Discord is a free voice, video, and text chat app used by tens of millions of people ages 13+ to talk and hang out with their communities and friends. Users communicate with voice calls, video calls, text messaging, media, and files in private chats or as part of communities called “servers.” Discord is available on Windows, macOS, and Linux Distros.
In the following tutorial, you will learn how to install Discord client on AlmaLinux 9 workstation desktop using two different methods: the natively installed flatpak manager or installing snapcraft package manager and installing the discord snap as a last resort using the terminal command line.
Update AlmaLinux
First, before you begin the installation, you should update your system to make sure all existing packages are up to date to avoid any conflicts.
sudo dnf upgrade --refresh -y
Install Discord – Flatpak Method
The best option is to install Discord with Flatpack, default installed on your AlmaLinux system. This method is quite popular with AlmaLinux users over manual downloads or using Snaps.
Users that have removed Flatpak previously, you can re-install the third-party package manager using the following command.
sudo dnf install flatpak -y
Next, you need to enable Flatpack for AlmaLinux using the following command in your terminal.
sudo flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo
Next, install Discord using Flatpack as follows.
flatpak install flathub com.discordapp.Discord -y
If the above command does not work and you receive the “error: Unable to load summary from remote flathub: Can’t fetch summary from disabled remote ‘flathub’‘ use the following command.
flatpak remote-modify --enable flathub
This will fix the issue.
Install Discord – Snapcraft Method
The second option is to use the Snap package manager. AlmaLinux users may be familiar with Snap as it is created and maintained by Ubuntu; however, it is not natively installed on your system.
However, this can be installed relatively quickly.
By default, the snap package manager is not installed, so you will need to run the following command.
sudo dnf install snapd -y
Next, some packages come in classic, so you need to create a symlink to enable classic snap support, which some packages still require off the Snapcraft repository.
sudo ln -s /var/lib/snapd/snap /snap
Next, to make sure the Snap paths have been generated correctly, you should reboot your PC now, or else you may have issues during your current session installing packages from Snapcraft.
reboot
Next, you need to install the “snap core files” for everything to work correctly. Failure to do this may result in issues down the track.
sudo snap install core
Next, install the Discord package using the snap install command.
sudo snap install discord
How to the Launch Discord Client
With the installation complete from either installation method, you can run Discord in a few different ways.
Flatpak users will need to launch using the command below from a terminal instance.
flatpak run com.discordapp.Discord
Alternatively, Snap installations need to use the following.
sudo snap run discord
However, this is not practical, and you would use the following path on your desktop to open the course.
Activities (top right-hand corner) > Show Applications > Discord.
Now open Discord, and you will come to the login page, either create an account or use an existing account, and that’s it; you have successfully installed Discord on your AlmaLinux 9 desktop.
How to Update/Upgrade Discord
Updates should appear in notifications, but if these fail to show sometimes, it is recommended to check using the terminal regardless use one of the following commands to check for updates.
Flatpak Method
flatpak update
Snap Method
sudo snap refresh
How to Remove (Uninstall) Discord
Use one of the following commands to suit the original installation method for users who no longer require the application.
Flatpak Remove Method
flatpak remove --delete-data com.discordapp.Discord -y
Next, run the following command for any leftover clean-ups required.
flatpak remove --unused
Snap Method
sudo snap remove discord
Comments and Conclusion
Discord is the number 1 gaming platform for online communities for the years to come. However, TeamSpeak self-hosted is making a comeback. The future will determine if Discord can keep its dominance, given these days’ privacy concerns.
