How to Install Opera Browser on Pop!_OS 20.04

Opera is a freeware, cross-platform web browser developed by Opera Software and operates as a Chromium-based browser. Opera offers a clean, modern web browser that is an alternative to the other major players in the Browser race. Its famous Opera Turbo mode and its renowned battery saving mode are the best amongst all known web browsers by quite a margin, along with a built-in VPN and much more.

In the following tutorial, you will learn how to install Opera Browser on Pop!_OS 20.04.

Prerequisites

• Recommended operating system: Pop!_OS 20.04 or higher.
• User  Account: A user account with sudo or root access.
• Internet access

Update the operating system

Update your Pop!_OS operating system to make sure all existing packages are up to date:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

The tutorial will use the sudo command and assume you have sudo status.

To check the sudo status on your account:

sudo whoami

Example output showing the sudo state:

[joshua@popos ~]$ sudo whoami
root

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

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

su

The tutorial will use the terminal for installation found in Activities> Show Applications > Terminal.

Example:

Install Required Packages

To successfully install Opera, you will need to install the following packages; run this command if you are unsure; it will not harm your system.

sudo apt install apt-transport-https ca-certificates curl software-properties-common wget

These are pretty generic dependencies that may be already installed. Run the command regardless if unsure, as many other installations require these on your system.

Import & Install GPG Key and Repository

For Pop!_OS-based systems, the three repository branches currently need to be imported individually on your system. Once done, they are automatically added to your repolist, so you will not need to re-download these to update Brave in the future.

First, import the GPG required to check the authenticity of the repository downloads. Without this, your installation of the browser will fail.

wget -qO- https://deb.opera.com/archive.key | sudo apt-key add -

Example output if successful:

OK

To import Opera Browser Stable Repository & GPG Key (Recommended):

sudo add-apt-repository "deb [arch=i386,amd64] https://deb.opera.com/opera-stable/ stable non-free"

Optional. Import Beta or Developer Builds

To import Opera Browser Beta Repository & GPG Key:

sudo add-apt-repository "deb [arch=i386,amd64] https://deb.opera.com/opera-beta/ stable non-free"

To import Opera Browser Developer Repository & GPG Key:

sudo add-apt-repository "deb [arch=i386,amd64] https://deb.opera.com/opera-developer/ stable non-free"

Install Opera Browser

Now that you have imported the repository, you can now be installed Opera using the following.

First, update your repository list to reflect the new repository changes:

sudo apt update

Now install the software with the following command:

sudo apt install opera-stable

Example output:

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

Note, you will see when installing Opera Browser to configure to allow for newer version upgrades.

Example:

Select <Ok> to proceed to the next screen, which you will get an option to select <Yes> or <No>.

Select “YES”, then press the “ENTER KEY” to finish the installation.

Once installed, confirm the version of Opera Browser installed. This will also verify the installation was successful.

opera --version

Example output (This will change):

82.0.4227.33

Optional. Install Opera Browser Beta or Developer build

Alternatively, you can install Brave Beta or Developer builds if you have downloaded the repositories. These two versions are not recommended daily, especially not on a main desktop or production server.

However, you can install alternative versions for those who want to live on the edge.

To install Opera Browser Beta:

sudo apt install opera-beta -y

To install Opera Browser Developer:

sudo apt install opera-developer -y

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 Opera Browser Beta:

opera-beta --version

Example output (This will change):

83.0.4254.9

To verify Opera Browser Developer:

opera-developer --version

Example output (This will change):

84.0.4274.0

How to Launch Opera Browser

With the installation complete, you can run Opera in a few different ways.

First, while you are in your terminal, you can use the following command:

opera

Alternatively, run the opera & command in the background to free up the terminal:

opera &

However, this isn’t practical, and you would use the following path on your desktop to open with the path: Taskbar > Internet > Opera.

If you cannot find it, use the search function in the Show Applications menu if you have many applications installed.

Example:

Now open Opera Browser, you will see the landing page. Looks nice?

Congratulations, you have installed Opera Browser on Pop!_OS 20.04.

How to Update Opera Browser

To update, 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 the Opera Browser package if an update is available.

Example for stable:

sudo apt upgrade opera-stable

Add “-beta” or “-developer” at the end if you installed other Browser versions.

How to Remove (Uninstall) Opera Browser

To remove Opera Browser, execute the following terminal command:

Example removing Opera stable branch:

sudo apt remove opera-stable --purge

Example removing Opera beta branch:

sudo apt remove opera-beta --purge

Example removing Opera developer branch:

sudo apt remove opera-developer --purge

Note, unused dependencies will also be removed.

Next, you will need to remove the repositories from your system. This time you are adding the “r” flag, which instructs to remove the entry. This command is the same as adding the repository as you did initially.

To remove the stable repository:

sudo add-apt-repository -r "deb [arch=i386,amd64] https://deb.opera.com/opera-stable/ stable non-free"

To remove the beta repository:

sudo add-apt-repository -r "deb [arch=i386,amd64] https://deb.opera.com/opera-beta/ stable non-free"

To remove the developer repository:

sudo add-apt-repository -r "deb [arch=i386,amd64] https://deb.opera.com/opera-developer/ stable non-free"

Comments and Conclusion

In the tutorial, you have learned how to import the Opera repository into the apt source list and install the web browser by choosing either stable, beta, or developers branches.

Overall, Opera uses the Chromium page-rendering engine, so you’ll rarely run into site incompatibilities. Performance is fast, perhaps not the feast in the field. Still, it keeps its own and has unique features that make this an attractive alternative for many mainstream Linux users who want something different besides Firefox that comes standard on nearly all Linux machines.