Is ZapFast in the official Ubuntu repositories?

No, ZapFast is not packaged in the official Ubuntu archives. This repository is currently the only apt source, serving ZapFast 0.21.0.

How do I install the latest ZapFast on Ubuntu?

Add the deb.griffo.io repository once using the instructions above, then run: sudo apt install zapfast. New releases arrive through the normal sudo apt upgrade.

Are the packages signed and how are they built?

Every package is signed with the repository's GPG key (EA0F721D231FDD3A0A17B9AC7808B4DD62C41256) and built from upstream releases in public GitHub packaging repositories that anyone can inspect.

Which Ubuntu releases are supported?

Ubuntu 22.04 Jammy, 24.04 Noble, 25.10 Questing and 26.04 Resolute.

Install Latest ZapFast on Ubuntu via apt

Source	Version
deb.griffo.io	0.21.0 ✅
Official Ubuntu	🚫 not packaged

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📌 Installing on a specific release? Ubuntu 24.04 (noble) · Ubuntu 25.10 (questing) · Ubuntu 26.04 (resolute)

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.

            🚀 Why Latest Versions Matter: ZapFast is young and releases often: fixes that follow WhatsApp's protocol changes, new features such as polls and calls, and desktop integration work land in most versions. Ubuntu does not package ZapFast at all, and the app's own updater stays off for this package, so this repository is how it stays current: a normal 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.

            🚀 Always ahead of the official archives: Debian and Ubuntu freeze package versions when a release ships. This repository publishes new upstream releases typically within hours. A simple apt upgrade keeps you on the latest version.
        

📦 Installation from deb.griffo.io

Run the commands

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 update

install -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 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.

How the free mirror works →

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 Version

Step 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 Version

Checking 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 keepassxc

Keeping 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-keyring and 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?

📊 Repository Comparison:

Official Ubuntu: does not package ZapFast, apt install zapfast fails 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 zapfast and so is the command: sudo apt install zapfast, then zapfast or 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 Ubuntu 24.04, 25.10 and 26.04 alike; upstream builds no i386, armhf or riscv64 version, so there is none here; Ubuntu 22.04 Jammy is not supported because its PipeWire is too old (0.3.48; ZapFast needs 0.3.50 or later)
✅ Multi-Distribution: works on Ubuntu 24.04, 25.10 and 26.04
✅ Easy Maintenance: standard apt commands for updates

📦 Package Build Repository

The Ubuntu 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

            🎯 Perfect for: anyone who keeps WhatsApp open all day on the computer and wants it to start instantly and use a fraction of a browser's memory, people on older or low-memory laptops, keyboard-driven users, and everyone who would rather have a real desktop app than another browser tab.
        

💝 Support This Project

If this repository saves you time and effort, please consider supporting it!

⭐ Star on GitHub 🐦 Share on Twitter

📲 Install Latest ZapFast on Ubuntu