How to Install Microsoft Teams on Linux Mint 20

Microsoft Teams is a proprietary business communication platform developed by Microsoft and is a collaboration application built for chat, calling, collaboration, and meetings all in one place to make it easier for teams to stay organized and connected easier than using several other communication platforms separately.

In the following tutorial, you will learn how to install Microsoft Teams on Linux Mint 20 by importing the official GPG key and repository and installing the latest Teams or Teams insiders build, along with how to maintain and remove using the command line terminal.

Update Linux Mint

The first step is to make sure your system is up-to-date to avoid issues during the installation and for good practice. This is done by opening your terminal and using the following command.

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Install Dependecies

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 curl  ca-certificates -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.

Create & Import Repository

Import GPG Key

The first task is to import the GPG KEY sing the curl command.

curl https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc | gpg --dearmor \
    | sudo tee /usr/share/keyrings/ms-teams.gpg >/dev/null

Import Repository

Now, import the official Microsoft Teams repository using the following command.

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

Lastly, update your APT cache.

sudo apt update

Install Microsoft Teams

The next part of the installation of Microsoft Teams is to proceed with the actual install using the following command.

sudo apt install teams -y

Alternatively, you can install the teams insiders using the following command.

sudo apt install teams-insiders -y

Launch Microsoft Teams

Now that you have the client 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.

teams

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

teams &

The best way to use Microsoft Teams for desktop users that prefer not using the command line terminal is to open the GUI of the application by following the path: Taskbar > Internet > Microsoft Teams

Once launched, you will get to the get started screen. From here, you can log on and use Microsoft Teams.

Example:

How to Update Microsoft Teams

Run the standard update commands for future updates for Teams and any default APT packages.

sudo apt update

When updates are available, run the standard upgrade command as you would with any other APT available updates.

sudo apt upgrade

How to Remove (Uninstall) Microsoft Teams

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

sudo apt autoremove teams* -y

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

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

After removing the repository list file, remove the GPG.

sudo rm /usr/share/keyrings/ms-teams.gpg

Comments and Conclusion

In the tutorial, you have learned how to import the official repository and install the latest version of MS Teams on Linux Mint 20.

Microsoft Teams is a powerful workplace collaboration tool that can help reduce email dependency and improve communication. In this tutorial, you learned how to install the software and import the official repository. If you are looking for an efficient way to communicate with coworkers or collaborate on projects, Microsoft Teams may be the right solution for you.