Installing TheSky on Debian

This brief guide walks you through installing TheSky on Debian 12.11.0. Tested as of June 23, 2025 using the latest available Debian and TheSky Linux installer.

Note: Debian setup asks you to create a regular user and a superuser (root). The steps below should be done as the regular user.

Install Debian
Use all default options when installing Debian. No customization needed.

Install Required Libraries for TheSky
Open a terminal and install two required packages:

su -c 'apt install libxcb-xinerama0 libxcb-xinput0'

Download TheSky Installer
Go to My Account → My Downloads and download:
TheSky Imaging Bundle Full Installer (Linux x86_64 13954 2025-June-23 7 GB)

Make Installer Executable
Navigate to the download folder and run:

chmod +x TheSky-Installer-Linux-AMD64

Run the Installer

./TheSky-Installer-Linux-AMD64

Fix Executable Permissions for TheSky
After install, desktop icons may not be present due to Debian’s security defaults. Instead, launch it manually:

cd ~/TheSkyX
chmod +x TheSkyX
./TheSkyX

Done!
TheSky should now launch. If you run into issues, contact support with the terminal output and your Debian version.

Run Post-Install Setup Script
After installation, TheSky provides a setup script to complete configuration that requires elevated access. This includes installing kernel-level drivers, setting up desktop icons, and applying necessary permissions. This must be run as root.

First, make the script executable:

cd ~/TheSkyX
chmod +x install.sh

Then run the script as root:

su -c './install.sh'

This step is required and must be run after the main installer completes. It finalizes TheSky’s integration with the system.