Discord on Arch Linux.

How to Install Discord on Arch Linux

To install Discord on Arch Linux, there are several methods available, including using pacman, snap, flatpak, and using the GUI software manager.

1. Installing Discord Using Pacman Package Manager

You can install Discord using the pacman package manager, which is the official package manager for Arch Linux. Pacman is a command-line tool that lets users install, remove, and update software packages. Pacman uses compressed files as a package format and maintains a text-based package database.

Before you proceed with the installation of Discord, first you have to update your Arch Linux system. Run the sudo pacman communal to update your Arch system:

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sudo pacman -Syu

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After updating your system, you can proceed with the installation of Discord using pacman:

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sudo pacman -S discord

Here, the -S flag specifies the package you want to install. In this case, it will tell the package manager to install the discord package.

Discord application is successfully installed, now to run the discord enter the following command:

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discord

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You will see a new discord window will open. This window displays the discord package being downloaded and installed in your Arch Linux system.

You can also directly run the discord from the application menu. Simply search for Discord using the search bar and click over the Discord app icon.

You can see Discord is successfully installed on your Arch Linux system.

To remove Discord installed using pacman package manager, run:

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sudo pacman -Rns discord

This will completely remove the discord along with its dependencies and configuration files from your Arch Linux system.

2. Download and Install Discord Using Flatpak

Discord is also available as a Flatpak. It is a universal package manager that can be used on most of the Linux distributions. It bundles both the software packages and their required dependencies. These dependencies include the frameworks, libraries, and other software.

You can install Discord as a flatpak using the following command:

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flatpak install discord

There are two options for Discord in a remote Flathub system: The first option is for remote controlling a computer through Discord, which allows users to stream audio on Linux. The second option is the official Discord app. Continue with the second option for official and secure installation of Discord.

During the installation of Discord, the flatpak may fix some issues related to system libraries and improve performance in some cases.

When you install Discord using flatpak, you cannot run it using the Discord command only. You have to manually open it from the application’s menu. However, we have got a quick fix for you to open Discord directly from the terminal.

By default, if you have installed Discord using flatpak, you need to use the below-given command instead of just running the discord command only—as you did in Discord installation using the pacman package manager.

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flatpak run com.discordapp.Discord

This is because Flatpak applications are installed in a separate location and are not added to the PATH environment variable by default.

After running the above command, discord will launch directly from the console.

However, you can also create an alias for this command in your bashrc file, such as:

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alias discord=’flatpak run com.discordapp.Discord’

Now you can easily launch the discord application directly from the console only by using the discord command. This makes it easier to launch Discord from the terminal.

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discord

Alternatively, you can use a desktop launcher or a menu entry to start Discord without using the terminal.

To remove Discord installed using the flatpak, run:

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flatpak uninstall discord

It’s important to note that removing Discord using these methods will remove all data associated with it, including chat history and settings. If you want to keep this data, you can back it up before removing Discord.

3. Install Discord Using Snap

Snap is another method to install Discord on Arch Linux. You can install Snap from the Arch User Repository (AUR) and then install Discord using the Snap Store.

To install Discord on Arch Linux using snap, you need to follow these steps:

First, you need to enable snapd on Arch Linux. Snapd is a service using which you can install and manage different snaps. The snaps are the application packages with all their dependencies. You can install snapd from the Arch User Repository (AUR) using the following commands:

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git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/snapd.git

This command copies the snapd repository from the Arch User Repository (AUR) to your local Arch Linux machine. The AUR is a community-driven repository for Arch Linux users.

Now change the current working directory to the snapd directory that you just cloned.

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cd snapd

Next, run the given makepkg command to build and install the snapd package from the PKGBUILD file in the current directory.

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makepkg -si

The -s flag resolves and installs any dependencies, and the -i flag installs the package after building.

Next, you need to enable the snapd.socket unit, which manages the main snap communication socket. Snap packages are self-contained applications that work across different Linux distributions.

You can do this with the following command:

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sudo systemctl enable –now snapd.socket

Now run the given command to create a symbolic link from /var/lib/snapd/snap to /snap. This is needed for compatibility with snap packages that assume this path:

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sudo ln -s /var/lib/snapd/snap /snap

After that, reboot your Linux Arch system and log in again to ensure that the snap’s paths are updated correctly.

Finally, you can install Discord using the following command:

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sudo snap install discord

Run discord:

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discord

Alternatively, you can also install the testing or nightly versions of Discord using the following commands:

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sudo snap install discord-canary

To launch the discord canary version, type the following command:

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discord-canary

You can also open it directly from the application menu.

To remove the discord installed using snap, run:

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sudo snap remove discord

Similarly, to remove the discord canary, run:

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sudo snap remove discord-canary

4. Install Discord Using the GUI GNOME Software Manager

If you prefer graphical software installation over the command line, then you can use the GUI software manager. By default, Arch Linux has different software managers depending on which desktop environment you have installed.

Here in our system, we have a GNOME desktop with a GNOME software manager. The GNOME software manager on Arch Linux is the frontend to the Flatpak, using which you can install applications and packages. You can also install Discord on Arch Linux using the Snap Store.

Here are some steps for installing Discord on Arch Linux using the GNOME application manager:

Open the GNOME software manager from the application menu.

Type discord in the search box and press Enter. You will see the discord application in the results.

Click on the discord application and then click on the Install button. This will start the installation process, and wait for the installation to finish. You may need to enter your password to confirm the installation.

Then, click on the open button to launch the Discord application. You can also find it in the application menu under the Internet category.

You can see discord application is successfully launched.

Conclusion

Discord is a multimedia communication application that is available on all platforms. Like other platforms, discord is also available for use on Arch Linux systems. The easiest way to install the discord is using the default pacman package manager on the Arch Linux system. However, there are other ways to install Discord on Arch Linux. You can use the flatpak for the discord installation on Arch Linux.

If you like GUI-based installation methods, then you can also install the Discord application using the default application manager of Arch Linux. Some frequently used GUI managers for Arch Linux are GNOME and Snap Store. To get more details of each of these methods, read the given article.