How to Install Microsoft Edge on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS

Like many other Linux Systems, Ubuntu users are limited to the Firefox Internet Browser by default. However, there is an alternative in Microsoft Edge, which has been developed for over a year and received good reviews amongst communities of Linux distributions that use it as their primary browser rather than just switching over from Google Chrome or another alternate browser.

In the following tutorial, you will learn how to install Microsoft Edge stable, beta, or developer (nightly build) on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS Jammy Jellyfish and some handy tips on maintaining and, if the possible need is, removing the browsers from your system with the command line terminal.

Update Ubuntu

Before proceeding with the tutorial, you should run an update of your system to ensure all existing packages are up to date to avoid any conflicts during the installation.

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Install Required Packages

To complete the installation, you will need to install the following software packages by using the following command in your terminal.

sudo apt install software-properties-common apt-transport-https wget ca-certificates gnupg2 ubuntu-keyring -y

If you are unsure, run the command; it will not harm you.

These are the most common software packages found on nearly all Linux distributions.

Import Edge GPG Key & 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 using the following command.

sudo wget -O- https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc | gpg --dearmor | sudo tee /usr/share/keyrings/microsoft-edge.gpg

Import the Microsoft Edge Repo

Next, add the repo as follows.

echo 'deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/microsoft-edge.gpg] https://packages.microsoft.com/repos/edge stable main' | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/microsoft-edge.list

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

sudo apt update

Install Microsoft Edge Browser

Microsoft Edge can be installed using stable (recommended) or beta nightly, using three alternative branches.

Install Microsoft Edge Stable

sudo apt install microsoft-edge-stable -y

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

microsoft-edge -version

Example output:

Optional. Install Microsoft Edge Browser Beta or Dev Version

Alternatively, you can install the Microsoft Edge Brower beta or dev (nightly) build if you have downloaded the repositories. These two versions are not recommended for daily use, especially not on a main desktop or production server.

However, you can install the below alternative versions for those who want to live on the edge or check out upcoming releases.

Note that these do not replace your stable version, and they are installed separately, but it is recommended only to install one at a time.

Install Microsoft Edge Browser Beta:

sudo apt install microsoft-edge-beta -y

Verify Microsoft Edge Browser Beta:

microsoft-edge-beta --version

Example output:

Microsoft Edge 98.0.1108.27 beta

Install Microsoft Edge Browser Dev (Nightly):

sudo apt install microsoft-edge-dev -y

Verify Microsoft Edge Browser Dev (Nightly):

microsoft-edge-dev --version

Example output:

How to Launch Microsoft Edge Browser

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

microsoft-edge

Alternatively, run the microsoft-edge & command to launch the browser while keeping the terminal session free to continue working.

microsoft-edge &

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

Applications > Search > Microsoft Edge {version}.

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 style, and click the confirm button.

Lastly, the optional sign-in and sync across multiple devices.

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 Browser package itself.

Example with stable:

sudo apt upgrade microsoft-edge-stable

How to Remove Microsoft Edge

Depending on the versions installed, use one of the following commands and remove the repository to remove Edge.

Remove Microsoft Edge Stable

sudo apt autoremove microsoft-edge-stable --purge

Note that unused dependencies will also be removed.

Alternatively, if you have beta or unstable builds, use the following commands and remove these versions.

Remove Microsoft Edge Beta:

sudo apt remove microsoft-edge-beta --purge

Remove Microsoft Edge Dev:

sudo apt remove microsoft-edge-stable-dev --purge

Next, remove the repository that was imported with the following commands.

sudo rm /etc/apt/sources.list.d/microsoft.*

Lastly, remove the GPG key.

sudo rm /usr/share/keyrings/microsoft*

And that is it, and you have successfully removed the Microsoft Edge Browser from your desktop.

Troubleshooting Multiple Sources.list

Please note you can install all three. However, each installation will create a new sources list in your /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ directory. When you use the apt update command, you will have multiple sources.list for Opera Browser, and some will be ignored.

Just remove the extras and keep the original one. If you accidentally delete them all, copy the import directory code in this tutorial.

Example of a quick fix.

sudo rm /etc/apt/sources.list.d/microsoft*

Then re-add the one repository.

echo 'deb [arch=amd64 signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/microsoft-edge.gpg] https://packages.microsoft.com/repos/edge stable main' | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/microsoft-edge.list

Remember to run an APT update.

sudo apt update

This should fix the issue in the future, and you will still receive updates for all three browsers from one source.list instead of three.

Comments and Conclusion

In the tutorial, you have learned how to import the APT binary package and the GPG key to install Microsoft Edge with three alternative version choices on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS Jammy Jellyfish.

So, all in all, is Microsoft Edge a good browser? Yes, it is. Is it the best browser? No, there are many excellent browsers available, and some of them are even free and open source. But if you’re happy with Edge, then that’s great – it’s certainly come a long way from its predecessors. Just be aware that it doesn’t have as many features as some of the other big browsers.

However, ranking Edge for performance and speed lands this among the top Internet Browser, and it truly does work well on Linux. If you can get over the fact, Microsoft owns it.