How to install and cleanly uninstall Joplin on Linux (all methods)

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1

:index_pointing_up: Always back up your profile (typically ~/.config/joplin-desktop and any external sync/local data) before uninstalling or switching method.[12][13]

1. Official desktop script (AppImage)

This is the officially supported desktop method on Linux and works on most distributions.[7]

Install

Run in a terminal:

wget -O - https://raw.githubusercontent.com/laurent22/joplin/dev/Joplin_install_and_update.sh | bash
  • Installs a Joplin AppImage under ~/.joplin/ for the current user.[1][12]
  • Creates a desktop entry and icon in your user’s XDG directories so it appears in your app menu.[12][1]

Alternatively, to install latest pre-release, you can use:

wget -O - https://raw.githubusercontent.com/laurent22/joplin/dev/Joplin_install_and_update.sh | bash -s -- --prerelease

Credits: @Eduardo

Clean uninstall

Close Joplin, then:

# Remove AppImage + version file
rm -f ~/.joplin/*.AppImage ~/.joplin/VERSION

# Remove desktop entry and icon (names can slightly vary)
rm -f ~/.local/share/applications/joplin.desktop \
      ~/.local/share/applications/appimagekit-joplin.desktop

rm -f ~/.local/share/icons/hicolor/512x512/apps/joplin.png

# Remove configuration and local profile (optional, this deletes local notes if not synced)
rm -rf ~/.config/joplin-desktop

If you created any additional custom launchers or icons, delete those as well.

1.1 Debian / Ubuntu .deb repository (unofficial – maintainer: LFdev)

Latest stable pre-built .deb packages repo provides a native Joplin Desktop for latest stable Debian and Ubuntu and newer versions, as well as derivatives like Linux Mint, published via a dedicated APT repository hosted on SourceForge. [5]

Install

A typical setup looks like:

# 1) Add GPG key (URL as documented on the SourceForge page)
curl -s https://gitlab.com/LFd3v/joplin-desktop-linux-package/-/raw/master/pub.gpg | \
        gpg --dearmor | sudo dd of=/etc/apt/keyrings/lfdev-repo.gpg

# 2) Create DEB822 repo file
echo "X-Repolib-Name: LFdev Repo
Enabled: yes
Types: deb
URIs: https://sourceforge.net/projects/joplin-desktop-linux-package/files/deb-repo
Suites: packages
Components: main
Architectures: amd64
Signed-by: /etc/apt/keyrings/lfdev-repo.gpg" | \
        sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/lfdev-repo.sources

# 3) Update and install
sudo apt update
sudo apt install joplin

This installs joplin as a regular APT-managed package, so new releases from the deb-repo will be offered via normal system upgrades.

Clean uninstall

To remove the program but keep configuration:

sudo apt remove joplin
sudo apt autoremove

For a “clean” uninstall that also matches the rest of the post’s guidance (package + user data):

# Purge package and unused deps
sudo apt purge joplin
sudo apt autoremove

# Optional: remove user profile and local data (deletes unsynced notes)
rm -rf ~/.config/{Joplin,joplin-desktop}
rm -rf ~/.joplin

If you no longer wish to use this repository:

sudo rm -f /etc/apt/sources.list.d/lfdev-repo.sources
sudo rm -f /etc/apt/keyrings/lfdev-repo.gpg
sudo apt update

2. Official terminal (CLI) via npm

The CLI client is officially documented and can be installed with npm.[7]

Install

Example of a user-local install (recommended to avoid sudo with npm):

# Choose a user-local prefix
NPM_CONFIG_PREFIX="$HOME/.joplin-bin" npm install -g joplin --loglevel=error

# Optionally add a global symlink (requires sudo)
sudo ln -s "$HOME/.joplin-bin/bin/joplin" /usr/bin/joplin

Alternatively, if your system npm is already configured globally, you can use:

sudo npm install -g joplin

Clean uninstall

  1. Remove the npm package:

    npm uninstall -g joplin

  2. Remove any symlink you created:

    sudo rm -f /usr/bin/joplin

  3. Remove the chosen prefix directory if you used one:

    rm -rf ~/.joplin-bin

  4. Remove any CLI profile/config directories if different from the desktop profile on your system.

3. Flatpak (unofficial – maintainer: catsout)

Install

First ensure Flatpak and Flathub are enabled, then:

flatpak install flathub net.cozic.joplin_desktop

Run with:

flatpak run net.cozic.joplin_desktop

Clean uninstall

flatpak uninstall net.cozic.joplin_desktop

Optionally remove remaining Flatpak data for this app:

rm -rf ~/.var/app/net.cozic.joplin_desktop

This removes the Flatpak sandbox configuration and data for Joplin.

4. Snap (unofficial – maintainer: MrCarroll)

Install

Ensure snapd is available, then:

sudo snap install joplin-desktop

Joplin can be launched from your menu or with:

snap run joplin-desktop

Clean uninstall

sudo snap remove joplin-desktop

5. Arch / AUR builds (unofficial – maintainers as per wiki)

The wiki lists several AUR packages for the desktop:[2][1]

  • joplin-desktop – Maintainers: masterkorp / alfredopalhares
  • joplin-appimage – Maintainer: fsociety3765
  • joplin-desktop-bin – Maintainer: thynkon

Pre‑compiled AUR builds may also be available in Chaotic‑AUR.[1][2]

5.1 AUR helper basics

You need an AUR helper like yay, paru or aura. Once installed, the general pattern is:[2][1]

yay -S joplin-desktop          # or joplin-appimage / joplin-desktop-bin

5.2 Clean uninstall for AUR packages

Use the same helper to remove the package and its dependencies:

yay -Rns joplin-desktop        # or joplin-appimage / joplin-desktop-bin

Then optionally remove user data:

rm -rf ~/.config/joplin-desktop
rm -rf ~/.joplin               # if the AppImage variant created this

If you switched between multiple AUR flavors, check your menu entries and remove stale .desktop files under ~/.local/share/applications.

