How to Install and Set Up Electerm

Electerm ships for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, HarmonyOS and iOS, with extra builds for older systems (Windows 7, macOS 10.x, glibc < 2.34 distros like Ubuntu 18 / UOS / Kylin) and extra CPU architectures (ARM64, ARMv7, LoongArch64, RISC-V 64, ppc64le). Download everything from the homepage, the GitHub releases or the AtomGit releases (fast in China). Every build ever published is also kept in the releases archive.

Check the Know issues and Troubleshoot wiki pages if an installer misbehaves.

Windows

Requirements: Windows 7+ (x64 / ARM64). There is a dedicated legacy build for Windows 7.

Options, pick one:

1. Installer (recommended) — download the win-x64-installer.exe (or win-arm64 on Snapdragon/ARM machines), run it, launch from Start Menu.

2. Portable — download the .exe without installer in the name, or the .zip / .tar.gz. Extract and run, no admin rights needed. Great for USB sticks.

3. winget:

winget install electerm.electerm

4. Scoop:

scoop bucket add dorado https://github.com/chawyehsu/dorado
scoop install dorado/electerm

5. Microsoft Store — search "electerm" in the Store app.

Port 30975 note: on Windows the app serves a local helper on port 30975. If a firewall or another app blocks it, see In Windows Can Not Access Port 30975 Issue.

macOS

Requirements: macOS 10.15+ (Intel x64 and Apple Silicon arm64 builds; there is also a mac10 build for macOS 10.x).

1. DMG (recommended) — download the right dmg:

• Apple Silicon (M1/M2/...): mac-arm64.dmg
• Intel: mac-x64.dmg

Open, drag to Applications. On first run, right-click → Open if Gatekeeper complains about an unsigned app.

2. Homebrew:

brew install --cask electerm

Linux

Electerm covers more Linux variants than most Electron apps. Identify your case first: distro family (Debian vs RHEL vs other), glibc version (ldd --version), CPU (uname -m).

1. Debian / Ubuntu (deb) — download the matching linux-x64.deb (or arm64, armv7l, loong64, riscv64, ppc64le). If your system is old (Ubuntu 18, UOS/Kylin old-world, glibc < 2.34), grab the -legacy build.

sudo dpkg -i electerm*.deb
# or via the APT repo (Debian/Ubuntu):
# https://repos.electerm.org/deb

2. RHEL / Fedora / openSUSE (rpm) — same arch/legacy logic:

sudo rpm -i electerm*.rpm
# or via the RPM repo:
# https://repos.electerm.org/rpm

3. Snap (any distro with snapd):

sudo snap install electerm --classic

4. AppImage (any distro) — download .AppImage, make executable, run:

chmod +x electerm*.AppImage
./electerm*.AppImage

5. Tarball (any distro) — linux-*.tar.gz, just extract and run the electerm binary inside. Good for servers without root.

6. npm (any OS with Node.js):

npm i -g electerm

Arch cheat-sheet:

uname -m	download
x86_64	x64 (or x64-legacy on old glibc)
aarch64	arm64
armv7l	armv7l
loongarch64	loong64 new-world / old-world
riscv64	riscv64
ppc64le	ppc64le

Android, HarmonyOS, iOS

• Android: download the APK for your ABI (arm64-v8a for most modern phones, armeabi-v7a for older ones, x86_64 for emulators) from the homepage, or install from the release page. There is also electerm-android source.
• HarmonyOS: via AppGallery or the electerm-harmony repo.
• iOS: via the Apple App Store or the electerm-ios repo.

Mobile apps focus on SSH/SFTP on the go; workspaces and cloud sync make phone ↔ desktop handoff painless.

First-run setup (all platforms)

1. Create your first bookmark: click New → SSH, enter host, port (22), username. Pick auth (password or key — details in the SSH guide), Test Connection, Save. Or skip saving and use quick-connect: just type user@host and Enter.
2. Import existing data: Settings → Import — electerm accepts its own JSON export, and the AI bookmark generator can convert other terminals' exports.
3. Enable sync (recommended): Settings → Sync → choose GitHub/Gitee gist, WebDAV, custom server, or electerm cloud. You will need a personal access token / secret gist — see Create secret gist and Create Personal Access Token.
4. Tune the terminal: set font, theme, transparency, background image, Ctrl+2 global hotkey, auto-copy-on-select, keyword highlighting.
5. Autorun on login (desktop): follow Autorun electerm when login to OS if you want electerm always a hotkey away.

Keeping electerm updated

• Desktop apps check the release feed (/data/electerm-github-release.json) and prompt on new versions.
• winget / brew / snap / apt / rpm users: update through the package manager (winget upgrade, brew upgrade, snap refresh, apt upgrade).
• Want an old version? Every build ever published is kept in the releases archive with per-version download pages.
• Upgrading from 1.x to 2.x with data loss? Read Upgrading from 1.x to 2.x: Data Loss Issue and Recovery before panicking — recovery steps are documented.

Verify your install

Open the demo: Electerm Usage Demo shows the first 10 minutes end-to-end. Then create one SSH bookmark, open terminal + SFTP split view, run a quick command, and save a workspace. If those four work, your setup is done — the rest is customization.

Next: SSH in Electerm: auth, jump hosts, NetBird and tunnels for the connection deep-dive.