How to Install Chromium Browser on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS

Chromium is an open-source browser project that aims to build a safer, faster, and more stable way for all users to experience the web. The Chromium codebase is widely used, and Microsoft Edge, Opera, and many other browsers are based on the code. Chromium is well-liked amongst advanced users who prefer not to have all the bloat of tracking in Chrome and other proprietary software.

In the following tutorial, you will learn how to install Chromium Web Browser on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS Focal Fossa using APT or Flatpak installation.

Update Ubuntu

First, update your system to ensure all existing packages are up to date to avoid any conflicts.

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Install Chromium Browser – APT Method with Ubuntu

The first installation option is to use the APT manager, and this is the easiest method for installing Chromium and the quickest.

Run the following command to install Chromium Browser.

sudo apt install chromium-browser -y

Install Chromium Browser – APT with PPA

The second method and probably the best method to utilize the APT package manager is to install the PPA by Rob Savoury, who has maintained a vast amount of PPAs for quite a long time amongst many Ubuntu LTS distributions.

First, import the Chromium PPA.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:savoury1/chromium -y

Secondly, it is recommended to import the FFMPEG 4 PPA by Rob Savoury for multimedia compatibility.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:savoury1/ffmpeg4 -y

Next, run an APT update to reflect the new additions.

sudo apt-get update

Now install Chromium browser using the following command.

sudo apt install chromium-browser -y

Install Chromium Browser – Flatpak Method

The third option is to use the Flatpak package manager. Flatpak is not installed natively on Ubuntu 22.04, given Canonical is behind both Ubuntu and Snaps, but it is available to install if you so wish.

First, install the Flatpak manager if it was removed previously.

sudo apt install flatpak -y

For users installing Flatpak for the first time, it is often recommended to reboot your system. Failure to do this can occur with odd issues arising, such as paths not being generated for icons.

reboot

SKIP THE REBOOT IF FLATPAK IS INSTALLED.

Next, you need to enable Flatpack using the following command in your terminal.

flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

Now install Chromium using the following flatpak command.

flatpak install flathub org.chromium.Chromium -y

How to Launch Chromium Browser

Now that you have the Chromium Browser installed, launching can be done in a few ways.

In your terminal, type the following command to launch immediately.

chromium

Alternatively, Flatpak users will need to launch using the command below from a terminal instance:

flatpak run org.chromium.Chromium

However, this isn’t practical, and you would use the following path on your desktop.

Show Applications > Show Applications> Chromium Web Browser.

Example:

The first time you open Chromium, you will be greeted by its default homepage Google which you can change later.

Alternatively, you can confirm further the version installed, click on the settings in the right-hand corner and click About Chromium.

Example:

How to Update/Upgrade Chromium Browser

Depending on the method used, the following commands can be used to update.

APT Method

sudo apt upgrade && sudo apt upgrade

Flatpak Method

flatpak update

How to Remove Chromium Browser

For users that no longer require Chromium Browser, use one of the following commands to suit the method you used to install the browser.

APT Remove Method

sudo apt remove chromium-browser -y

Flatpak Remove Method

flatpak uninstall --delete-data org.chromium.Chromium

Next, run the following command for any leftover clean-up.

flatpak remove --unused

Comments and Conclusion

Chromium Browser is an excellent open-source choice that allows Linux distributions that need open-source software to package a browser almost identical to Chrome. Linux distributors can also use Chromium as the default web browser in place of Firefox. If you are looking for an alternative to Firefox or Chrome, we highly recommend giving Chromium a try!