How to Install Microsoft Edge on Linux Mint 20

Linux Mint users currently, by default, are only limited to the Firefox Internet Browser. However, many alternatives can be installed. Microsoft Edge is one alternative that has been in development for over a year and has been getting quite a lot of good reviews amongst many Linux distribution communities and maybe an alternative compared to just switching to Google Chrome.

In the following tutorial, you will learn how to install Microsoft Edge on Linux Mint 20.

Prerequisites

• Recommended OS: Linux Mint 20 or higher.
• User account: A user account with sudo or root access.

Update Operating System

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

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -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:

[[email protected] ~]$ 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 Linux Mint.

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

su

Install CURL package

The tutorial will be using the curl command to install the package using the following command:

sudo apt install curl

By default, curl is missing from Linux Mint desktop installations; if you are unsure, run the command anyway. It won’t do any harm to your system.

Import Edge GPG Key and Repository

Import the Microsoft Edge GPG Key

In the first step, you will need to download the GPG key to verify the package’s authenticity.

curl https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc | gpg --dearmor > microsoft.gpg
sudo install -o root -g root -m 644 microsoft.gpg /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/

Import the Microsoft Edge Repo

Next, add the repo as follows:

sudo sh -c 'echo "deb [arch=amd64] https://packages.microsoft.com/repos/edge stable main" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/microsoft-edge-dev.list'
sudo rm microsoft.gpg

Now you have completed the imports, refresh your repository list to reflect the new additions.

sudo apt update

Install Microsoft Edge

Microsoft Edge can be installed now using the apt command as below:

sudo apt install microsoft-edge-dev

Currently, microsoft-edge or microsoft-edge-dev is the same version due to no stable version released.

Confirm the version and build of the Microsoft Edge version installed on your operating system using the following command:

microsoft-edge -version

Example output:

Microsoft Edge 95.0.1011.1 dev

How to Launch Microsoft Edge

To run Microsoft Edge, you can use the terminal command in your console:

microsoft-edge

Alternatively, run microsoft-edge command in the background to free up the terminal:

microsoft-edge &

However, this isn’t practical, and you would use the following path on your Linux Mint 20 to open with the path: Taskbar > Applications > Internet > Microsoft Edge (dev). If you cannot find it, use the search function in the Applications menu.

Example:

The first time you open Microsoft Edge, you will be greeted by the following:

Untick or leave the Microsoft improvement tracking, then click the OK button to continue.

Afterward, you will find three options Inspiration, Informational or Focused. Selecting each tab will preview what the view will look like in your Edge browser background. Choose one and click the confirm button.

Lastly, the optional sign-in and sync across multiple devices. Unless you need this, click Continue without signing in, as most users would do by clicking the X in the top right-hand corner of the pop-up screen.

Now you will see The Microsoft Edge Internet Browser finally as per below:

How to Update Microsoft Edge

To update Microsoft Edge Internet Browser, run the APT update command in your terminal as you would check your entire system for any updates.

sudo apt update

If one is available, use the upgrade option:

sudo apt upgrade

Alternatively, you can upgrade just the Edge package itself.

sudo apt upgrade microsoft-edge-dev

Uninstall Microsoft Edge

To remove Edge from Linux Mint, execute the following terminal command:

sudo apt autoremove microsoft-edge-dev --purge

Example output:

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

Note, unused dependencies will also be removed.

Lastly, remove the GPG key from the “/etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d” directory.

sudo rm /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/microsoft.*

And that is it, and you have removed Microsoft Edge from your Linux Mint system.

Comments and Conclusion

In the tutorial, you have learned how to import the APT binary package and the GPG key to install Microsoft Edge. Overall, the Edge Beta has been in development for over a year and should see a stable version released alongside a dev future closer in the future. Microsoft is keeping the beta up to date and seems to be focusing on its security and development, so it’s a good alternative if you get tired of Google Chrome or Firefox.