[Question] Compatibility issues on Linux Mint for Electrum & Ledger Live

[Maus0728]

Hey everyone,

For privacy related concerns, I am planning to switch from Windows OS to Linux Mint as this is my first time using Linux distributions for my daily driver especially in crypto related usage.

But the question is, would there be any Electrum/Ledger Live and Linux Mint compatibility issues that would otherwise degrade my user experience? I know that Debian is the granddaddy of mint, so if there is anyone who used/has idea on debian based distro on their crypto related stuff, your inputs are very much appreciated.

Also any tips in mind to properly use the OS and not breaking it?

[witcher_sense]

Electrum won't run on Linux Mint out-of-the-box, you will likely have to downgrade version of protobuf package to get it work.

You can check this thread for more information: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5401712.0

I tried the command suggested in the thread above after the installation, and it actually worked:

Code:

pip install protobuf==3.20.1

Also any tips in mind to properly use the OS and not breaking it?

The first advice I was given was never run the following command:

Code:

sudo rm -rf /

[lovesmayfamilis]

I use Linux systems and reinstall different ones from time to time. And on none of them, do I have problems installing the Electrum wallet. Install the Appimage and allow it to be used as a program. Otherwise, Linux is a very user-friendly system, and Linux Mint is very good for beginners; the interface is similar to that of Windows. If we talk about whether I will return to Windows after Linux, then I would answer that I will not return.

[Maus0728]

@witcher_sense, can you please dumb down how can I downgrade the said package?

From what I have learned in the University, we used the command prompt, created a virtual environment, and then activate it before you can install packages using pip command. A code something like this as an example. I really admit knowing these technical stuff is too much for me as of now. Thank you very much!

conda create -n data_analysis python=3.7..

[witcher_sense]

@witcher_sense, can you please dumb down how can I downgrade the said package?

Code:

sudo apt update

Code:

sudo apt upgrade

Code:

sudo apt install python3-pip

Code:

pip install protobuf==3.20.1

You can also check this reply from NotATether.

[ABCbits]

Also any tips in mind to properly use the OS and not breaking it?

Don't run random command from internet that you don't understand at all.

Electrum won't run on Linux Mint out-of-the-box, you will likely have to downgrade version of protobuf package to get it work.

--snip--

Or you could just use Electrum AppImage rather than installing Electrum from source code.

[dkbit98]

For privacy related concerns, I am planning to switch from Windows OS to Linux Mint as this is my first time using Linux distributions for my daily driver especially in crypto related usage.

This is really good first step in breaking away from micro-soft bloatware and spying, but I would suggest checking out new Fedora 36 instead of Linux Mint.
Fedora has better security, it has much newer kernel and software releases while being stable, and it's not based on Ubuntu like Linux Mint.
There is a bit learning curve when you switch to Linux but it pays off big time, and you will be much more secure from malware.

But the question is, would there be any Electrum/Ledger Live and Linux Mint compatibility issues that would otherwise degrade my user experience? I know that Debian is the granddaddy of mint, so if there is anyone who used/has idea on debian based distro on their crypto related stuff, your inputs are very much appreciated.

Appimage files are available both for Electrum and LedgerLive and that should work just fine in Fedora OS and other Linux distributions.
Even if you mess something up you could rollback changes in Fedora, and depending on your hardware you can choose from several alternative DE spins like KDE, XFCE, LXQT, MATE, Cinnamon, etc.
Before installing any Linux OS you should first test if it works with your hardware using some live USB stick.

[Maus0728]

@everyone! Thank you very much for all the replies. I have now managed to verify and install both Electrum and Ledger Live on my Linux Mint and I am extremely happy with it.

For the newbies out there like myself who are trying to get away from Windows and plan to transition to Linux, below is the documentation I've recorded to let others know the issues I ran into during the installation process

To start, despite the fact that Electrum is a included Linux's "Software Manager (it's like MS Store version of Windows)," it is still strongly advised that you verify and download the app from the official Electrum website so that you can check the AppImage's authenticity by reviewing this thread[1]. Similar to Ledger Live, their website also provides instructions on how to use GtkHash to check the AppImage's authenticity.

Moreover, running both Electrum and LL in Linux isn't similar as to how Windows run these application because you need to download some sort of program called udev rules that enables Ledger Nano device/Trezor to interact with Electrum and LL within that period of plugging/unplugging the hardware component. Otherwise you'll get an error that looks like this.



Fortunately, you can easily download the a file on the ledger's github by typing the wget command in the terminal.

Code:

wget -q -O - https://raw.githubusercontent.com/LedgerHQ/udev-rules/master/add_udev_rules.sh | sudo bash

Source: https://support.ledger.com/hc/en-us/articles/4404389606417-Download-and-install-Ledger-Live?docs=true

[1] /index.php?topic=5240594.0

That's pretty much it  . As a beginner, trying to understand the nitty gritty of Linux is by far rewarding, you'll just need to research every move you are going to execute on the internet to avoid having issues. Plus, asking questions isn't illegal.

but I would suggest checking out new Fedora 36 instead of Linux Mint.
Fedora has better security, it has much newer kernel and software releases while being stable, and it's not based on Ubuntu like Linux Mint.
There is a bit learning curve when you switch to Linux but it pays off big time, and you will be much more secure from malware.

Thank you so much for the suggestion! As a learning tool for the Linux environment in the meantime, I'll try Linux Mint, and once I feel comfortable with it, I'll surely switch to Fedora as you recommended . And it's true that learning Linux is pretty solid.

Before installing any Linux OS you should first test if it works with your hardware using some live USB stick.

Linux Mint works like magic in my laptop as compared with Windows LOL

[lovesmayfamilis]

Linux Mint works like magic in my laptop as compared with Windows LOL

This is not surprising since the RAM requirement : "Minimum 512 MB of RAM for Cinnamon, XFCE and MATE shells and as many as 2 for KDE" for Linux Mint is much smaller than for Windows. I think that you used the 64-bit version, which requires a minimum of 4 GB plus the ever-tracking and slowing down Windows trackers. If you don't need the Linux frills, you can always choose the XFCE version. There will be no animation; everything will be quite modest, and this also increases the speed of Linux.

There are so many of these systems that any user can find the most convenient for himself.