Signal-desktop: Warn non-APT based Linux distribution users before migrating

[janvlug]

I migrated my data from Signal Desktop Chrome application, as suggested by the application. However, only after that I did the export, I found out that there are no RPM or flatpak distributions. So now I ended up with a Linux Fedora system without a functioning Signal Desktop.

Please clearly warn non-APT Linux distribution users before the migration that there is no alternative available, so that they will make a well informed decision about migrating or not.

See also:

1630 - Packages for rpm-based linux distributions like Fedora

1639 - Feature Request: Flatpak for Linux

1431 - Electron - No Stretch Repo

[MartinX3]

Maybe Travis CI could make RPM's.
Or their own build service.
But Travis CI is for free and the signal developers are not a profit orientated company. (That's good!)

[scottnonnenberg]

Yep, we have a plan to revamp the export process to prevent that kind of unfortunate surprise. And we have longer-term plans to support more linux distributions.

[scottnonnenberg]

Also, you can reenable the Chrome app for use with these commands in the DevTools (go to chrome://extensions in your browser, find Signal, then click the background.html link, then enter this text in the Console tab):

window.storage.put('migrationEnabled', false);
window.storage.put('migrationState', 0);
window.storage.put('migrationEverCompleted', false);

Wait a bit, then:

window.location.reload();

[scottnonnenberg]

Chrome 0.44.5 allows you to cancel out of a completed migration and go back to using the Chrome app.

[scottnonnenberg]

I'm going to consider this fixed, because current builds of Chrome tell you to install the new Signal Desktop before starting the export. And those instructions explain the supported platforms and install techniques.