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Zeal Documentation Browser - Installation & Configuration Report
Date: 2026-05-14
Topic: Installing and configuring Zeal on Debian Linux
1. Installation Methods
A. APT (Recommended for Debian/Ubuntu)
Zeal is available in the default Debian/Ubuntu repositories:
sudo apt update
sudo apt install zeal
This installs the version packaged for your distribution (may be slightly outdated).
B. Snap
Available as a snap package:
sudo apt install snapd
sudo snap install zeal
Link: https://snapcraft.io/zeal
C. Flatpak
Flatpak support is available through Flathub.
D. Manual/Source Build
Clone and build from source:
git clone https://github.com/zealdocs/zeal.git
cd zeal
mkdir build && cd build
cmake ..
make
sudo make install
GitHub: https://github.com/zealdocs/zeal
2. Available Docsets
Zeal uses Dash docsets (same format as macOS Dash).
How to Install Docsets
- Open Zeal
- Go to Tools → Options → Docsets
- Search for desired docsets in the available list
- Check the docsets you want to download
- Click Download
Popular Docsets
- C++ - Standard C++ documentation
- Python - Python 2 and 3
- JavaScript - MDN, jQuery, Node.js
- Qt - Qt framework documentation
- Linux - man pages, POSIX
- Go - Go language docs
- Rust - Rust standard library
- Java - Java API docs
- Docker - Docker documentation
- Git - Git documentation
Custom Docsets
You can add custom docset feeds:
- Tools → Options → Docsets
- Click Add Feed
- Enter feed URL (e.g., from https://github.com/Zeal-Docs/docset-feeds)
3. Configuration Options
Hotkey Configuration
- Default: Alt+Space to open Zeal quickly
- Change in: Tools → Options → General → Hotkey
Proxy Settings
- Configure in: Tools → Options → Network
- Useful for corporate environments
Download Location
- Docsets stored in
~/.local/share/zeal/docsets - Change in: Tools → Options → Paths
Other Options
- General: Startup behavior, hotkey settings
- Network: Proxy configuration
- Paths: Custom docset storage locations
4. Alternatives
Dash (macOS only)
- Original inspiration for Zeal
- macOS only, paid app
- https://dash.dev
Velocity (macOS)
- Alternative macOS documentation browser
- macOS only
DevDocs.io (Web-based)
- Browser-based, works offline with PWA
- https://devdocs.io
- No installation required
Dashing (Self-hosted)
- Self-hosted Dash docset server
- https://github.com/technosophos/dashing
Quick Start Summary
# Install Zeal
sudo apt update && sudo apt install zeal
# Launch Zeal
zeal
# Configure: Tools → Options → Docsets
# 1. Search for docsets
# 2. Check desired ones
# 3. Click Download
# Access docsets:
# ~/.local/share/zeal/docsets/
Useful Links
- Official Website: https://zealdocs.org
- Download Page: https://zealdocs.org/download.html
- GitHub Repository: https://github.com/zealdocs/zeal
- Snap Store: https://snapcraft.io/zeal
- Docset Feeds (community): https://github.com/Zeal-Docs/docset-feeds