What is ZapFast?
ZapFast is a fast, lightweight native WhatsApp client for the Linux desktop. It opens in under a second and stays at around 200 MB of memory, a fraction of what the browser tab or Electron wrapper it replaces usually takes. You link it to the WhatsApp account on your phone by scanning a QR code, exactly as you would for WhatsApp Web, and from then on your chats, photos, voice notes, calls and notifications live in a real desktop window with a tray icon. It is written in Rust with the egui toolkit, MIT licensed, and runs on both X11 and Wayland. ZapFast is an unofficial, third-party client, not affiliated with WhatsApp or Meta.
apt upgrade brings every release.
⚡ Key Features of ZapFast
⚡ Opens in Under a Second
A native Rust binary with no browser engine inside: it starts almost instantly and settles at around 200 MB of RAM, light enough to leave open all day.
📷 Linked by QR Code
No new account to create: open ZapFast, scan the QR code from WhatsApp on your phone under Linked devices, and your conversations appear, just as with WhatsApp Web.
💬 Chats, Media and Polls
One-to-one and group chats with photos, videos, voice notes and polls, so the conversations on your phone carry on at the keyboard.
📞 Voice and Video Calls
WhatsApp voice and video calls from the desktop, with desktop notifications and a tray icon so a new message or call is not missed.
⌨️ Keyboard Shortcuts and Themes
Shortcuts for moving between chats and replying without reaching for the mouse, and themes so it fits in with the rest of the desktop.
🔐 Encrypted Local Archive
Your message archive is kept on disk so history loads instantly, and it is encrypted with a key held in your desktop keyring rather than stored in plain text.
apt upgrade keeps you on the latest version.
📦 Installation from deb.griffo.io
Step 1: Add Repository
sudo install -d -m 0755 /etc/apt/keyrings
curl -fsSL https://deb.griffo.io/EA0F721D231FDD3A0A17B9AC7808B4DD62C41256.asc | sudo gpg --dearmor --yes -o /etc/apt/keyrings/deb.griffo.io.gpg
echo "deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/deb.griffo.io.gpg] https://deb.griffo.io/apt $(. /etc/os-release; echo ${DEBIAN_CODENAME:-${UBUNTU_CODENAME:-$VERSION_CODENAME}}) main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/deb.griffo.io.list > /dev/null
sudo apt updateinstall -d -m 0755 /etc/apt/keyrings
curl -fsSL https://deb.griffo.io/EA0F721D231FDD3A0A17B9AC7808B4DD62C41256.asc | gpg --dearmor --yes -o /etc/apt/keyrings/deb.griffo.io.gpg
echo "deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/deb.griffo.io.gpg] https://deb.griffo.io/apt $(. /etc/os-release; echo ${DEBIAN_CODENAME:-${UBUNTU_CODENAME:-$VERSION_CODENAME}}) main" | tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/deb.griffo.io.list > /dev/null
apt updatesudo apt install extrepo
sudo extrepo enable griffo
sudo apt update🆓 There is an always-free mirror. deb-free.griffo.io serves packages free forever, no account, no subscription, at most 2 months behind upstream, security fixes immediately. It currently carries cliamp, Ghostty, lazydocker, Oh My Posh, Uncloud and Zed; ZapFast is not one of them, so the repository above is the only way to get it today, ask and it can be enrolled.
🧩 About the extrepo option. extrepo is Debian's own tool for external repositories: it writes the sources file and installs the signing key for you, checking the key against signed metadata first. This repository is registered with it as griffo, and the always-free mirror as griffo-free, so on Debian (bookworm, trixie, forky and sid) the commands above are the whole setup.
extrepo sets up the sources file and the key only, so a subscription's credentials still go in /etc/apt/auth.conf.d/deb.griffo.io.conf. Ubuntu is not covered, because extrepo publishes metadata for Debian suites only: there, use the sudo or root commands.
Step 2: Install ZapFast
# Install latest ZapFast
sudo apt install zapfast
# Verify installation
dpkg -s zapfast | grep Version# Install latest ZapFast
apt install zapfast
# Verify installation
dpkg -s zapfast | grep VersionStep 3: First run
# Start ZapFast from your application menu, or from a terminal
zapfast
# On first run it shows a QR code: on your phone open WhatsApp,
# go to Settings, Linked devices, Link a device, and scan it
# The message archive is encrypted with a key kept in a Secret Service
# keyring. GNOME, KDE and the other desktops already run one; on a
# bare window manager, install GNOME Keyring and start it with the session
sudo apt install gnome-keyring# Start ZapFast from your application menu, or from a terminal
zapfast
# On first run it shows a QR code: on your phone open WhatsApp,
# go to Settings, Linked devices, Link a device, and scan it
# The message archive is encrypted with a key kept in a Secret Service
# keyring. GNOME, KDE and the other desktops already run one; on a
# bare window manager, install GNOME Keyring and start it with the session
apt install gnome-keyring🎯 Basic Usage Examples
Everyday use:
# Launch it from the menu, or from any terminal
zapfast
# Desktop notifications and the tray icon announce new messages and calls
# Which version is installed
dpkg -s zapfast | grep VersionChecking the keyring:
