ResponderHTTP on Linux

ResponderHTTP comes in three Linux packages. They contain the same app; they differ in how it is installed, what it takes from your system and how it is kept up to date.

Status: all three packages are built and tested for version 1.1.0, but none is published yet; they will be attached to the release on the project’s GitHub page. A Flathub listing is planned.

• A 64-bit PC (x86_64). ARM computers are not supported yet
• A graphical desktop with GTK 3, such as GNOME, KDE Plasma, Xfce or Cinnamon
• A desktop keyring for saving secrets: GNOME Keyring or KWallet, which the usual desktops start for you. Without one the app runs, but tokens and passwords cannot be saved (see Security)
• Optional: a tray. KDE Plasma shows the app’s tray icon. GNOME shows it only with an AppIndicator extension; without one, closing the window quits the app

Minimum distribution for each package

The AppImage carries WebKitGTK and GTK but uses your system’s C library (glibc) and C++ runtime, as every AppImage does. Those have to be at least as new as the Ubuntu 22.04 system it is built on, which is the oldest release that has the WebKitGTK version the app needs. On an older system it stops at once with a version `GLIBC_2.xx' not found message.

Tested

Each test started the app on a clean installation with only a desktop’s base libraries, under X11, and checked that its window came up. An HTTPS request was sent on Fedora 44 and Ubuntu 22.04, verified against each system’s own certificate store. For Debian 10 and 11 and Ubuntu 20.04, the Flatpak is the way to run ResponderHTTP; it has not yet been tried on them.

RPM (Fedora)

sudo dnf install ./ResponderHTTP-1.1.0-1.x86_64.rpm

dnf installs WebKitGTK, GTK and the tray library from Fedora’s own repositories if they are not there already. The app then appears in the applications menu. The RPM is not signed yet, so dnf cannot check its signature; get it only from the project’s own release page.

AppImage (other distributions)

chmod +x ResponderHTTP_1.1.0_amd64.AppImage
./ResponderHTTP_1.1.0_amd64.AppImage

An AppImage is one file you run directly, with nothing to install. It needs fuse3 to open itself, which most desktops already have. If it says No suitable fusermount binary found, install it (sudo apt install fuse3 on Ubuntu and Debian), or start the AppImage with --appimage-extract-and-run. It does not add itself to the applications menu; a tool such as Gear Lever or AppImageLauncher can do that.

Flatpak (any distribution)

flatpak install --user ResponderHTTP-1.1.0.flatpak
flatpak run io.github.zoran_php.responderhttp

The Flatpak comes as one file from the project’s release page. Installing it also fetches the GNOME runtime it runs on from Flathub, if that is not there already, and adds the app to the applications menu. It runs in Flatpak’s sandbox with no access to your files: you choose files through the system dialog, which hands over only those. Its ID has an underscore where the other packages use a hyphen, because Flathub’s naming rules require it. A listing on Flathub itself, where GNOME Software and KDE Discover would find it, is planned.

• Closing the window. With a tray, the window hides to it, as on Windows, and the tray menu has Show and Quit. Without a tray, as on a stock Fedora Workstation, closing quits the app, and first asks if a tab has unsaved changes or a request, stream, WebSocket connection or gRPC call is still running
• One copy at a time. Starting the app while it is running brings the open window to the front instead of opening a second one
• Secrets are encrypted with a key kept in your desktop keyring, in an item labelled “ResponderHTTP data key”. A locked keyring asks to be unlocked the first time the app needs it
• Certificates come from your system’s trust store, such as /etc/pki on Fedora or /etc/ssl/certs on Ubuntu and Debian, so a root your organisation installs there is trusted
• Your data is one SQLite database and a log folder in ~/.local/share/io.github.zoran-php.responderhttp/, the same for the RPM and the AppImage

libcurl, TLS and SQLite are compiled into the app on Linux as on Windows. The RPM depends only on WebKitGTK, GTK and the tray library, which draw the window; the AppImage brings those with it.

• Update the RPM by installing the newer file the same way; your data and key stay
• Update the AppImage by replacing the file. Replacing it is also how its WebKitGTK gets security fixes, so keep it current
• Remove the RPM with sudo dnf remove responder-http; remove the AppImage by deleting the file
• Remove your data as well by deleting ~/.local/share/io.github.zoran-php.responderhttp/ and the key with secret-tool clear service io.github.zoran-php.responderhttp username data-key. Uninstalling leaves both behind, so that reinstalling keeps your collections

• The AppImage stops with “version `GLIBC_2.xx' not found” or “GLIBCXX_3.4.xx not found”. Your distribution is older than the AppImage supports; see the requirements above. Use the Flatpak instead
• “No suitable fusermount binary found”. Install fuse3, or run the AppImage with --appimage-extract-and-run
• The RPM’s app says WebKitGTK is missing or broken. Run sudo dnf reinstall webkit2gtk4.1 and start it again
• Secrets cannot be saved. No keyring is running in your session, or it stayed locked. Check that GNOME Keyring or KWallet runs and unlock it when asked. The app never falls back to storing them unencrypted
• There is no tray icon on GNOME. GNOME hides tray icons unless the “AppIndicator and KStatusNotifierItem Support” extension is installed (gnome-shell-extension-appindicator on Fedora). Without it the app simply quits when its window is closed