How to Install Vivaldi Browser on Debian 11 Bullseye

Vivaldi is a freeware, cross-platform web browser developed by Vivaldi Technologies. It had grown from the downfall of Opera with many disgruntled when it changed from the Presto layout engine to a Chromium-based browser. This platform angered traditional Opera users. Since then, Vivaldi has become one of the most popular alternative Internet Browsers amongst the big three Chrome, Firefox, and Edge.

Vivaldi promotes itself as a leading browser with faster navigation, clever bookmarking, more intelligent browsing, extensive tab management, and a more visual approach.

In the following tutorial, you will learn how to install Vivaldi Browser on Debian 11 Bullseye using the command line terminal and the option of Vivaldi stable or Vivaldi snapshot browser versions.

Update Debian

First, update your system to ensure all existing packages are up to date. This will ensure no conflicts arise as best as possible 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 using the following command in your terminal.

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

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

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

Import Vivaldi GPG Key & Repository

Import GPG Key

In the first step, you will need to download the GPG key, which is used to verify the authenticity of the packages you are downloading and installing.

sudo wget -O- https://repo.vivaldi.com/archive/linux_signing_key.pub | gpg --dearmor | sudo tee /usr/share/keyrings/vivaldi.gpg

Import and Add the Repository

Next, add the repo as follows:

echo deb [arch=amd64 signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/vivaldi.gpg] https://repo.vivaldi.com/archive/deb/ stable main | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/vivaldi.list

Note, arm64 or armhf users, change the [arch=amd64 signed-by=……… to your architecture.

Install Vivaldi Browser

Once you have imported the repository, you can install Vivaldi using the following.

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

sudo apt update

Install either the stable or snapshot (nightly) version of Vivaldi Browser. Note you can install both together.

Install Vivaldi Browser Stable

sudo apt install vivaldi-stable -y

Confirm the version and build of the Vivaldi Browser version installed on your operating system using the following command:

vivaldi --version

Optional – Install Vivaldi Snapshot (Nightly)

Run the following command for users or developers who want to test Vivaldi’s development version.

sudo apt install vivaldi-snapshot -y

Confirm the version and build of the Vivaldi Browser version installed on your operating system using the following command:

vivaldi-snapshot --version

Note, stick with Stable for your daily browsing, do not use the development version for any serious browsing or transactions.

How to Launch Vivaldi Browser

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

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

vivaldi

For most desktop users, you would use the following path to open the Vivaldi browser on your desktop.

Activities > Show Applications > Vivaldi {version}.

Example:

The first time you open Vivaldi, you will be greeted by the following landing page to customize your browser. Vivaldi will have about five pages of quick setting options to customize your Vivaldi experience. Overall, it should take 1 to 5 minutes, depending on how much customizing you want.

Note, you will be able to choose a color theme, the Dark theme is quite popular along with Hot Pink, but others are available.

Example:

Once done, you will see the final landing page, and you are good to go browsing.

Example (Hot Pink):

Congratulations, you have successfully installed Vivaldi Browser on your desktop.

How to Update/Upgrade Vivaldi Browser

Most desktop users rely on automatic updates or auto-update notifications, which can be ok. Still, given that you are learning to install the browser using a terminal, you should update by running 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

How to Remove (Uninstall) Vivaldi Browser

To remove Vivaldi, execute the following terminal command.

Remove Vivaldi Browser Stable

sudo apt autoremove vivaldi-stable --purge -y

Remove Vivaldi Browser Snapshot

sudo apt autoremove vivaldi-snapshot --purge -y

Note unused dependencies will also be removed.

For users who will no longer install or want to install the Vivaldi browser on their system, use the following command to delete the Vivaldi Repository.

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

Finally, delete the GPG key.

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

Comments and Conclusion

Overall, Vivaldi is an excellent alternative to Firefox and Google Chrome, and its main rival is undoubtedly Brave Browser. However, Vivaldi comes with more features, and Brave is focused more on the privacy of its users.

A new feature for Vivaldi is the tab management feature; by selecting multiple tabs, you can put them in a “stack,” which saves valuable real estate on the tab bar. Once in a stack, the tabs can be “tiled,” meaning the browser window is divided between the tabs, letting you work with several web pages simultaneously.