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Matthias Schabhüttl
Install Insync on Fedora Asahi Remix

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Install Insync on Fedora Asahi Remix

Published 10 October 2026 · Fedora Asahi Remix 44 · KDE Plasma

With FEX and muvm, you can run the x86_64 version of Insync on an Apple Silicon Mac running Fedora Asahi Remix. This guide takes you from installation to syncing Google Drive, including a KDE application menu entry, the tray icon and autostart.

This guide is intended for Fedora Asahi Remix 44 with KDE Plasma. The reference setup uses FEX 2604, muvm 0.7.0 and Insync 3.9.11.60043 for Fedora 44. Application launch, Google Drive sync, the menu entry and the tray icon were tested with this combination. The download URL below is specifically for Fedora 44.

FEX runs the x86_64 code. muvm provides a lightweight virtual machine and integrates application windows into the desktop through an X11 bridge. The Asahi project explains how this works.

Check your system

First, check your architecture and Fedora version. Open a terminal in your normal KDE session and run these commands:

BASH
uname -m
cat /etc/fedora-release

The architecture must be aarch64 and the Fedora version must be 44. Run the following steps as your normal user. Only commands explicitly prefixed with sudo require administrator privileges.

Install and test FEX

Install FEX and the required utilities. On Fedora Asahi Remix, fex-emu pulls in the required muvm environment and FEX root filesystem as dependencies. curl downloads the Insync package; bsdtar extracts it.

BASH
sudo dnf install fex-emu bsdtar curl

Then test whether you can run a command in the FEX environment:

BASH
muvm -i -- FEXBash -c 'echo FEX_OK'

The output must include FEX_OK. If the test fails, resolve the reported error before setting up Insync. The -i option connects the command’s input and output to your terminal; see the muvm documentation for details.

Download and extract Insync

Download the Insync RPM and extract it into your home directory. The URL is part of the official Insync download service. It may now provide a newer version than the one listed above.

BASH
mkdir -p "$HOME/Downloads" "$HOME/.local/opt/insync-fex"

curl -fL https://dl.insynchq.com/linux/desktop/fedora/44 \
  -o "$HOME/Downloads/insync-fc44.rpm"

Once the download completes without errors, extract the package:

BASH
bsdtar -xf "$HOME/Downloads/insync-fc44.rpm" \
  -C "$HOME/.local/opt/insync-fex"

The application is now located at ~/.local/opt/insync-fex/usr/lib/insync/insync. The x86_64 RPM is only extracted; there is no need to force your package manager to install a package for a different architecture.

Install the tray icons

Install the tray icons before launching the application for the first time. Because the RPM was only extracted, its icons are still in your home directory. Copy the six PNG files to both of these locations:

BASH
for icon_dir in \
  /usr/share/icons/hicolor/48x48/status \
  /usr/share/pixmaps; do
    sudo install -d "$icon_dir"
    sudo install -m644 \
      "$HOME/.local/opt/insync-fex/usr/share/icons/hicolor/48x48/status"/insync-*.png \
      "$icon_dir/"
done

The /usr/share/pixmaps path is part of this setup. Qt can search for icons there through its direct fallback path. Make sure you copy the files into both directories.

Create the launcher

Create a launcher script. First, check the path to muvm:

BASH
command -v muvm

On Fedora Asahi Remix, this should return /usr/bin/muvm. The launcher below uses that path. If your output differs, adjust the corresponding line in the script.

BASH
mkdir -p "$HOME/.local/bin"

cat > "$HOME/.local/bin/insync-fex" <<'EOF'
#!/bin/bash
exec /usr/bin/muvm -- FEXBash -c '
    cd "$HOME/.local/opt/insync-fex/usr/lib/insync" || exit 1
    export LC_TIME=C QT_QPA_PLATFORM=xcb
    exec ./insync start --no-daemon
'
EOF

chmod +x "$HOME/.local/bin/insync-fex"

QT_QPA_PLATFORM=xcb tells Insync to use X11. Your KDE session can continue running on Wayland. LC_TIME=C follows the setting in the startup script supplied with Insync. The --no-daemon option keeps Insync running in the launched process. The application menu entry will later run this script without opening a terminal window.

Add the application menu entry

Create the application menu entry. If a user-level file named insync.desktop already exists, it will be backed up before the new file is written.

BASH
mkdir -p "$HOME/.local/share/applications"

if [ -f "$HOME/.local/share/applications/insync.desktop" ]; then
    cp --backup=numbered \
      "$HOME/.local/share/applications/insync.desktop" \
      "$HOME/.local/share/applications/insync.desktop.bak"
fi

cat > "$HOME/.local/share/applications/insync.desktop" <<EOF
[Desktop Entry]
Type=Application
Name=Insync (FEX)
Comment=Sync Google Drive
Exec="$HOME/.local/bin/insync-fex"
TryExec=$HOME/.local/bin/insync-fex
Icon=$HOME/.local/opt/insync-fex/usr/share/icons/hicolor/scalable/apps/insync.svg
Terminal=false
Categories=Network;
StartupNotify=false
EOF

Keep the EOF syntax exactly as shown. In this block, the shell needs to replace $HOME with the actual path to your home directory. This gives the completed desktop file absolute paths. You do not need to add ~/.local/bin to $PATH for this menu entry to work.

Connect Google Drive

Launch Insync from the KDE application menu. Search for Insync (FEX) and open it. Sign in with your Google account in the setup dialog. Choose the local destination folder and the Drive folders you want to sync before starting synchronization.

Then check whether the Insync icon appears in the system tray. Look under the arrow for hidden icons as well. Clicking the application menu entry again should bring the already running Insync window to the front.

If the menu entry has not appeared yet, you can refresh KDE’s application database:

BASH
kbuildsycoca6 --noincremental

Then reopen the application menu and search for Insync (FEX).

Set up autostart

Set up autostart after configuring your account. Copy the working application menu entry into the autostart directory:

BASH
mkdir -p "$HOME/.config/autostart"

cp --backup=numbered \
  "$HOME/.local/share/applications/insync.desktop" \
  "$HOME/.config/autostart/insync.desktop"

An existing entry with the same name will be saved as a numbered backup and replaced. If cp asks whether to overwrite it, confirm with y. Autostart will then use the same FEX launcher as the application menu. Do not create an additional Insync autostart entry under a different name.

The next time you log in, check that Insync starts automatically and appears in the tray.

Quit and restart Insync

Quit Insync through its tray menu when you want to close the application. Alternatively, run this command in a terminal:

BASH
muvm -i -- FEXBash -c '
    cd "$HOME/.local/opt/insync-fex/usr/lib/insync" || exit 1
    LC_TIME=C QT_QPA_PLATFORM=xcb exec ./insync quit
'

To restart Insync, wait for its window to close, then open Insync (FEX) from the application menu again. If Insync was already running when you copied the tray icons, you need to restart it so it can load them.

Update Insync

Handle Insync updates separately. DNF updates FEX and muvm, but it does not manage the manually extracted version of Insync used here. Quit Insync before replacing its application files, and update the copied tray icons when switching versions. Your local sync folder and account configuration are separate from the application files under ~/.local/opt/insync-fex.

© 2026 Matthias Schabhüttl. All rights reserved.