Is OnlyOffice Desktop Editors really free and open source?

Yes. The desktop application is released under AGPL v3. The source is on GitHub at github.com/ONLYOFFICE. The cloud/server editions have commercial tiers, but the desktop app has no paid tier.

Can I use OnlyOffice and LibreOffice at the same time?

Yes. They install to separate paths and do not conflict. You can set one as the default handler for docx and the other for odt using your desktop's default applications settings.

Does OnlyOffice support dark mode?

Yes, starting from version 7.2. Go to Settings > Appearance and choose the Dark theme. It respects the system theme on most desktops from version 8.0 onward.

Why does the repo use 'squeeze' as the distribution codename for Debian/Ubuntu?

OnlyOffice uses a single static codename in their Debian repo rather than per-release branches. This is intentional — the same repository serves all supported Debian and Ubuntu versions.

Are .xlsx files from OnlyOffice fully compatible with Microsoft Excel?

For the vast majority of spreadsheets, yes. Complex Excel features like Power Query, certain conditional formatting rules, and VBA macros will not survive the round-trip, as OnlyOffice uses JavaScript for its macro engine instead of VBA.

Install OnlyOffice Desktop on Linux

OnlyOffice Desktop Editors is a free, open-source office suite built around the OOXML formats (docx, xlsx, pptx). If you regularly exchange documents with Microsoft Office users and care about layout fidelity, it is worth having alongside or instead of LibreOffice. This guide walks through the official repository install on the three major distro families, adds plugins, and ends with an honest comparison to LibreOffice for real-world docx work.

Install from the Official OnlyOffice Repository

OnlyOffice publishes signed packages for Debian/Ubuntu and RPM-based distros, plus an AppImage and Flatpak. The repository method gives you automatic updates, so prefer it over manual .deb/.rpm downloads unless you are on an airgapped machine.

Debian and Ubuntu

Add the GPG key and the repository, then install the package.

sudo apt install -y curl gnupg2
curl -fsSL https://download.onlyoffice.com/GPG-KEY-onlyoffice \
  | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/onlyoffice.gpg

echo "deb [arch=amd64 signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/onlyoffice.gpg] \
https://download.onlyoffice.com/repo/debian squeeze main" \
  | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/onlyoffice.list

sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y onlyoffice-desktopeditors

The package pulls in a handful of Qt and font dependencies automatically. On Ubuntu 22.04/24.04 and Debian 12 this completes without conflicts.

Fedora and RHEL / Rocky Linux

Add the repo file, import the key, then install.

sudo rpm --import https://download.onlyoffice.com/GPG-KEY-onlyoffice

sudo tee /etc/yum.repos.d/onlyoffice.repo <<'EOF'
[onlyoffice]
name=OnlyOffice
baseurl=https://download.onlyoffice.com/repo/centos/main/noarch/
gpgcheck=1
enabled=1
gpgkey=https://download.onlyoffice.com/GPG-KEY-onlyoffice
EOF

sudo dnf install -y onlyoffice-desktopeditors

On RHEL 9 / Rocky 9 you may need EPEL enabled for a couple of font packages. Run sudo dnf install -y epel-release first if the install fails on missing dependencies.

Arch Linux

The onlyoffice-bin package lives in the AUR. Use your preferred AUR helper.

paru -S onlyoffice-bin
# or: yay -S onlyoffice-bin

Flatpak (distro-agnostic fallback)

If your distro is not listed above, or you want sandboxed installs, use the Flathub package.

flatpak install flathub org.onlyoffice.desktopeditors

The Flatpak version lags a minor release or two behind the native packages and has limited plugin support, so use it only when nothing else fits.

First Launch and Basic Configuration

Launch from your application menu or run:

onlyoffice-desktopeditors

On Wayland desktops (GNOME 45+, KDE Plasma 6), OnlyOffice runs via XWayland by default. This is fine for daily use. Native Wayland support arrived in the 8.x series; if you are on 8.0 or later you can force it:

onlyoffice-desktopeditors --enable-features=UseOzonePlatform --ozone-platform=wayland

Test stability before making this permanent. Most users will not notice a difference either way.

The first-run wizard lets you set the default format for new documents. Choose OOXML (.docx / .xlsx / .pptx) if you work primarily with Microsoft Office users. Set a theme (light or dark) and your preferred interface language.

Installing Plugins

OnlyOffice has a built-in plugin manager. Plugins add features like Zotero citations, Mendeley, Thesaurus, macro recording, Telegram sharing, and ChatGPT assistance.

Via the Plugin Manager (GUI)

Open any document.
Click Plugins in the top menu bar.
Select Plugin Manager.
Browse the list, click a plugin, then click Install. The plugin activates immediately — no restart needed.

Manual Plugin Install

If you have a plugin .zip from a third party or have written your own, install it manually. User plugins live in:

~/.local/share/onlyoffice/desktopeditors/sdkjs-plugins/

Unzip the plugin directory there, then restart OnlyOffice. Confirm it appears under Plugins > Start.

Recommended Plugins for Daily Use

Zotero — inserts citations and bibliographies directly from your Zotero library.
Thesaurus — right-click any word for synonyms without leaving the document.
Highlight Color — adds a colour-picker toolbar missing from the default UI.
Macros — ships built-in; lets you automate repetitive tasks with JavaScript.

Verify the Installation

Check the installed version from the terminal:

# Debian/Ubuntu/RPM
onlyoffice-desktopeditors --version

Expected output looks like ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors 8.1.0 (exact version varies). Then open a complex docx file with tracked changes, tables, and embedded images and confirm it renders correctly before using it in production.

OnlyOffice vs LibreOffice for .docx Fidelity

This is the practical question most people have. Here is an honest breakdown.

Scenario	OnlyOffice	LibreOffice
Complex page layout (columns, text boxes, anchored images)	Excellent — OOXML-native renderer	Good, occasional reflow on complex layouts
Tracked changes round-trip	Very good; preserves author data	Good but formatting marks sometimes differ
Embedded fonts and advanced typography	Strong; renders most OOXML font effects	Partial; some effects fall back to basic rendering
Macros (VBA)	No VBA; JS macros only	Basic VBA compatibility via StarBasic bridge
ODF (.odt) as primary format	Supported but secondary	Best-in-class; native format
Mail merge	Supported (CSV/XLSX data sources)	More mature; supports databases, LDAP
Resource usage	Higher RAM baseline (~400 MB)	Lower baseline (~200 MB)

Bottom line: if your workflow is docx-in, docx-out and you share files with Microsoft Office users who will notice any formatting shifts, OnlyOffice is the safer choice. If you work mostly in ODF or need VBA macro compatibility, LibreOffice is still the better tool. Many professionals keep both installed.

Troubleshooting

Application will not start after install

Check for missing font packages, which are the most common cause on minimal installs:

# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt install -y ttf-mscorefonts-installer fonts-crosextra-carlito fonts-crosextra-caladea

# Fedora/RHEL
sudo dnf install -y liberation-fonts google-carlito-fonts cabextract

Segfault on Wayland compositors

Force XWayland explicitly by setting the environment variable in the desktop entry, or launch with:

WAYLAND_DISPLAY= onlyoffice-desktopeditors

Repository GPG errors on update

Re-fetch the key. The OnlyOffice GPG key is occasionally rotated:

curl -fsSL https://download.onlyoffice.com/GPG-KEY-onlyoffice \
  | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/onlyoffice.gpg
sudo apt update

Flatpak version cannot access files outside home

Grant additional filesystem access with Flatseal or from the terminal:

flatpak override --user --filesystem=/mnt org.onlyoffice.desktopeditors