Tessel

Linux X11

Fix issues on Linux.

The Big One: X11 vs Wayland

Tessel only works with X11. If you're using Wayland, shortcuts won't work.

Check What You're Using

Open a terminal and type:

echo $XDG_SESSION_TYPE
  • If it says x11 → You're good!
  • If it says wayland → You need to switch

How to Switch to X11

Ubuntu:

  1. Log out
  2. Click your username
  3. Look for a gear icon (bottom right corner)
  4. Click it and select Ubuntu on Xorg
  5. Log in

Fedora:

  1. Log out
  2. Click your username
  3. Click the gear icon
  4. Select GNOME on Xorg
  5. Log in

KDE:

  1. Log out
  2. Look for a session dropdown (usually bottom left)
  3. Select Plasma (X11)
  4. Log in

AppImage Won't Run

"Permission denied"

Make it executable:

chmod +x Tessel_*.AppImage

Then run it:

./Tessel_*.AppImage

"dlopen failed" or Missing Libraries

Install required libraries:

Ubuntu/Debian:

sudo apt install libfuse2 libwebkit2gtk-4.1-0 libgtk-3-0 libayatana-appindicator3-1

Fedora:

sudo dnf install fuse webkit2gtk4.1 gtk3 libappindicator-gtk3

System Tray Icon Missing

Linux needs an extra extension to show tray icons.

GNOME (Ubuntu default)

sudo apt install gnome-shell-extension-appindicator

Then:

  1. Log out and back in
  2. Open Extensions app
  3. Enable "Ubuntu AppIndicators"

KDE

Should work automatically. If not, check your system tray settings.

Shortcuts Not Working

1. Confirm you're on X11

echo $XDG_SESSION_TYPE

Must say x11, not wayland.

2. Check for conflicts

Some desktop environments reserve certain shortcuts:

  • GNOME uses Super+key combinations
  • KDE uses Meta+key combinations

Try using Ctrl+Alt+Number shortcuts instead.

3. Try a different shortcut

  1. Open Tessel
  2. Go to Transforms
  3. Click on a shortcut
  4. Press a new key combination (like Ctrl+Shift+T)

.deb Package Issues

Install the package

sudo dpkg -i tessel_*.deb

Missing dependencies?

sudo apt-get install -f

This installs any missing dependencies.

Clipboard Problems

Clipboard not working?

Install clipboard tools:

sudo apt install xclip xsel

Using the right clipboard?

Linux has two clipboards:

  • Primary: Select text → middle-click to paste
  • Clipboard: Ctrl+C → Ctrl+V to paste

Tessel uses the regular clipboard (Ctrl+C/V).

Get Debug Logs

If something's broken, get detailed logs:

RUST_LOG=debug ./Tessel_*.AppImage 2>&1 | tee tessel.log

This creates a tessel.log file you can share with support.

Still Having Issues?

Email support@gettessel.com with:

  • Your Linux distribution (Ubuntu, Fedora, etc.)
  • Your desktop environment (GNOME, KDE, etc.)
  • Output of echo $XDG_SESSION_TYPE
  • Any error messages
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