Odds are very good that you’re reading this article in Google Chrome, which has dominated the browser market for years. Since Chrome launched, Microsoft has killed Internet Explorer, launched Edge, killed Edge, and launched a version of Edge based on the same open-source code as Chrome. Microsoft is now looking to expand its new Chromium-based Edge browser to as many devices as possible. To that end, you can finally install the new Edge on Linux. That might not get Microsoft a lot more users, but it does signify the company’s commitment to its shiny new browser.
Microsoft launched the original Edge with its EdgeHTML engine alongside Windows 10. In fact, it was restricted to Windows 10, where it did not serve as incentive for people to upgrade to the new Windows. If anything, it blunted any impact Edge might have had on the browser market. Despite aggressive marketing and annoying popups, Edge didn’t see much success. So, Microsoft decided in late 2018 to scrap Edge as it existed and rebuild the browser based on the open-source Chromium code, making it more similar to Google’s browser.
Microsoft’s new web browser is making its way over to Linux. A preview for Edge on Linux will be available in October, alongside some bigger pushes to get businesses to use Edge. Microsoft has been working on the new and improved version of Edge which is now based on the Chromium browser. During the annual conference in 2019, the team announced that Edge will also be available on Linux, and during Microsoft Ignite 2020 in October, they came through with their promise and announced the availability of Microsoft Edge on Linux as a dev preview. A browser that combines a minimal design with sophisticated technology to make the web faster, safer, and easier. The new Microsoft Edge web browser on Linux After initial reluctance and uncertainties, it seems that Microsoft is finally going to bring the new Edge browser to Linux. In its annual developer conference Microsoft Ignite 2019, the session on Edge Browser mentioned that it is coming to Linux.
Microsoft launched the new Edge in early 2020 with support for Windows 7, 8, 10, and macOS. The wider support was one of the primary selling points of the Chromium conversion, but Microsoft also promised a Linux version. It took a little longer, Microsoft has kept its promise to give Linux users a new browser alternative.
Keep in mind, this is a preview. So, Linux is basically running about a year behind other platforms. Microsoft says the preview is suitable for developers who want to build and test their apps and sites on Linux with Edge. The core rendering behavior and dev tools “should generally behave consistently with other platforms like macOS and Windows.”
Microsoft made a lot of changes to Chromium to integrate its services, and this may be the first time Linux users will see that kind of Microsoft integration on their preferred platform. However, some features aren’t quite ready for prime time. In this initial release, Edge will only support local accounts with no Microsoft sign-in. That means no syncing your data from other devices to or from Linux at this time. These features will come in a future preview.
Microsoft has made .deb and .rpm packages available for direct download on the Microsoft Edge Insider site. There are also instructions here for downloading the browser from Microsoft’s Linux repository. The preview will get weekly updates along with the dev channel on other operating systems. If you decide to give the new Linux version a shot, Microsoft hopes you’ll provide feedback via the integrated feedback tools.
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Microsoft Edge for Linux is now a thing, so in this post we show you how to install the browser on Ubuntu, Linux Mint, and any related Linux distributions.
In guide we show you how to install Microsoft Edge on Ubuntu (or any Ubuntu-based Linux distribution, like Linux Mint) in two ways: graphical (GUI) method, and command line (CLI) method.
Edge Browser Linux Version
It doesn’t matter which method you choose as you will download and install the exact same version of Microsoft’s new-fangled browser. Plus, both methods set things up so that you get future updates as and when they’re released, automatically.
Microsoft Edge is based on Chromium, the open-source browser engine developed (though not exclusively) by Google. Any website, web app, or web service that works in any Chromium-based browser, such as Google Chrome, will work in Edge too.
Even better: you can install Chrome extensions in Edge too (though Microsoft maintains its own extension hub for browser add-ons).
Read our hands on with Edge for Linux development builds for a broader overview on what works, what doesn’t, and what you should keep in mind if you plan to use it otherwise.
How to Install Edge Browser on Ubuntu
Keep in mind that Microsoft Edge for Linux is in developer preview. It is not “stable”. It is not even a beta. Some features (like browser sync) are currently unsupported on Linux. Are there bugs? Yup. Will it crash? Quite possibly!
Please note: this article is about how to install Edge on Ubuntu, not why you should install it. You decide which software you use on your system. And if you don’t want Edge? That’s fine! But you probably won’t be reading a “how to” guide on the topic!
Graphical/GUI way
Installing Edge using a graphical user interface is easy as Microsoft provide official installer packages for Ubuntu and Fedora-based distros. You can use these builds to install the browser on your system using your distribution’s package manager.
1.Go to Microsoft Edge Download Page
In a web browser open the official Microsoft Edge download page. There you’ll find two builds for Linux. Chose the ‘Linux (.deb)’ option for Ubuntu.
2. Download Edge for Linux
Choose to save the .deb package to your Downloads folder (or any other. directory you can access easily). If you’re using Firefox you can check the “Save File” option to do this.
3. Double click on the installer
Let the download complete then use your file manager to find the Edge Linux installer. Finally, double-click on the saved file to start installing and follow the on-screen prompts.
When you install using the official installer the Microsoft Edge repository is added to your system’s list of software sources. You can upgrade to new versions of the browser as they’re released using the regular Software Updater tool.
4. Open Microsoft Edge.
Let the install finish up then open the browser from the Applications grid (or whatever app menu, launcher, etc you use on your system.
Terminal/CLI way
Prefer to install software from the command line? We got you covered. Just copy/paste the following commands in to your terminal emulator of choice.
First: the set-up script. Workspace one citrix. This adds the Microsoft Edge repo to your system, and imports the Microsoft GPG key to authenticate packages (so that you can be sure they are what they say they are):
Second step: run this command to actually install Microsoft Edge:
Once done, launch the browser from your favourite app launcher, or run microsoft-edge-dev from a command prompt.
Edge Browser Linux Download
How to Uninstall Edge
So you installed Edge. Grand. And you try it out. Awesome. But what happens if you want to remove it? Well, it’s easy to uninstall Microsoft Edge using the command line.
Just open a new Terminal window and run:
Alternatively you can open the Ubuntu Software app, search for ‘edge’ by name, click the result, and hit the ‘remove’ button.
Simple!
Summary
That’s it; you learned how to install Microsoft Edge browser on Ubuntu, Linux Mint, and other distributions in this article. All that’s left for you to do now is to open the browser up and start surfing the web!
It remains to be seen if Edge will find a big enough audience on Linux to sustain itself. The browser is up against stiff competition from the likes of Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Vivaldi. Zach h3 twitter.
While most Linux users will shudder at the thought of using it, I think it’s great to have the choice of using Edge on Linux.