How To Install Element Matrix on Debian 11

In this tutorial, we will show you how to install Element Matrix on Debian 11. For those of you who didn’t know, Element is a free and open-source software instant messaging client implementing the Matrix protocol. The Element supports end-to-end encryption, groups, and sharing of files between users. It is available as a web application, as a desktop app for all major operating systems, and as a mobile app for Android and iOS.

This article assumes you have at least basic knowledge of Linux, know how to use the shell, and most importantly, you host your site on your own VPS. The installation is quite simple and assumes you are running in the root account, if not you may need to add ‘sudo‘ to the commands to get root privileges. I will show you the step-by-step installation of the Element Matrix instant messaging client  on a Debian 11 (Bullseye).

Prerequisites

• A server running one of the following operating systems: Debian 11.
• It’s recommended that you use a fresh OS install to prevent any potential issues.
• SSH access to the server (or just open Terminal if you’re on a desktop).
• A non-root sudo user or access to the root user. We recommend acting as a non-root sudo user, however, as you can harm your system if you’re not careful when acting as the root.

Install Element Matrix on Debian 11 Bullseye

Step 1. Before we install any software, it’s important to make sure your system is up to date by running the following apt commands in the terminal:

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade

Step 2. Installing Element Matrix on Debian 11.

By default, Element Matrix is available on Debian 11 base repository. So, now run the following command below to add the Element repository to your Debian system:

echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/riot-im-archive-keyring.gpg] https://packages.riot.im/debian/ default main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/riot-im.list

Next, import the GPG key using the following command:

wget -O- https://packages.riot.im/debian/riot-im-archive-keyring.gpg | gpg --dearmor | sudo tee /usr/share/keyrings/riot-im-archive-keyring.gpg

After you add the repository to your Debian system, now install Element Matrix using the following commands:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install riot-desktop

Step 3. Accessing Element Matrix Desktop Client on Debian 11 Linux.

Once successfully installed, the Persepolis application can be launched either from the command line by typing Element or by clicking on its icon in the Applications menu.

Congratulations! You have successfully installed Element. Thanks for using this tutorial for installing the latest version of Element Matrix client on Debian 11 Bullseye. For additional help or useful information, we recommend you check the official Element website.