Many Linux distributions come with Firefox pre-installed and set as the default browser. However, if you need to install Firefox on Linux using a different method, the following guide will show you how to install Firefox on Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, openSUSE and other Linux distributions.

Install Firefox DEB package for Debian-based and Ubuntu-based distributions (recommended)

To install the DEB package through the APT repository, do the following:

1. Create a directory to store APT repository keys if it doesn't exist:

   sudo install -d -m 0755 /etc/apt/keyrings

2. Import the Mozilla APT repository signing key:

   wget -q https://packages.mozilla.org/apt/repo-signing-key.gpg -O- | sudo tee /etc/apt/keyrings/packages.mozilla.org.asc > /dev/null

   If you do not have wget installed, you can install it with: sudo apt-get install wget

3. The fingerprint should be 35BAA0B33E9EB396F59CA838C0BA5CE6DC6315A3. You may check it with the following command:

   gpg -n -q --import --import-options import-show /etc/apt/keyrings/packages.mozilla.org.asc | awk '/pub/{getline; gsub(/^ +| +$/,""); if($0 == "35BAA0B33E9EB396F59CA838C0BA5CE6DC6315A3") print "\nThe key fingerprint matches ("$0").\n"; else print "\nVerification failed: the fingerprint ("$0") does not match the expected one.\n"}'

4. Next, add the Mozilla APT repository to your sources.list:
   • For Debian Bookworm/Ubuntu Noble and Older:

   echo "deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/packages.mozilla.org.asc] https://packages.mozilla.org/apt mozilla main" | sudo tee -a /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mozilla.list > /dev/null

   • For Debian Trixie/Ubuntu Resolute and Newer

   sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mozilla.sources > /dev/null << EOF

   Types: deb

   URIs: https://packages.mozilla.org/apt

   Suites: mozilla

   Components: main

   Signed-By: /etc/apt/keyrings/packages.mozilla.org.asc

   EOF

5. Configure APT to prioritize packages from the Mozilla repository:

   sudo tee /etc/apt/preferences.d/mozilla > /dev/null << EOF

   Package: *

   Pin: origin packages.mozilla.org

   Pin-Priority: 1000

   EOF

6. Update your package list, and install firefox (or one of firefox-esr, -beta, -nightly, -devedition):

   sudo apt-get update

   sudo apt-get install firefox

Use different languages on Firefox DEB package

For those of you who would like to use Firefox in a different language than American English, we have also created DEB packages containing the Firefox language packs. To install a specific language pack, replace fr in the example below with the desired language code. In this example, we are installing the French language pack of Firefox.

sudo apt-get install firefox-l10n-fr

To list all the available language packs, you can use this command after adding the Mozilla repository and running sudo apt-get update:

apt-cache search firefox-l10n

Localization are also available as firefox-esr-l10n, -beta-l10n, -nightly-l10n, -devedition-l10n packages for other release/edition

Install Firefox RPM package for Fedora-based, RHEL and its derivations (recommended)

Add Firefox RPM repository through the dnf5 package manager (Fedora 41+, RHEL/Rocky/Alma 10+)

sudo dnf config-manager addrepo --id=mozilla --set=baseurl=https://packages.mozilla.org/rpm/firefox --set=gpgkey=https://packages.mozilla.org/rpm/firefox/signing-key.gpg --set=gpgcheck=1 --set=repo_gpgcheck=0 --set=priority=10

sudo dnf makecache --refresh

sudo dnf install firefox

Add Firefox RPM repository for older dnf package manager (Fedora <41, RHEL/Rocky/Alma <10)

sudo tee /etc/yum.repos.d/mozilla.repo > /dev/null << EOF

[mozilla]

name=Mozilla Packages

baseurl=https://packages.mozilla.org/rpm/firefox

enabled=1

gpgcheck=1

repo_gpgcheck=0

gpgkey=https://packages.mozilla.org/rpm/firefox/signing-key.gpg

priority=10

EOF

To install firefox from mozilla repository (or one of firefox-esr, -beta, -nightly, -devedition), do:

sudo dnf makecache --refresh

sudo dnf install firefox

To upgrade firefox from distribution repository version to mozilla version, do:

sudo dnf makecache --refresh

sudo dnf upgrade firefox

To replace firefox from distribution repository version to mozilla version, do:

sudo dnf makecache --refresh

sudo dnf swap firefox firefox --allowerasing

Use different languages on Firefox RPM package

For those of you who would like to use Firefox in a different language than American English, we have also created RPM packages containing the Firefox language packs. To install a specific language pack, replace fr in the example below with the desired language code. In this example, we are installing the French language pack of Firefox.

sudo dnf install firefox-l10n-fr

To list all the available language packs, you can use this command after adding the Mozilla repository and running sudo dnf makecache --refresh:

dnf search firefox-l10n

Localization are also available as firefox-esr-l10n, -beta-l10n, -nightly-l10n, -devedition-l10n packages for other release/edition

Install Firefox RPM package for openSUSE and SUSE Linux (recommended)

Add Firefox RPM repository through the zypper package manager

sudo rpm --import https://packages.mozilla.org/rpm/firefox/signing-key.gpg

sudo zypper ar --gpgcheck-allow-unsigned-repo -p 10 https://packages.mozilla.org/rpm/firefox mozilla

sudo zypper refresh

sudo zypper install firefox

To install or update firefox from mozilla repository (or one of firefox-esr, -beta, -nightly, -devedition), do:

sudo zypper refresh

sudo zypper install firefox

To replace firefox from distribution repository version to mozilla version, do:

sudo zypper refresh

sudo zypper remove firefox

sudo zypper install firefox

Use different languages on Firefox RPM package

For those of you who would like to use Firefox in a different language than American English, we have also created RPM packages containing the Firefox language packs. To install a specific language pack, replace fr in the example below with the desired language code. In this example, we are installing the French language pack of Firefox.

