Most Linux distributions already have Firefox installed from their distribution package manager, and configured as the default browser. This article explains other ways to download and install Firefox on a Linux.
Table of Contents
Install from your distribution package manager (Recommended)
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 version.
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 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 button and follow the instructions. Alternatively, you can type the following command in a terminal:
sudo snap install firefox
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 builds
Before you install Firefox from a Mozilla 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)
To install Firefox with this method, you must be able to log in as root or execute sudo commands.
This installation will have priority over the Firefox version installed through your package manager. To run the version installed with your package manager, you will need to execute the binary from a terminal. To do so in most distributions, open a terminal and type:/usr/bin/firefox
- Go to the Firefox download page and click the button.
- Open a terminal and go to the folder where your download has been saved. For example:
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cd ~/Downloads - Extract the contents of the downloaded file by typing:
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tar xjf firefox-*.tar.bz2 -
The following commands must be executed as root, or preceded bysudo.
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- Move the uncompressed Firefox folder to /opt:
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mv firefox /opt
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- Create a symlink to the Firefox executable:
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ln -s /opt/firefox/firefox /usr/local/bin/firefox
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- Download a copy of the desktop file:
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wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mozilla/sumo-kb/main/install-firefox-linux/firefox.desktop -P /usr/local/share/applications
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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 . 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 Application Binary should be /opt/firefox/firefox-bin.
Local Firefox installation in user's account
sudo commands, or just prefer to use a local Firefox in your account, you can make a local installation. You can also do this to have multiple Firefox installations for different builds.- Go to the Firefox download page and click the button.
- You can also click the Download a different platform or language link below that button to choose another build: Nightly, Beta, Developer, or ESR.
- Open a terminal and go to the folder where your download has been saved. For example:
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cd ~/Downloads
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- Extract the downloaded file contents. This will create a folder named firefox. After that, you can delete the archive:
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tar xjf firefox-*.tar.bz2
rm firefox-*.tar.bz2
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- If you downloaded a specific build, you may want to rename the uncompressed folder accordingly. For example:
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mv firefox firefox-nightly
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- You can leave the uncompressed folder into your download folder, or move it to another place in your account. For example:
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mv firefox ~/firefox
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- Firefox is now ready to be used. You can run it directly from the terminal:
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~/firefox/firefox &
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- 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:
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ln -s ~/firefox/firefox ~/Desktop/
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- An icon for the desktop shortcut will be found in
~/firefox/browser/chrome/icons/default/
