You might be new to Linux Mint, or maybe migrating from Windows and wondering how I install Chrome on Linux Mint.
Hang in here with me, In this article, I’m going to show you how you can easily install Chrome Browser on your Mint system using the browser as well as the terminal.
The steps to install chrome on Linux Mint are more or less the same as installing Chrome on Ubuntu or any other Debian-based distribution except for some UI changes that Different Distros have among themselves.
So, Let’s start.
How to install Chrome on Mint using Browser
Follow the steps given below to download and install chrome on Mint without having to touch the terminal.
Step 1 – Go to the Official Chrome Download Page
First, we need to go to Google’s official Chrome download page to be able to download the secure Chrome package. Click on the link given below to go to Chrome’s download page.
Step 2 – Download Google Chrome .Deb File
When you go to the page, you’ll see a download Chrome button, after clicking on it, Google will ask you for what kind of Chrome file you want to download. Google offers two Chrome packages, 64-bit .deb for Debian and Ubuntu and 64bit .rpm for Fedora & OpenSuse.
In our case, we need to download the .deb file because Linux Mint is based on Ubuntu, which is based on Debian.
Step 3 – Navigate to Downloads
Alright, after the file has been downloaded, you need to access the location where the file is downloaded, i.e. Downloads Folder.
Open The Downloads folder in Linux Mint using the File Manager.
Step 5 – Installing Chrome through .deb file
After you’ve located Chrome’s .deb installation file in downloads, you need to double-click on the file to run it.
A new installation window will pop up on your screen with the option to install the package. Click on the “Install” button and wait for the installation to complete.
After the installation has been completed you can close the installer window.
How to launch Google Chrome after installation
No, you can hit the window or super key to open the apps menu, and then search for Chrome, if you see it listed in the search, that means Chrome has successfully been installed on your Linux Mint PC.
Now you can click on Chrome’s app icon to launch the app and get going with your work.
Congratulations you’ve successfully installed Chrome in Linux Mint using your browser.
Install Chrome on Linux Mint using terminal
If you’ve been a Linux enthusiast, chances are you turn to the terminal for most of your tasks.
And the good thing is, everything is seamless while working things through the terminal.
Just follow these simple steps to install chrome on Mint using the terminal.
Step 1 – Launch Terminal
Hit the windows or super key and type “terminal” and click on the terminal app icon to launch the terminal window.
Alternatively, you can use the keyboard shortcuts – Ctrl + Alt + T to directly launch the terminal window.
Step 2 – Updating and Upgrading the packages
Now we need to refresh the packages, to do so…
Type in –
Sudo apt update && Sudo apt upgradeAnd hit enter.
Step 3 – Checking if wget package is already installed
wget is the tool that we will use to fetch the Chrome deb file directly in the terminal. So first, we need to check if wget is already installed in your mint.
Type in –
wget --versionAnd hit enter.
If that command shows you any version of wget, that means wget is already installed on your system. In that case, you can directly skip to Step number 5.
Step 4 – Install wget if not already installed
If no version info was shown that means wget is not installed on your Linux Mint. So first, we need to install the wget package to be able to fetch the Chrome .deb file in the terminal.
To install wget, type in –
sudo apt install wgetAnd hit enter.
Step 5 – Download Chrome .deb Package via wget
Now after installing the wget package, we can finally download Chrome’s Debian package.
Copy / Paste the command given below to download the chrome package.
wget https://dl.google.com/linux/direct/google-chrome-stable_current_amd64.debNow hit enter.
Step 6 – Install the downloaded package
Now that you have successfully downloaded the chrome package with the help of wget, it’s time to install Chrome, to install it, type in –
sudo dpkg -i google-chrome-stable_current_amd64.debAnd hit enter.
How to add chrome to Bottom Panel(TaskBar) In Linux Mint
It’s very easy to pin any application to the bottom panel of Linux Mint. You just need to follow two simple steps.