sudo zypper install firefox-l10n-fr

To list all the available language packs, you can use this command after adding the Mozilla repository and running sudo zypper refresh:

zypper search firefox-l10n

Localization are also available as firefox-esr-l10n, -beta-l10n, -nightly-l10n, -devedition-l10n packages for other release/edition

Data migration

If you were using Snap or Flatpak before, you are required to import your profile. There are two ways to do this. You can use either of these methods:

• Method 1: Set up Sync. For instruction, see How do I set up Sync on my computer?
• Method 2: Copy the existing files on your computer. Make sure that all copies of Firefox on your computer are completely closed before doing this:
  • Flatpak:
    mkdir -p ~/.mozilla/firefox/ && cp -a ~/.var/app/org.mozilla.firefox/.mozilla/firefox/* ~/.mozilla/firefox/
  • Snap:
    mkdir -p ~/.mozilla/firefox/ && cp -a ~/snap/firefox/common/.mozilla/firefox/* ~/.mozilla/firefox/

In both cases, once you’ve moved the profiles, launch Firefox from the terminal with the command firefox -P. Select your desired profile. After this initial setup, the -P command will no longer be necessary.

Install from your distribution package manager

To install Firefox using your distribution package manager, please refer to your Linux distribution's documentation.

This method is recommended because it ensures Firefox and all the required libraries are installed and configured optimally for your distribution. However, there may be a small delay between the official release of a new version of Firefox and the moment when your distribution updates the version it distributes. Your distribution may also distribute it without the Firefox branding or only distribute the ESR.

Install from Flatpak

To install Firefox from Flatpak, install and configure Flatpak on your computer. Once Flatpak is installed, go to the Firefox Flathub's page, and click the Install button. Alternatively, you can type the following command in a terminal:

flatpak install flathub org.mozilla.firefox

By default, Flatpak installs Firefox in the same locale as your operating system. To use a different language, please follow the instructions on how to use Firefox in another language.

Install from Snap

To install Firefox from Snap, install Snap on your computer. Once Snap is installed, go to the Firefox Snapcraft's Store page, click the Install button, and follow the instructions. Alternatively, you can type the following command in a terminal:

sudo snap install firefox

Firefox Beta, Nightly and ESR Release Channel is also available as snap package

• Beta Channel:

sudo snap install firefox --beta

• Nightly Channel

sudo snap install firefox --edge

• ESR Channel

sudo snap install firefox --channel=esr/stable

If available, Snap installs Firefox in the same locale as your operating system. To use a different language, please follow the instructions on how to use Firefox in another language.

Install Firefox from Mozilla Tarball builds

Before you install Firefox from a Mozilla Tarball build, make sure that your computer has the required libraries installed. Missing or incompatible libraries may cause Firefox to be inoperable.

System Firefox installation (for advanced users)

1. Go to the Firefox download page, and click Download for Linux 64-bit or Download for Linux ARM64.
   • You can also click the All Firefox Downloads link to choose another release/edition: Nightly, Beta, Developer or Extended Support Release (ESR).
2. Open a terminal, and go to the folder where your download has been saved. For example:

   cd ~/Downloads

3. Extract the contents of the downloaded file by typing:

   tar xJf firefox-*.tar.xz
rm firefox-*.tar.xz

4. If you downloaded a specific build, you may want to rename the uncompressed folder accordingly. For example:

   mv firefox firefox-nightly

   
   The following commands must be executed as root or preceded by sudo.

5. Move the uncompressed Firefox folder to /opt:

   mv firefox /opt

6. Create a symlink to the Firefox executable:

   ln -s /opt/firefox/firefox /usr/local/bin/firefox

7. Download a copy of the desktop file:

   wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mozilla/sumo-kb/main/install-firefox-linux/firefox.desktop -P /usr/local/share/applications

Alternatively, if wget is not installed on your computer, go to the URL mentioned above, right-click on the page to open the contextual menu, and select Save Page As. After you downloaded the file, move it to /usr/local/share/applications.

To verify that the installation was successful, you can open the Troubleshooting Information page. In the Application Basics section, the value of the line Application Binary should be /opt/firefox/firefox-bin.

Local Firefox installation in user's account

1. Go to the Firefox download page, and click Download for Linux 64-bit or Download for Linux ARM64.
   • You can also click the All Firefox Downloads link to choose another release/edition: Nightly, Beta, Developer or Extended Support Release (ESR).
2. Open a terminal, and go to the folder where your download has been saved. For example:

   cd ~/Downloads

3. Extract the downloaded file contents. This will create a folder named firefox. After that, you can delete the archive:

   tar xJf firefox-*.tar.xz
rm firefox-*.tar.xz

4. If you downloaded a specific build, you may want to rename the uncompressed folder accordingly. For example:

   mv firefox firefox-nightly

5. You can leave the uncompressed folder into your download folder, or move it to another place in your account. For example:

   mv firefox ~/firefox

6. Firefox is now ready to be used. You can run it directly from the terminal:

   ~/firefox/firefox &

7. Create a desktop shortcut. (It may be different in your Linux distribution.)
   • Right-click on the desktop, and choose Create launcher from the context menu.
   • You can also type this on the terminal:

     ln -s ~/firefox/firefox ~/Desktop/

   • An icon for the desktop shortcut will be found in ~/firefox/browser/chrome/icons/default/

Security features warning

On some Linux distributions using AppArmor such like Debian-based, Ubuntu-based, openSUSE, and SUSE Linux, you could see a notification that some of Firefox’s security features may offer less protection on your current operating system. To learn more, see Firefox security features warning on Linux.

Related articles

• Firefox security features warning on Linux
• Make Firefox your default browser