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How to Install the Chromium Web Browser on Linux

Posted on the 24 April 2023 by Top10

In today's digital age, web browsers are the main tool for users to access the Internet. Known for their flexibility, security, and stability, Linux operating systems offer several web browser options. Chromium is one of the most popular web browsers among Linux users due to its open source nature and high performance capabilities.

The Chromium web browser is an open source project that serves as the foundation for several popular web browsers, including Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge. Unlike its derivatives, Chromium is free and comes with a number of benefits, including better privacy protection, lightweight design, and better web standards compatibility. If you want to install Chromium on your Linux system, this article will guide you through the process.

So, if you are a Linux user who is interested in installing and using the Chromium web browser, you have come to the right place. Let's dive in and learn more about this popular web browser, starting with why we should install this browser on our Linux distributions.

You can see the differences between Chrome and Chromium in our article: Google Chrome vs Chromium: What's the Difference?

Why install Chromium on Linux?

You may want to install Chromium on your Linux system for several reasons. First, Chromium offers better privacy protection than other web browsers. Unlike Google Chrome, Chromium does not track browsing data, so your information remains private.

Second, Chromium is lightweight and fast. Unlike other web browsers that consume significant system resources, Chromium is designed to use a minimum of resources, making it ideal for low-end computers.

Finally, Chromium provides improved web standards compatibility. Because Chromium is an open source project, it supports a wide range of web standards, making it easier to use web applications and access websites.

Benefits of the Chromium Web Browser

  • One of the key advantages of Chromium over other web browsers is its customizability. Users can easily add extensions and plugins to enhance the browsing experience, from ad blockers and password managers to video downloaders and developer tools.
  • Chromium also offers great security features, such as sandboxing and site isolation, which help prevent malware and other security threats from infecting your system or stealing your data. In addition, Chromium has an automatic update system that ensures you always have the latest security patches and bugs installed.
  • Another advantage of Chromium is its great compatibility with web standards. Chromium has great support for HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, making it the perfect choice for web developers and designers. In addition, Chromium offers great support for WebRTC, a real-time communication technology that allows things like video calls and peer-to-peer file sharing.

All in all, Chromium is a fantastic web browser that has a number of advantages over other Linux browsers. Whether you're looking for a fast, secure, and customizable browser, or a browser that supports the latest web technologies, Chromium is a great choice. So why not give it a try today and experience the Internet in a whole new way?

Disadvantages of the Chromium web browser

While Chromium is a great web browser, it does have a few drawbacks that users should be aware of.

  • One of the major disadvantages of Chromium is its high memory usage. Chromium can use a lot of RAM, especially when multiple tabs or extensions are open. This can be problematic for users with limited system resources or older hardware, as it can slow down or even crash the system.
  • Another potential issue with Chromium is the lack of built-in support for proprietary media formats such as MP3, AAC, and H.264. While Chromium can play these formats with third party plugins, users must manually install these plugins themselves. This may be inconvenient for some users, especially those who are not familiar with Linux or the command line.
  • Finally, Chromium may not be as privacy-focused as other web browsers like Firefox or Tor. Although Chromium offers some privacy features such as incognito mode and ad blocking, it is still owned by Google, a company known for collecting a lot of user data. Some users prefer more privacy oriented browsers like Tor or Brave.

Despite these shortcomings, Chromium remains an excellent choice for web browsing on Linux. Its high performance, excellent web standards support, and customizability make it a popular choice for many users.

Features of the Chromium web browser

Chromium Web Browser is a fast, reliable and secure web browser that offers several features to improve your web browsing experience. Among the features of Chromium are the following:

  • Speed: This is a fast web browser that minimizes loading time and maximizes performance.
  • Security: The browser is designed with security in mind, with features such as site isolation, sandboxing, and automatic updates to protect against malware and other security threats.
  • Personalization: Chromium allows users to customize the browser with a wide range of themes and extensions, making it easy to customize the browser to your liking.
  • Web Standards Compliance: Chromium is compatible with a wide range of web standards, allowing web developers to create websites and applications that work seamlessly across multiple platforms.
  • Open source: As an open source project, Chromium encourages community participation by allowing developers to contribute to its development, submit bug reports, and suggest improvements.
  • Omnibox: Chromium's Omnibox combines the address and search fields, allowing users to enter website addresses and search terms in a single input field.
  • Tab Management: Chromium offers advanced tab management features, including tab isolation so that one unresponsive tab doesn't affect the entire browser, and the ability to pin tabs to keep them open and accessible at all times.

