How to Download and Install Google Chrome on Linux
Since Linux distros’ official repositories do not include Google Chrome by default, to download and install Google Chrome on Linux, download the Chrome browser package file from Google’s website and install it using the wget command line tool along with the distro’s package manager.
Alternatively, you can install the Google Chrome browser on Linux through the GUI and your currently installed web browser by downloading the Google Chrome package directly from the Google Chrome download page.
Prerequisites
If you want to use the Google Chrome browser on the server, you need to buy a Linux VPS and follow the steps that we will teach.
Install Google Chrome on Linux using the terminal
1. Install Chrome on Debian-based Linux (Ubuntu, Kali, and Linux Mint)
Step 1: Update the Apt repository packages
$ sudo apt update
$ sudo apt upgrade
Step 2: Install Wget Utility
Since the Chrome browser is not available in the Linux distros’ default repository, we must use the “wget” command to install Chrome.
If you have not installed the Wget Utility, install it on Linux before installing Chrome because apt cannot install Chrome on Debian-based distributions.
So, check whether wget was installed before:
$ wget –version
If wget is not already installed on Ubuntu, install it by typing the following command:
$ sudo apt install wget
Step 3: Download .deb Package
Now that your system is ready to install Google Chrome, you need to download the latest stable Package of Google Chrome to run Chrome on your system:
$ wget https://dl.google.com/linux/direct/google-chrome-stable_current_amd64.deb
Step 4: Install Google Chrome
Using the dpkg command that executes the package downloaded in the previous step, we complete the installation of Chrome:
$ sudo dpkg -i google-chrome-stable_current_amd64.deb
Step 5: Launch Chrome through Terminal
Finally, your Linux system is successfully configured to run Google Chrome. Just type google-chrome in your terminal to launch Google Chrome:
$ google-chrome
After entering this command, the Chrome browser will be launched, and it will ask you to check or uncheck a box, and then you will see the Chrome browser running with Enter.
2. Install Google Chrome on Red Hat-based Linux (CentOS, Fedora, etc.)
Step 1: Update the package list
To install Google Chrome on Red Hat-based Linux distributions like Red Hat, CentOS, and Fedora, update the repository packages:
-Red Hat/ CentOS:
$ sudo yum update -y
-Fedora:
$ sudo dnf update -y
Step 2: Download Chrome RPM Package
Download the latest stable version of the Chrome .rpm package for 64-bit systems using the wget command:
$ wget https://dl.google.com/linux/direct/google-chrome-stable_current_x86_64.rpm
Step 3: Install Downloaded Package
Install the Google Chrome app and its dependencies on RHEL/CentOS/Fedora using a specific package manager (yum command or dnf command):
-Red Hat/ CentOS:
$ sudo yum install ./google-chrome-stable_current_x86_64.rpm # Replace filename if different
-Fedora:
$ sudo dnf install google-chrome-stable
Or you can install the dnf-plugin-local package to install RPM packages from local files
$ sudo dnf install dnf-plugins-local -y
Install the downloaded package on Fedora using
$ sudo dnf localinstall google-chrome-stable_current_x86_64.rpm
Step 4: Launching Chrome
After successful installation, run Chrome on a Red Hat-based system using the following command:
google-chrome
3. Install Chrome on an Arch-based system (Arch Linux and Manjaro)
Fortunately, AUR (Arch User Repository) includes Google Chrome, and you can install it using AUR helper (like yay) or git and makepkg commands; follow the instructions below to install Google Chrome on Arch Linux and Manjaro:
Step 1: Update Your System
Update and upgrade your package repositories before installing Google Chrome on your system
$ sudo pacman -Syu
Step 2: Install Chrome
You have two options to install Google Chrome on Arch Linux and Manjaro
- Using yay (AUR Helper):
$ sudo pacman -S --needed yay
$ yay -S google-chrome
- Manual method via git and makepkg commands:
Install it manually through the git and makepkg command
$ git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/google-chrome.git
$ cd google-chrome/
$ makepkg -si
$ sudo pacman -U --noconfirm google-chrome-*.xz
Set Google Chrome as the default browser
To change the default browser to Chrome, you must go to the activities menu and search for Default Applications, then enter its panel:
Then, select Chrome browser as the default browser in the web section.
Note: Our installation instructions focused on the Ubuntu GNOME GUI, but the method is the same across other Linux distributions’ GUI environments.
How to uninstall Google Chrome from Linux
To uninstall Google Chrome, you need to delete the stable package of the Chrome browser. For this purpose, enter the following command:
-On Debian-based systems (Ubuntu, Mint, etc.):
$ sudo apt remove google-chrome-stable
Or
$ sudo apt purge google-chrome-stable
-On Red Hat, CentOS, and Fedora:
$ sudo dnf remove google-chrome-stable
Or
$ sudo dnf remove google-chrome-stable --purge
-On Arch Linux/ Manjaro:
$ sudo pacman -R google-chrome
Conclusion
You can see that installing Google Chrome was not too difficult, even if it is not defaultly included in the Linux software download repository. After installing Google Chrome on Linux, the Software Update tool or command line package manager automatically updates it because installing Google Chrome on Linux adds an official Google repository.
Good Luck!