6. RPM / COPR (unofficial – maintainer: taw00)

This is typically provided via a COPR or similar repository for Fedora and related distributions.[2]

Install

After enabling the appropriate repository (see that project’s instructions), you normally run:

sudo dnf install joplin      # Fedora-like
# or, if using another RPM-based distro:
sudo zypper install joplin

Clean uninstall

sudo dnf remove joplin
# or
sudo zypper remove joplin

Then optionally remove user data:

rm -rf ~/.config/joplin-desktop

7. Nix / NixOS (unofficial – maintainer: Hugo Reeves)

Install

If Nix is installed:

# NixOS
nix-env -iA nixos.joplin-desktop

# Non-NixOS
nix-env -iA nixpkgs.joplin-desktop

Clean uninstall

nix-env -e joplin-desktop

Then, as with other methods, remove configuration if desired:

rm -rf ~/.config/joplin-desktop

If you have multiple Nix profiles or generations, also prune old generations so Nix garbage collection can reclaim space.

8. Manual AppImage or other manual installs (unofficial, user-maintained)

Some users download the AppImage or other binaries manually and place them in a custom directory such as ~/Applications or /opt/joplin.[12]

Install

For example:

mkdir -p ~/Applications
cd ~/Applications
wget https://example.com/path/to/Joplin-x.y.z.AppImage   # replace with actual release URL
chmod +x Joplin-*.AppImage

You may also create a custom ~/.local/share/applications/joplin.desktop pointing to that AppImage for menu integration.

Clean uninstall

Delete the binary and any custom desktop/icon files:

rm -f ~/Applications/Joplin-*.AppImage
rm -f ~/.local/share/applications/joplin.desktop
rm -f ~/.local/share/icons/hicolor/512x512/apps/joplin.png
rm -rf ~/.config/joplin-desktop

If you installed under /opt or another system directory, remove it with sudo rm -rf /opt/joplin (or equivalent) and any system-wide desktop entries.

9. General notes on “clean” uninstall

Regardless of distribution or package type, a truly clean uninstall on Linux always has two parts:[13][12][2]

  1. Remove the installed program
    • Using the appropriate package manager (snap remove, flatpak uninstall, yay -Rns, dnf remove, nix-env -e, etc.) or by deleting the AppImage/script install.
  2. Remove all user-level configuration and data (optional but often desired)
    • Typically:
      • rm -rf ~/.config/joplin-desktop
      • rm -rf ~/.joplin or any other Joplin-specific directories you created

If you plan to reinstall or you rely on sync only as a backup, make sure you export or sync your notes before deleting profile directories.

Disclaimers

All non-AppImage methods are community-maintained and unsupported by the core project, so bugs and issues should be reported to their respective maintainers.[2][7][1]

Initially, rough draft of this post was AI generated (proton's lumo, scira, perplexity) and manually edited by me -- but no manual testing was done.

This list was inspired by following PR -- [4].

At the time of writing none of the content received endorsement from Joplin Team and remains purely community endeavour.

References

  1. Community discussion on unofficial Joplin builds and modifications for various platforms.Unofficial Joplin Distributions Page

  2. Wiki-style list of community-maintained Joplin distribution variants with links and maintainer info.Alternative Distributions Wiki

  3. Forum thread debating AppImage as the primary Linux format, pros/cons vs Snap/Flatpak.AppImage Linux Discussion

  4. GitHub PR adding Linux uninstall docs to Joplin readme.Joplin Uninstall PR

  5. Details pre-built .deb and Arch packages for Debian/Ubuntu/Arch users.Pre-built Packages Forum

  6. Official Joplin installation guide covering desktop, mobile, terminal, and Linux AppImage script.Official Joplin Install Page

  7. Development discussion on Linux packaging challenges and distro-specific builds.Linux Packaging Debate

  8. Support thread with Ubuntu-specific installation steps and troubleshooting.Ubuntu Install Support

  9. no longer relevant

  10. no longer relevant

  11. GitHub issue requesting Linux uninstall script and custom install paths.Joplin Linux Uninstall Issue

  12. Support guide for full Joplin removal on Linux Mint, including configs.Linux Mint Uninstall Guide

  13. Reddit post seeking uninstall steps for script-installed Joplin on Ubuntu.Linux4Noobs Uninstall Thread

2 Likes
2

Hi Thank you for this complete list. I would like to add the alternative to install prerelease AppImage version that I use, and maybe it is not easy to find out or to know about:
wget -O - https://raw.githubusercontent.com/laurent22/joplin/dev/Joplin_install_and_update.sh | bash -s -- --prerelease

2 Likes
3

Thanks, it is indeed very handy! I've added it into the list

4

Hey, there. I was notified about your post, and you linked to the thread I had created about pre-build packages for desktop Linux before there was an official deb package. Anyway, maybe you want to include the info about the repo, that should work with Debian/Ubuntu and derivatives, like Linux Mint. The repo is hosted on SourceForce, where info about how to add the repo is provided.

Regards

1 Like