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PWAs on Linux desktop

Published 2026-10-202026-10-20By Carey Gill · Editorial process

Linux desktop users can install web content as an app through Chrome, Microsoft Edge, or GNOME Web. The browsers expose different installation commands, while the display-mode media feature lets a page adapt to the mode in which it is displayed.

Where it is supported

MDN states that Chromium-based browsers require specified manifest members for installability. Microsoft lists supported 64-bit Linux distributions for Edge. GNOME Web documents its own Linux web-app installation flow (Making PWAs installable, MDN; Microsoft Edge supported operating systems, Microsoft Learn; Create a Web App, GNOME Help).

How it works

Chrome Help documents an address-bar install icon and the Install page as app… menu command. Microsoft’s PWA UX documentation names the address-bar App available control and Install action.

GNOME Web uses a separate workflow. Its help page directs users to Install as Web App…, then Create. The resulting app is added to the Activities overview and opens in a special window without the address bar or menus.

Do not present a Chrome menu path as a GNOME Web instruction, or use Microsoft’s Windows-integration section as evidence for Linux shell integration.

Examples

The display-mode media feature works as a CSS media condition. Keep an ordinary navigation path in the markup, then add standalone-specific controls or presentation.

The display-mode media feature reports the display mode actually in use. This example reveals an in-app back control in standalone mode and keeps it hidden in an ordinary browser tab. When matchMedia is unavailable, the normal home link remains available.

<a id="home" href="/">Home</a>
<button id="back" type="button" hidden>Back</button>

<script type="module">
  const back = document.querySelector('#back');

  if (!('matchMedia' in window)) {
    back.hidden = true;
  } else if (window.matchMedia('(display-mode: standalone)').matches) {
    back.hidden = false;
    back.addEventListener('click', () => {
      if (history.length > 1) history.back();
      else location.assign('/');
    });
  } else {
    back.hidden = true;
  }
</script>

The fallback does not try to identify a Linux distribution or browser. The ordinary link preserves a route home when display-mode detection is missing.

Hide browser-tab guidance in standalone mode

Use the same media feature in CSS when the difference is presentational. This installation hint remains visible in a browser tab and is hidden when the page is displayed in standalone mode (display-mode, MDN).

<p class="browser-only">
  Use your browser's installation command to open this site as an app.
</p>

<style>
  @media (display-mode: standalone) {
    .browser-only {
      display: none;
    }
  }
</style>

Other display modes keep the hint visible. The rule depends on the active display mode, not a Linux distribution or browser name.

Specifications

Specification	Status
None.

Last verified 2026-10-20

Sources

developer.mozilla.orghttps://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/Progressive_web_apps/Guides/Making_PWAs_installable
support.google.comhttps://support.google.com/chrome/answer/9658361
learn.microsoft.comhttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/deployedge/microsoft-edge-supported-operating-systems
learn.microsoft.comhttps://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/progressive-web-apps-chromium/ux
help.gnome.orghttps://help.gnome.org/epiphany/browse-webapps.html
developer.mozilla.orghttps://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/Reference/At-rules/@media/display-mode

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