Install Google Chrome on Ubuntu 22.04 | 20.04

6 min readDec 28, 2022

Chrome is built upon the open-source Chromium Project. For those who have not heard of Chromium before, it is a free and open-source software project developed by Google. It is available for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, and Android and works well on Ubuntu-based distributions. Google Chrome web browser has been downloaded over 1 billion times and praised for its speed among its top features. Most users familiar with Linux know that Google Chrome is not installed by default on Ubuntu-based systems, but with a few easy steps, you can install the famous browser.

In the following tutorial, you will learn how to install Google Chrome on Ubuntu 22.10/22.04/20.04 Linux in three alternative ways: stable, beta, or unstable versions using the command line terminal with cli commands, along with how to remove the browsers.

Recommended Steps Before Installation

Before you begin, run an update on your system to ensure all packages are up-to-date to avoid any conflicts during the installation.

sudo apt update

Optionally, you can list the updates for users who require review or are curious.

sudo apt --list upgradable

Proceed to upgrade any outdated packages using the following command.

sudo apt upgrade

Install Google Chrome Stable

Install System Packages

Google Chrome Browser is a straightforward install, but you may need the following packages to complete the installation. Most of these packages should be installed as they are reasonably standard packages that are highly used on most Linux distributions.

sudo apt install curl software-properties-common apt-transport-https ca-certificates gnupg2 -y

These are pretty generic dependencies that may be already installed. Run the command regardless if unsure, as many other installations require these on your system.

Import Google Chrome GPG Key

The first step in installing Google Chrome is to import the GPG key for the digital signature; without this, your installation will not be complete successfully.

Import the GPG key, use the following command:

curl -fSsL https://dl.google.com/linux/linux_signing_key.pub | gpg --dearmor | sudo tee /usr/share/keyrings/google-chrome.gpg > /dev/null

Import Google Chrome Repository

Once the GPG import is complete, you will need to import the Google Chrome repository now as follows:

echo deb [arch=amd64 signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/google-chrome.gpg] http://dl.google.com/linux/chrome/deb/ stable main | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/google-chrome.list

Install Google Chrome — Stable

Now update the repository list using the apt update command, which is required as you need to update your APT sources lists so you can install Google Chrome directly from Google’s APT repository.

sudo apt update

Next, install the Google Chrome stable edition, the recommended option for most users.

sudo apt install google-chrome-stable -y

Install Google Chrome Beta or Unstable (Dev)

Alternatively, you can install alternative beta or unstable Google Chrome versions. Installing the stable browser version is recommended for most users, but for users that prefer a preview mode, the beta browser would suit your requirements better. For users that love to play with development and the latest version available, install the unstable version but remember this may have odd incompatibilities with your system and bugs while browsing the internet.

The first option, install Google Chrome beta build using the following command.

sudo apt install google-chrome-beta -y

Secondly, install Google Chrome unstable developer build for the latest edge version using the following command.

sudo apt install google-chrome-unstable -y

Note these do not replace your stable version, and they are installed separately.

Launch Google Chrome

Now that you have installed Chrome, you can launch the application using the following command.

google-chrome

Remember, use google-chrome-beta or google-chrome-unstable if you use alternative Google Chrome builds.

However, this is not practical for every user since not everyone uses the command terminal for every single purpose of their Ubuntu system, so you would use the following path to open Google Chrome.

Activities > Show Applications > Google Chrome version

Example:

The first time you open Google Chrome, you will be greeted by the following pop-up. These are questions about sending Google statistics, crash reports, and if you want to make Google Chrome your default browser. These are user choices that can be changed later on.

Example:

Untick or leave as is by setting Chrome to the default Browser over what is typically Firefox, along with the option of sending Google data and crash reports. These can be updated later if you want to change your selections.

Click the OK button to continue.

Next, you will be prompted to skip this or sign in optionally.

Click on the “Get Started” button to see the “Skip” in the Chrome Browser tab.

Example:

Once done, you will see The Google Chrome Browser. Finally, as per below, do not forget to right-click the icon in the application menu to add it to your sidebar for quick access.

Example:

Congratulations, you have installed Google Chrome Browser.

Additional Commands & Tips

Update Google Chrome

To update Google Chrome, run the APT update command in your terminal.

sudo apt update

If one is available, use the upgrade option:

sudo apt upgrade

Note this will update all packages (recommended), for example, to upgrade the Chrome package.

sudo apt upgrade google-chrome-stable

Remove Google Chrome

To remove Google Chrome, use the following command.

sudo apt autoremove google-chrome-stable --purge

Alternatively, if you have the beta or unstable builds installed, use one of the following commands.

Remove the Google Chrome beta build using the following command.

sudo apt autoremove google-chrome-beta --purge

Lastly, remove Google Chrome’s unstable developer build using the following command.

sudo apt autoremove google-chrome-unstable --purge

Optionally you can remove the repository using the following rm command.

sudo rm /etc/apt/sources.list.d/google.*

Troubleshooting Multiple Sources. list

Please note you can install all three browser builds of Google Chrome. However, each installation will create a new sources list in your /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ directory. When you use the apt update command, you will have multiple sources.list for Google Chrome, and some will be ignored.

Just remove the extras and keep the original one. If you accidentally delete them, copy the import directory code in this tutorial.

Example of a quick fix.

sudo rm /etc/apt/sources.list.d/google*

Then re-add the one repository.

echo deb [arch=amd64 signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/google-chrome.gpg] http://dl.google.com/linux/chrome/deb/ stable main | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/google-chrome.list

Remember to run an APT update.

sudo apt update

This should fix the issue in the future, and you will still receive updates for all three browsers.

Comments and Conclusion

In the tutorial, you have learned how to install Google Chrome on Ubuntu Linux with additional commands to install stable, beta, or nightly versions of the browser. Overall, Chrome remains the most widely used web browser, with over half of its users using it. While this makes it likely to get exploited, keeping it updated helps protect against those attacks.

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