How to Install Google Chrome on CentOS 9 Stream

Google Chrome is the most used Internet Explorer software on the earth, with a recent update in 2021 that Chrome is currently the primary browser of more than 2.65 billion internet users. However, as you would know, after installing CentOS 9 Stream, only Mozilla Firefox is packaged with the distribution but luckily, installing Google Chrome is a straightforward task.

In the following tutorial, you will learn how to install Google Chrome in three various ways in stable, beta, or unstable versions on CentOS 9 Stream.

Prerequisites

• Recommended OS: Any current CentOS Stream
• User account: root access

Updating Operating System

Update your CentOS Stream 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@centos-stream ~]$ sudo whoami
root

To set up an existing or new sudo account, visit our tutorial on adding a User to Sudoers on CentOS Stream.

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

su

Situational – Remove DNF Subscription Manager

Currently, CentOS Stream 9 DNF plugin manager can cause issues with the subscription manager. Long-term, this will be removed from future ISO’s as CentOS Stream is free for use, but you will need to now remove it manually, or else you won’t proceed far with this tutorial.

Example error output:

Updating Subscription Management repositories.
Unable to read consumer identity

This system is not registered with an entitlement server. You can use subscription-manager to register.

In your terminal, execute the following command.

sudo dnf erase subscription-manager -y

Example output:

As mentioned above, all the subscription-based lockouts have been removed.

Import GPG Key & Repository

To successfully install Google Chrome and have the most up-to-date version in either stable, beta, or unstable, you must install the Google Chrome repository. This includes importing the GPG key to verify the authenticity of the installation and the repository itself.

Download & Import GPG Key

The first step you will need to do is download the GPG key for the Google Chrome installation.

To do this, run the following wget command:

wget https://dl.google.com/linux/linux_signing_key.pub

Next, import the GPG key as follows:

sudo rpm --import linux_signing_key.pub

Import Google Chrome Stable and or Beta, Unstable Repositories

For CentOS Stream Linux-based systems, the three repository branches currently need to be downloaded individually to be installed on your system. Once installed, they are automatically added to your repolist, so you will not need to re-download these to update Chrome in the future.

To download Google Chrome Stable Repository (Recommended):

wget https://dl.google.com/linux/direct/google-chrome-stable_current_x86_64.rpm

Optional. Download Beta or Unstable RPM

To download Google Chrome Beta Repository:

wget https://dl.google.com/linux/direct/google-chrome-beta_current_x86_64.rpm

To download Google Chrome Unstable Repository (Dev):

wget https://dl.google.com/linux/direct/google-chrome-unstable_current_x86_64.rpm

Install Chrome Browser

Now you can install the RPM package using the DNF or YUM package manager, and it is always recommended to use DNF as is the new standard in the future.

sudo dnf install google-chrome-stable_current_x86_64.rpm

Example output:

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

Note, you will be prompted to import the GPG keys. Type “Y” to finalize the installation.

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

google-chrome --version

Example output:

Google Chrome 96.0.4664.45 

Optional. Install Google Chrome Beta / Unstable

Alternatively, you can install Google Chrome Beta or Unstable if you have downloaded the repositories using the wget command. These two versions are not recommended for daily use, 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 Google Chrome Beta:

sudo dnf install google-chrome-beta_current_x86_64.rpm

To install Google Chrome Unstable (Dev):

sudo dnf install google-chrome-unstable_current_x86_64.rpm

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 Google Chrome Beta:

google-chrome-beta --version

Example output:

Google Chrome 97.0.4692.20 beta

To verify Google Chrome Unstable:

google-chrome-unstable --version

Example output:

Google Chrome 98.0.4736.0 dev

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

sudo dnf repolist

Example output:

How to Launch Google Chrome

Now that you have installed Chrome, you can launch the application. You can type the following command in the terminal to launch Chrome:

google-chrome

To run Chrome in the background and continue using the terminal:

google-chrome &

However, this isn’t practical, and you would use the following path on your desktop to open with the path: Activities > Show Applications > Google Chrome. 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 Google Chrome on CentOS Stream 9, 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 The Google Chrome Internet Browser finally as per below:

Congratulations, you have installed Google Chrome on your CentOS 9 Stream operating system.

How to Update Google Chrome

To update Google Chrome, run the DNF update command in your terminal:

sudo dnf update

If one is available, use the upgrade option:

sudo dnf upgrade

The new and better way would be to update all your system packages using the following command.

sudo dnf upgrade --refresh

This is an all-in-one command.

How to Remove (Uninstall) Google Chrome

To remove Google Chrome, use the following command:

sudo dnf remove google-chrome-stable

Example output:

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

If you have the beta or unstable builds installed.

To remove Google Chrome Beta:

sudo dnf remove google-chrome-beta

To remove Google Chrome Unstable (Dev build):

sudo dnf remove google-chrome-unstable

Comments and Conclusion

In the tutorial, you have learned how to import the RPM binary package and the GPG key to install Google Chrome’s latest stable version. Overall, Chrome is the most used browser on the planet, with 70% of users using it. Remember, it is probably one of the most targeted Internet Browsers for zero-day exploits. Keep it up to date, and you will be fine.