Various methods to install Chromium on Linux

There are several methods for installing Chromium on Linux, and the choice of method depends on your preferences and Linux distribution. Here are a few methods you can use to install Chromium on Linux.

Method 1: Installing Chromium from the Package Manager

One of the easiest ways to install Chromium on Linux is to use the package manager. The package manager allows you to automatically download and install Chromium and its dependencies.

To install Chromium on Ubuntu or Debian, you can use the following command in the terminal:

sudo apt-get install chromium-browser

For Fedora, you can use the following command:

sudo dnf install chromium-browser

For Arch Linux, you can use the following command:

sudo pacman -S chromium

Method 2: Installing Chromium from the official website

Another way to install Chromium on Linux is to download and install the package from the official website. This method is ideal if your distribution doesn't offer Chromium in the package manager, or if you want to use the latest version of Chromium.

Following are the steps to follow:

Step 1: Go to Chromium official site and click the "Download Chromium" button.

Step 2: Choose the version of Chromium that matches your Linux distribution and architecture.

Step 3: Once the download is complete, extract the package to the location of your choice.

Step 4: Go to the location where you extracted the package from.

Step 5: After extracting the files, run the Chrome file directly (shown in the extracted files above) to launch the Chromium browser

Method 3: Installing Chromium Using a Third Party Repository

Another way to install Chromium on Linux is to use a third party repository. Third party repositories offer the latest versions of Chromium and let you automatically receive updates.

For example, on Ubuntu, you can install the Chromium browser from the official Ubuntu Chromium build by adding the following PPA to the system:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:saiarcot895/chromium-dev
sudo apt-get update 
sudo apt-get install chromium-browser

Using Chromium on Linux

After installing Chromium on a Linux system, you can launch it from the application menu or terminal by typing "chromium-browser" or "chromium", depending on your Linux distribution.

The first time you launch Chromium, you will be prompted to configure some settings such as your default search engine, language, and privacy settings.

Chromium offers a user-friendly interface that is easy to navigate. The main window displays the URL bar, tabs, and menu items. You can open a new tab by clicking on the "+" icon or by using the keyboard shortcut "Ctrl+T". You can also open a new window by clicking on the File menu and selecting New Window.

Chromium also supports several keyboard shortcuts to make it easier to navigate the web. For example, you can use the keyboard shortcut "Ctrl+Tab" to switch between tabs, "Ctrl+W" to close a tab, and "Ctrl+Shift+N" to open a new incognito window.

Removing Chromium from Linux

If you decide to remove Chromium from your Linux system, use a package manager or terminal.

To uninstall Chromium using the package manager, you can use the following command in the terminal:

sudo apt-get remove chromium-browser

For Fedora, you can use the following command:

sudo dnf remove chromium-browser

For Arch Linux, you can use the following command:

sudo pacman -Rns chromium

If you installed Chromium using a third party repository or by downloading a package from the official site, you can use the following command to uninstall it:

sudo dpkg -r chromium-browser

Note: While this article focuses on installing Chromium on Ubuntu, Fedora, and Arch Linux, the process for installing Chromium on other Linux distributions is similar. The main difference is in the package manager and the commands used to install and uninstall Chromium.

Conclusion

Installing Chromium on Linux is a simple process that can be done using a package manager, the official website, or a third-party repository. Chromium is a fast, reliable, and secure web browser with several features to enhance your browsing experience. Whether you're looking for better privacy protection, improved web standards compatibility, or a lightweight browser that consumes minimal system resources, Chromium is a great choice.

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