How to Install LibreWolf Browser on Debian 11 Bullseye

LibreWolf is a Firefox fork that focuses on privacy and security by eliminating telemetry, which can be invasive to your personal information, along with increased protection against tracking and fingerprinting techniques, while also including a few security improvements.

In the following tutorial, you will learn how to install LibreWolf Browser on Debian 11 Bullseye. The tutorial will go over importing the official repository and gpg key and updating and removing the browser.

Update Debian

Before proceeding with the tutorial, it is good to ensure your system is up-to-date with all existing packages.

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Install Dependecies

The following dependencies will need to be installed to install LibreWolf successfully. Most of these packages would already be present on your system, but running the command can help ensure they’re installed.

sudo apt install curl apt-transport-https gnupg2 -y

If you skip and encounter issues, return and just run the command.

Install LibreWolf Browser

The first step is to import the GPG key to verify the authenticity of the packages. In your terminal, execute the following command to import to your keychain.

curl https://deb.librewolf.net/keyring.gpg | gpg --dearmor \
    | sudo tee /usr/share/keyrings/librewolf.gpg >/dev/null

Next, import the LibreWolf repository.

echo "deb [arch=amd64 signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/librewolf.gpg] \
http://deb.librewolf.net $(lsb_release -sc) main" \
    | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/librewolf.list

Now run an APT update to reflect the newly imported repository.

sudo apt update

Finally, you can install the LibreWolf browser using the following command.

sudo apt install librewolf -y

Launch LibreWolf Browser

Now that you have the privacy-focused browser installed, launching can be done in a few ways.

Using the command line terminal, you can open the browser quickly by using the following command.

librewolf

If you would like to launch and use the terminal at the same time, send it to the background:

librewolf &

The best way to use LibreWolf for desktop users that prefer not using the command line terminal is to open the GUI of the application by following the path: Activities > Show Applications > LibreWolf.

Example:

Next, you will see the default LibreWolf window similar to Firefox as you would expect but very stripped back.

Example:

How to Update LibreWolf

The browser should update by itself with your system packages for desktop users, given it is using the APT package manager. For users that would like to check manually, use the following command in your terminal.

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

How to Remove (Uninstall) LibreWolf

When you no longer want the browser to be installed on your system, use the following command to remove it.

sudo apt autoremove librewolf --purge -y

Remove the repository if you plan not to re-install LibreWolf again.

sudo rm /etc/apt/sources.list.d/librewolf.list

After removing the repository list file, remove the GPG.

sudo rm /usr/share/keyrings/librewolf.gpg

Comments and Conclusion

In the tutorial, you have learned how to install LibreWolf on Debian 11 Bullseye using the official repository and how to maintain and remove it if need be.

If you are one of those people who would like to see Firefox without telemetry, then LibreWolf is the browser for you. Firefox’s fork focuses on privacy and security by eliminating telemetry and adding other perks.