How to Install Brave Browser Stable, Beta, or Nightly on AlmaLinux 8

Brave is a free and open-source web browser developed by Brave Software, Inc. based on the Chromium web browser. Brave is a privacy-focused Internet web browser, which distinguishes itself from other browsers by automatically blocking online advertisements and website trackers in its default settings. Brave has claimed its browser puts less strain on your computer’s performance than Google Chrome, regardless of how much you ask of it. Even with multiple tabs open at once, Brave uses less memory than Google Chrome-like, up to 66% less.

In the following tutorial, you will learn how to install Brave on AlmaLinux 8.

Prerequisites

• Recommended OS: AlmaLinux 8.
• User account: A user account with sudo privilages or root access (su command).

Updating Operating System

Update your AlmaLinux operating system to make sure all existing packages are up to date:

sudo dnf upgrade --refresh -y

The tutorial will be using the sudo command and assuming you have sudo status. To verify sudo status on your account:

sudo whoami

Example output showing sudo status:

[joshua@localhost ~]$ sudo whoami
root

If you have not set up a sudo user account and would like to, visit our tutorial on How to Add a User to Sudoers on AlmaLinux.

To use the root account, use the following command with the root password to log in.

su

Import & Install GPG Key & Repository

For AlmaLinux-based systems, the three repository branches currently need to be imported individually on your system. Once done, they are automatically added to your repolist, so you will not need to re-download these to update Brave in the future.

To import Brave Browser Stable Repository & GPG Key (Recommended):

sudo dnf config-manager --add-repo https://brave-browser-rpm-release.s3.brave.com/x86_64/
sudo rpm --import https://brave-browser-rpm-release.s3.brave.com/brave-core.asc

Optional – Import Beta, Nightly GPG Key & Repository

To import Brave Browser Beta Repository & GPG Key:

sudo dnf config-manager --add-repo https://brave-browser-rpm-beta.s3.brave.com/x86_64/
sudo rpm --import https://brave-browser-rpm-beta.s3.brave.com/brave-core-nightly.asc

To import Brave Browser Nightly Build & GPG Key:

sudo dnf config-manager --add-repo https://brave-browser-rpm-nightly.s3.brave.com/x86_64/
sudo rpm --import https://brave-browser-rpm-nightly.s3.brave.com/brave-core-nightly.asc

Install Brave Browser

Now you can install the RPM package using the DNF or YUM package manager, and it is always recommended to use DNF to keep a standard.

sudo dnf install brave-browser

Example output:

Type “Y,” then press the “ENTER KEY” to proceed with the installation.

Next, verify the build and version installed. This also indicates that Brave was installed successfully.

brave-browser --version

Example output:

Brave Browser 94.1.30.87 

Optional. Install Brave Browser Beta or Nightly

Alternatively, you can install Brave Beta or Nightly build if you have downloaded the repositories. These two versions are not recommended daily, especially not on a main desktop or production server. However, for those who want to live on the edge, you can install the alternative versions.

To install Brave Browser Beta:

sudo dnf install brave-browser-beta -y

To install Brave Browser Nightly Build (Dev):

sudo dnf install brave-browser-nightly -y

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

Next, verify the installation of beta or unstable, use the following command.

To verify Brave Browser Beta:

brave-browser-beta --version

Example output:

Brave Browser 94.1.31.74 beta

To verify Brave Browser Nightly:

brave-browser-nightly --version

Example output:

Brave Browser 95.1.32.56 nightly

To confirm that the Brave installations were successful in adding the repositories to your repository list on AlmaLinux. Please run the following dnf repolist command to ensure they are added and active.

sudo dnf repolist

Example output:

As the above output from the dnf repolist command, all three repositories have been added successfully. Remember, the beta and nightly are optional, and most users will not require these versions.

How to Launch Brave Browser

With the installation complete, you can run brave in a few different ways. First, while you are in your terminal, use the following command:

brave-browser

Alternatively, run the brave-browser command in the background to free up the terminal:

brave-browser &

However, this isn’t practical, and you would use the following path on your desktop to open with the path: Activities > Show Applications > Brave Web Browser. If you cannot find it, use the search function in the Show Applications menu if you have many applications installed.

Example:

The first time you open Brave, you will be greeted by the following pop up:

Untick or leave as is and click the OK button to continue.

Now you will see Brave Internet Browser finally as per below:

How to Update Brave Browser

To update Brave, run the DNF update command in your terminal as you would check your entire system for any updates.

sudo dnf update

If one is available, use the upgrade option:

sudo dnf upgrade

To upgrade the Brave browser by itself, run the upgrade command with its package name.

sudo dnf upgrade brave-browser

Add “-beta” or “-nightly” at the end if you installed other Browser versions.

How to Remove (Uninstall) Brave Browser

To remove Brave, execute the following terminal command:

sudo dnf remove brave-browser*

Example output:

Type “Y,” then press the “ENTER KEY” to proceed with the uninstall.

Note, unused dependencies will also be removed.

If you have the beta or unstable builds installed.

To remove Brave Browser Beta:

sudo dnf autoremove brave-browser-beta

To remove Brave Browser Nightly Build:

sudo dnf autoremove brave-browser-nightly

Comments and Conclusion

In the tutorial, you have learned how to import the RPM binary package and the GPG key to install Brave Browser’s latest stable version. Overall, the Brave is an exciting newcomer to the scene of web browsers. Brave’s claims about being so much faster than Google Chrome would be believed as by eliminating ads and ad trackers by default, Brave downloads much less content from a website than any other browser.