Step 1 – Open App Menu
Press the windows or super key to open the app menu and search for the preferred application that you want to pin to the panel, in this case, the app will be Chrome.
Step 2 – Right click on the App to Pin to the Panel
When you see the application that you searched for, listed on the screen you can right-click on the app icon and click on the option, “Add to Panel”.
It would pin the Chrome app to the Linux Mint Panel.
Alternatively, you can also right-click on the app icon in the panel when that particular app is already open, it will also give you the option to pin the app to the panel, just from there only.
How to update chrome on Linux Mint
According to Google, Chrome doesn’t get auto-updated on Linux rather Chrome’s update is handled by your package manager.
Linux mint uses the apt package manager so chrome shall be automatically updated when you go through the system updates.
But if you’re facing any issues and only want to update Google Chrome to its latest stable version, then you can do so with the apt package manager using the terminal.
Follow these steps to update Google Chrome to its latest stable version using the terminal.
Step 1 – Launch Terminal
Press Ctrl + Alt + T to launch the terminal.
Step 2 – Fetch package updates
Type in –
sudo apt-get update
To get the packages refreshed.
Step 3 – Update to the latest Chrome Version
Type in –
sudo apt-get --only-upgrade install google-chrome-stableAnd hit enter. This command will install Chrome on your mint PC to the latest stable version.
Note – If you’re using Linux Mint Ulyana(20) or above, you don’t necessarily have to use the apt-get package manager. Rather you can just use the apt package manager to do the same task.
This is how the command will look like if you use the apt package manager instead of apt-get
sudo apt updatesudo apt --only-upgrade install google-chrome-stableConclusion
So it was a short guide on how you can easily install Chrome on Mint using both graphical user interface and command line interface methods and how to keep google up to date.
Feel free to leave a comment down below if you’re facing any issues while trying to install Chrome on your mint. I will be happy to help you out.
FAQs Related to Google Chrome and Ubuntu
Here are some of the commonly asked questions about Chrome and Linux Mint.
Can I install Chromium on Linux Mint?
Yes, you can install chromium on Linux Mint. You can install it from Linux Mint’s software store.
Or you can type in –
sudo apt-get install chromium-browser
In the terminal to directly install Chromium on your Linux Mint system.
Chromium is an open-source project and is available in almost all Linux Distros Software Managers.
How do I manually install Chrome on Linux Mint?
To install Chrome on Linux Mint manually through the command line, follow these steps –
Step 1 – Add the Chrome Package signing key by typing in –
wget -q -O – https://dl-ssl.google.com/linux/linux_signing_key.pub | sudo apt-key add –
Step 2 – Add the Chrome repository to your Linux Mint system, by typing in the following command –
sudo add-apt-repository “deb http://dl.google.com/linux/chrome/deb/ stable main”
Step 3 – Run Apt Update –
sudo apt update
Step 4 – Install Chrome by typing the command below into the terminal
sudo apt install google-chrome-stable
Reference – Digital Ocean
How do I install Chrome on Linux Mint 32-bit?
Unfortunately, Google no longer supports the 32-bit operating system architect for Chrome. To use Chrome on your Linux Machine you’ll have to upgrade your system architect to 64-bit.
Is there a 32-bit version of Chrome for Linux?
Not any Longer. Google has permanently stopped its support for 32-bit Chrome. If you have a 64-bit CPU architect(which are most of the modern processors) yet you are on a 32-bit Linux system then you can easily just install the 64-bit Linux system and you can use Chrome easily.
But if your CPU is 32-bit then unfortunately you can not use Google Chrome on your Linux System. Although there are other browsers that are based on chromium and still might support 32-bit and allow extensions to be installed from Chrome Web Store. Your best hope is to look out for those browsers.
If you want to remove Firefox after installing Chrome on your Mint system, Here’s a short guide on how to remove Firefox from Major Linux Distros.
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