How to install Chromium on Linux

Chromium is the open source equivalent to Google’s closed-source web browser. It is highly considered the best way to go on Linux if you’re a fan of Google’s Chrome web browser, but have issues with privacy, and tracking. It is also a good alternative for those that prefer the free software approach, as the entire Chromium source code is readily available for modification and tweaking.

Many users find themselves needing to install Chromium on Linux, primarily since a lot of distributions do not officially support Google Chrome. Thankfully, even though the Chromium browser is open source, it doesn’t lack features many have come to love in traditional Chrome. Better yet, nearly every mainstream Linux OS on the market makes it incredibly easy to install, as the code is open and free to distribute. In this guide, we’ll show you how you can install Chromium on Linux.

Ubuntu

how to install chromium on How to install Chromium on Linux

To install the Chromium browser on Ubuntu Linux, you’ll first need to enable the Ubuntu Universe software repository. To enable this software repository, open up a terminal window by pressing Ctrl + Alt + T or Ctrl + Shift + T on the keyboard. Then, use the add-apt-repository command to turn on “Universe.”

sudo add-apt-repository universe

With the Ubuntu Universe software repository up and running, it’s time to run the update command, so that Ubuntu can check for new software updates, and download the new Universe release file.

sudo apt update

Following the update command, do yourself a favor and run the upgrade command, as installing pending software patches will ensure that Ubuntu is running at it’s best, which will help Chromium.

sudo apt upgrade -y

Finally, after running the upgrade command, you can install the Chromium browser package using the apt install command.

sudo apt install chromium-browser -y

Debian

Chromium is available to Debian users, though, depending on the release of Debian you are using, will determine how new the browser is. For example, in version 10, the latest release of Chromium is ready to install. While version 9 only has version 70.

Getting the Chromium browser installed on Debian Linux is made possible through the “Main” software repository. To get it working, open up a terminal window by pressing Ctrl + Alt + T or Ctrl + Shift + T on the keyboard. Then, use the apt-get command to install the latest Chromium package on Debian.

sudo apt-get install chromium

Alternatively, if you’re using Debian 9 and you want a newer release of Chromium than version 70, feel free to skip this section and install the Snap package release of the app. Or, learn how to enable Debian Backports on your system.

Arch Linux

The latest release of the Chromium web browser is up in Arch Linux’s package repositories. To gain access to this browser, you’ll need to open up a terminal window by pressing Ctrl + Alt + T or Ctrl + Shift + T on the keyboard. Then, use the Pacman package tool to sync down the “chromium” package.

sudo pacman -S chromium

Want the development release of Chromium? As it turns out, the Arch Linux User Repository has a package available. To install, point your favorite AUR helper to this package here.

Fedora

how to install chromium on linux 1 How to install Chromium on Linux

Fedora Linux has always carried Chromium in their package repositories, because it’s an open-source focused Linux distribution, and the browser meets the requirements of not including any closed-source technology. If you’re a Fedora user looking to get your hands on Chromium, you’ll need to open up your favorite terminal app and enter the Dnf command below.

sudo dnf install chromium

OpenSUSE

Just like the other popular Linux distributions out there, OpenSUSE has the Chromium browser in their software sources, and you’ll be able to install it with relative ease by entering the following Zypper command into a terminal window.

sudo zypper install chromium

It should be noted that certain releases of OpenSUSE Linux may not have the latest release of Chromium. If you need the absolute most recent version of the browser, consider trying out the Snap instructions instead.

Snap

Thanks to the people behind Ubuntu, the Chromium web browser is available as a Snap package. The Snap release is excellent news for people on Linux distributions that may not carry Chromium in their package repositories, or don’t offer up the latest version, for whatever reason.

To get your hands on the Snap release of Chromium, Snapd must be installed. Thankfully, Snapd isn’t tricky to get running, as nearly every Linux distribution at this point supports it. For more information, click here.

Note: can’t get Snapd working on your Linux distro? Consider using Ubuntu instead.

Assuming you have the Snapd runtime up and running on your Linux PC, you’ll be able to quickly install the Chromium web browser from the Snap store with the snap install command.

sudo snap install chromium

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