# Is a Secret Service provider running in this session?
busctl --user list | grep org.freedesktop.secrets
# Nothing listed? On a bare window manager, install GNOME Keyring
sudo apt install gnome-keyring
# KWallet or KeePassXC (with its Secret Service integration on) work too
apt policy gnome-keyring kwalletmanager keepassxc# Is a Secret Service provider running in this session?
busctl --user list | grep org.freedesktop.secrets
# Nothing listed? On a bare window manager, install GNOME Keyring
apt install gnome-keyring
# KWallet or KeePassXC (with its Secret Service integration on) work too
apt policy gnome-keyring kwalletmanager keepassxcKeeping it current:
# ZapFast updates with the rest of the system
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade
# Which version is installed, and which is the newest available
apt policy zapfast
# Remove it again
sudo apt remove zapfast# ZapFast updates with the rest of the system
apt update && apt upgrade
# Which version is installed, and which is the newest available
apt policy zapfast
# Remove it again
apt remove zapfast🔧 Tool Integrations
ZapFast talks to WhatsApp and to your phone on its own; on the computer it relies on a few standard desktop services:
- Keyring: the on-disk message archive is encrypted with a key kept in a Secret Service keyring: GNOME Keyring, KWallet or KeePassXC. Every mainstream desktop already runs one; on a bare window manager such as i3 or Sway, install
gnome-keyringand start it with the session - X11 and Wayland: ZapFast runs on both display servers, so it works the same on GNOME, KDE Plasma, Xfce, Cinnamon and tiling setups
- Notifications and tray: new messages arrive as standard desktop notifications; the tray icon needs a desktop with a system tray, which on GNOME means the AppIndicator extension
- Your phone: ZapFast is a linked device, like WhatsApp Web: the account on your phone stays the main one, and the link can be removed from Linked devices on the phone at any time
- Updates: the built-in self-updater only acts on upstream's portable download and stays off for this package; new versions come through apt with the rest of the system
- Memory: at around 200 MB it is light enough to keep running all day on a laptop, next to a browser, an editor and a terminal
- Your tools: pair it with Handy to dictate replies instead of typing them, or keep ZapZap if you prefer a Qt client
🚀 Why Choose deb.griffo.io?
- Official Debian: does not package ZapFast,
apt install zapfastfails on a stock system - Upstream downloads: a portable build from the project's releases, current on the day you fetch it and then kept current by its own self-updater, outside apt
- Building from source: a Rust toolchain, the system development libraries the build needs, and a long compile, repeated for every release
- deb.griffo.io: latest version with automatic updates
- ✅ The Only apt Source: ZapFast is in neither the Debian nor the Ubuntu archives; this repository packages the official upstream release
- ✅ One Name Everywhere: the package is
zapfastand so is the command:sudo apt install zapfast, thenzapfastor the launcher entry - ✅ Updates Through apt: the built-in self-updater only acts on upstream's portable download and stays off here, so apt is the one place ZapFast is updated from
- ✅ Complete Package: the upstream release with a desktop entry and icon, so it appears in the application menu, and its dependencies declared so it installs on every supported suite
- ✅ Automatic Updates: packages updated within hours of upstream releases
- ✅ Two Architectures: amd64 and arm64 on Bookworm, Trixie, Forky and Sid alike; upstream builds no i386, armhf or riscv64 version, so there is none here
- ✅ Multi-Distribution: works on Bookworm, Trixie, Forky and Sid
- ✅ Easy Maintenance: standard apt commands for updates
📦 Package Build Repository
The Debian packages are automatically built and maintained in this GitHub repository:
- 📲 zapfast-debian - Latest release builds
🔗 Related Packages
Also available from deb.griffo.io:
- ZapZap - Another unofficial WhatsApp desktop client, built with Python and Qt
- Handy - Offline speech-to-text, for dictating replies instead of typing them
- Spotifast - A fast native Spotify client, the same idea for music
- Ghostty - A native GTK terminal for the rest of the desktop
- kitty - A fast GPU terminal
💝 Support This Project
If this repository saves you time and effort, please consider supporting it!