Ghostty Installation and Launch Issues

Ghostty Installation and Launch Issues | Generated by AI

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Issue Diagnosis

Based on the logs you shared, the installation of Ghostty 1.1.3 via the .deb package succeeded, but launching it fails for two main reasons:

CLI Argument Error: The command ghostty . treats . as an invalid configuration field (likely intended as a directory, but Ghostty doesn’t support that syntax). This causes the immediate exit with “invalid field”.
OpenGL/GTK Compatibility Issue: When running ghostty without arguments, it initializes but crashes due to “OpenGL version is too old. Ghostty requires OpenGL 3.3” (your system reports 3.2 to Ghostty). This is a known problem on Ubuntu 22.04, especially with NVIDIA drivers under X11. Despite glxinfo often showing OpenGL 4.6+, Ghostty’s GTK 4.6 runtime can’t properly access higher versions with NVIDIA GL. The “GDK_DEBUG=vulkan-disable” warning is a workaround attempt but doesn’t resolve the core issue. The final Gtk-CRITICAL error is a symptom of the failed surface realization.

This affects many users on Ubuntu 22.04 (and derivatives like Pop!_OS) due to the older GTK version (4.6 vs. the newer 4.12+ needed for full NVIDIA compatibility).

Quick Checks

Verify your actual OpenGL support (install mesa-utils if needed: sudo apt install mesa-utils):
```
glxinfo | grep "OpenGL version"
```
If it reports 3.3+, the issue is indeed GTK/NVIDIA-specific.
Check your session type: echo $XDG_SESSION_TYPE. If it’s x11, that’s likely contributing.

Solutions

Here are step-by-step fixes, starting with the simplest:

Switch to Wayland (if you have hybrid graphics, e.g., Intel + NVIDIA):
- Log out and select a Wayland session at login (or add WaylandEnable=true to /etc/gdm3/custom.conf and restart GDM).
- Run Ghostty with integrated graphics: prime-run --gpu intel ghostty (install nvidia-prime if needed).
- This bypasses NVIDIA X11 issues for some users.
Install via Snap (Easier Alternative Package):
- The unofficial .deb you used can inherit system quirks. Try the official Snap, which bundles dependencies:
```
sudo snap install ghostty --classic
```
- Launch with snap run ghostty. If OpenGL still fails, proceed to upgrades.
Upgrade Ubuntu to 24.04 (Recommended for Long-Term Fix):
- Ubuntu 24.04 includes GTK 4.14+, resolving NVIDIA compatibility.
- Follow the official upgrade guide: sudo do-release-upgrade.
- After upgrading, reinstall Ghostty via the same .deb or Snap. Users report it works flawlessly post-upgrade.

Build from Source with GLFW Backend (Temporary Workaround):

This uses a non-GTK runtime to sidestep the OpenGL issue (note: lacks tabs, for testing only).

sudo apt install git zig libgtk-4-dev libadwaita-1-dev libharfbuzz-dev libpango1.0-dev libcairo2-dev libgdk-pixbuf-2.0-dev libglib2.0-dev libwayland-dev libxkbcommon-dev libinput-dev libudev-dev libseat-dev libpipewire-0.3-dev libsystemd-dev libx11-dev libxext-dev libxfixes-dev libxi-dev libxrandr-dev libxtst-dev libxdamage-dev libxcomposite-dev libxrender-dev libxcursor-dev libxinerama-dev libxss-dev libxv-dev libxxf86vm-dev libgl1-mesa-dev libegl1-mesa-dev libgles2-mesa-dev libgbm-dev libdrm-dev libvulkan-dev libclang-dev
git clone https://github.com/ghostty-org/ghostty.git
cd ghostty
zig build -Doptimize=ReleaseFast -Dapp-runtime=glfw
sudo cp zig-out/bin/ghostty /usr/local/bin/

Run ghostty. For full features, switch back to GTK once upgraded.

Additional Tips

Update your NVIDIA drivers: sudo ubuntu-drivers autoinstall (or use 550+ series manually).
If you’re on AMD/Intel-only, ensure Mesa is updated: sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade mesa-vulkan-drivers.
For the config warning in your template file (~/.config/ghostty/config), edit it to remove any invalid lines (e.g., stray .).

If none of these work, share your glxinfo output or GPU details (lspci | grep VGA) for more tailored advice.

OpenGL Too Old Discussion
Ghostty Ubuntu Builds
Ghostty Snap

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