How to install 5fifi Flow on Linux

5fifi Flow runs on any 64-bit Linux distro with glibc 2.17 or later: Ubuntu 20.04+, Debian 11+, Fedora 36+, Arch, and most distros released after 2015. Both x64 and ARM64 builds are available below.

1. Download

Choose the archive that matches Your computer: x64 (most desktops and laptops) or ARM64 (e.g. Raspberry Pi, some Chromebooks). Each download is a single .tar.gz archive.

2. Extract

Double-click the downloaded .tar.gz file, or run:

tar -xzf <the-downloaded-file>.tar.gz

After extracting, You will see two items:

• 5fifi-Flow: the app itself. This is the only one You need to open.
• HOW TO INSTALL - Read Me First.txt: a short letter with the link to this guide.

3. Install OpenAL

5fifi Flow plays sound through OpenAL. Install it for Your distro:

• Ubuntu / Debian: sudo apt install libopenal1
• Fedora / RHEL: sudo dnf install openal-soft
• Arch: sudo pacman -S openal

4. Enable Sounds (Join the Input Group)

5fifi Flow listens for key and mouse events at the kernel level (a Linux feature called evdev), so it can play a sound for every physical key press or click, even while You’re using another app. Reading these events requires Your Linux account to belong to the input group. This is a one-time setup step, and it works the same way whether You are using an X11 or a Wayland desktop.

To turn sounds on, open a terminal and run:

sudo usermod -aG input $USER

Then log out completely and log back in. A full logout, not just locking the screen; restarting the computer also works. Open 5fifi Flow, and sounds should now play.

Still not hearing sounds after logging back in? Run groups in a terminal and check that input appears in the list. If it does not, the change has not taken effect yet: log out and back in once more, or restart the computer. If input does appear and sounds still do not play, please use the Report Bug link inside the app so we can take a look.

5fifi Flow does not record or store what You type. It only detects that a key or mouse event happened, so it knows when to play a sound.

5. Run the App

Open a terminal inside the extracted folder and run:

cd 5fifi-Flow
./5fifiFlow

“Permission denied”? Some file managers remove the run permission when extracting. Fix it with:

chmod +x 5fifiFlow

Then run ./5fifiFlow again.

A Note on Wayland

Wayland and X11 are simply the two ways a Linux desktop draws Your screen. 5fifi Flow’s sound trigger reads input at the kernel level, the same way on both, so if You have already completed Step 4 above, Wayland does not need anything extra from You.

A small number of Wayland setups, for example some tightly sandboxed or locked-down distro configurations, add extra restrictions on top of that. If You have joined the input group, logged back in, and sounds still do not play, please use the Report Bug link inside the app and let us know Your distro and desktop environment. We would like to help and improve support for it.

Not sure whether You are on Wayland or X11? Open a terminal and run echo $XDG_SESSION_TYPE. It will print wayland or x11.

If something is not working

5fifi Flow usually just works, but if something feels off, here are a few things to try. And if none of them help, please reach out. I read every message and I am always glad to help.

• Still quiet? It is almost always the input group step. Run groups in a terminal to check that input is listed. If it is not there yet, log out and back in once more, or restart. If it is listed and things are still silent, the note on Wayland just above has a little more to try.
• Would You like a walkthrough in Your own words? You can paste this page into ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or Copilot and ask it to guide You gently, step by step.
• Still stuck? You can use Report Bug right inside the app, or find more on the Help and Contact pages here. Every message reaches me, and I would love to help.

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