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Install on Debian.

Step-by-step installation guide for Debian.

Ilopad for Debian is published as a Debian package (.deb) in the Ilopad repository. Add the repository once and apt installs it and every later release, the same way it handles the rest of your system.

Add the Ilopad repository

The recommended way. Three commands, and updates arrive on their own afterwards.

1

Trust the signing key

Fetch the key that apt uses to verify every Ilopad package. The first two lines refresh the package lists and install curl, which a minimal install may not have:

sudo apt update sudo apt install -y ca-certificates curl sudo install -d -m 0755 /usr/share/keyrings sudo curl -fsSLo /usr/share/keyrings/ilopad-archive-keyring.pgp \ https://dl.ilopad.com/ilopad-archive-keyring.pgp
2

Add the repository

Point apt at the Ilopad repository:

sudo curl -fsSLo /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ilopad.sources \ https://dl.ilopad.com/ilopad.sources
3

Install Ilopad

Refresh the package lists and install. apt pulls in the runtime libraries it needs:

sudo apt update sudo apt install ilopad-server

You can also install Ilopad from Software after sudo apt update: search for Ilopad, click it, and click Install. Enter your password and click Authenticate.

From now on apt keeps Ilopad current along with the rest of your system: each new release arrives with sudo apt upgrade. Every package and every index is signed, and apt refuses anything that does not verify.
4

Start Ilopad

Launch the server from the terminal, or find Ilopad in your applications menu:

ilopad-server

The first time, Ilopad shows Permission Required, because it needs access to the input device. Click Allow and enter your password. The Ilopad window then opens. Steps 6 and 7 below show these screens.

The window shows this computer’s name under Server Name, with a green power button beside it while the server is running. Click Add Device, give the device a name, then click Generate QR. Scan the code with the Ilopad app on your iPhone to connect.

Install a single release by hand

Use this if you would rather not add a repository. It installs one release and nothing more: Ilopad will not update itself, so you repeat these steps for each new version. Prefer to point and click? On Debian, double-clicking the downloaded .deb opens it directly in Software (GNOME Software), which installs local packages and their dependencies. No extra tools required.

1

Download the package

This link always points at the newest release:

Download the .deb

2

Find the downloaded package

Open Files and go to your Downloads folder. You should see the Ilopad .deb you downloaded.

The Ilopad .deb package shown in the Files app Downloads folder
3

Open the package with Software

Double-click the .deb. It opens in Software, showing ilopad-server as a local file. Click Install.

GNOME Software showing ilopad-server from a local file with the Install button
4

Authenticate

Enter your password to authorize the installation, then click Authenticate.

Authentication Required dialog asking for a password to install the software
5

Finish

Software installs Ilopad and its dependencies. When the button changes to Open, the install is complete.

GNOME Software showing Ilopad installed with an Open button
6

Give Ilopad access to input

Click Open. The first time, Ilopad shows Permission Required: it makes a virtual mouse, keyboard and pen, and for this it needs access to the input device. Click Allow.

Ilopad window titled Permission Required, with the Allow button

The password dialog says: “Ilopad needs your password to let it control the mouse and keyboard.” Enter your password and click Authenticate.

7

Pair your iPhone

The Ilopad window opens. Click Add Device to pair your iPhone. To start Ilopad again later, open Activities, type Ilopad and press Enter.

The Ilopad window on Debian in dark mode, showing the server name, a green power button and the No Devices Paired empty state
The server shows this computer’s name under Server Name, with a green power button beside it while the server is running.

Uninstall

To remove Ilopad, with its settings and the permissions that it added, follow Uninstall on Debian.