Install Google Chrome on Linux Mint

Google Chrome is a web browser that appears as a default browser for Windows users. The majority of people choose to access the internet on it due to its user-friendly UI. Whereas, on Linux distributions, the default web browser is Mozilla Firefox and Chrome is not available on Linux mint. Fortunately, you can set up Google Chrome on the Linux mint system by following the instructions listed below.

In this tutorial, we will go through two strategies to install Chrome onto your Linux Mint 21 machine.

Method 1: Installing Google Chrome from a Web Browser

The first method that we are discussing here is downloading Google Chrome from your currently running web browser and then installing it by running the downloaded installer file.

Installation of Google Chrome on Linux Mint can be done by adhering to the steps provided below. This practice is best for beginners that do not want to go for the terminal method.

Initially open the available browser. Linux mint has Mozilla Firefox as its default browser, so we launched it and searched Google Chrome. This takes us to the official website of Google from where we can download Chrome.

Here we can see a “Download Chrome” button.

After clicking this button, we have been directed to the next screen, where the installation process would begin. But before that, we have to select the download package. Select the first option which is for Debian/Ubuntu distributions.

The installation will proceed once you hit “Accept and Install”. The “Downloads” folder would hold onto this file. Now that we have opened this installer inside the GDebi package installer, we will launch it.

You will have the choice to install the package on the following page. Hit this button.

As you clicked the install button, a new window will open which requires authentication. For this, you need to input your admin password and it will authenticate it.

As soon as the authentication is done, the installation of the package gets started.

The installation will end in a few moments.

After finishing the installation, the screen shown below will appear. This shows that the Google Chrome browser is installed onto our Linux mint distribution.

Now that Google Chrome has been installed properly on Linux mint, we ought to look for it in the application menu.

The snapshot above shows that Google Chrome is installed on our machine and is available to browse.

We can also make Google Chrome our default web browser for Linux mint. From the application, menu search “preferred application”.

When you hit this option it will launch a new tab with a range of options.

You will find an option “web” here. Right in front of this option “Firefox Web Browser” is set as the default browser. A drop-down menu icon shows that we have other options as well. You will see “Google Chrome” in the dropdown menu. Simply hit this option to make Chrome your default web browser for Linux mint.

Lastly, to delete chrome from your machine, search Chrome from the application menu and right-click on it to see all the options.

Hitting the “Uninstall” option will open a prompt that will ask you if you want to uninstall the chrome package. Press the “OK” button to continue the deletion process.

You need to authenticate by entering the password.

The package will be deleted in a few seconds and the chrome will be removed from your machine.

Method 2: Installing Google Chrome from the Terminal

Some people avoid using the command line while others find it easier to work from the terminal.  The installation of Google Chrome through the web browser is elaborated above. Now, we will see how to install it from the command line in Linux mint.

To begin this method, we need to open the terminal. For installing Chrome, we have to download the .deb Package first as Linux mint is a Debian-based Linux distribution. As we have already downloaded it in the above method and it is saved in our system, we do not need to download it again.

First, we have to make our system up-to-date. To do this, use the terminal to execute the following command:

Hit Enter key to start updating the apt-cache. 

It will prompt you to input the password for the sudo user.

Once the system gets updated, we will run the following command to install the chrome package:

You need to authenticate by entering the password again.

During the installation, the process will pause and ask you whether you want to continue or not with the options “Y/N”, type “y” to continue.

As soon as the installation of the Chrome package is done, it is preferable to update and upgrade the system along with Chrome will be updated to its latest version.

First, run the command:

Then, write this command to upgrade:

Type “y” to continue upgrading.

For launching Google Chrome from the terminal, write the following command:

Google Chrome will be successfully launched and you can now use it or make it your default web browser.

There is a possibility that Chrome won’t be a good fit for you. In such a case, removing Chrome from your system is as easy and simple as installing it. From the terminal, you need to write the below-mentioned command and Chrome will be removed from your system.

The command we would write is:

Hit Enter key to the process.

Write the password for the sudo user and press Enter.

The Chrome browser will be successfully removed from your machine.

Conclusion

Installing Google Chrome onto Linux Mint 21 can be done with two methods. You can either install it by downloading the Chrome installation package from Chrome’s website or you can also install it from the terminal with the command line. Both techniques have been elaborated on in this article. You can install and configure Chrome as your default internet browser by following the instructions explained in this guide.