How to Install Microsoft Edge on elementary OS 6

elementary OS 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 stable, beta, or developer (nightly build) on elementary OS 6.

Update System

Update your elementary OS system to make sure all existing packages are up to date:

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 wget 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.

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.

Download the GPG key using curl. Remember, this should be installed if you check the dependencies required further up.

curl https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc | gpg --dearmor > microsoft.gpg

Next, import the downloaded GPG key.

sudo install -o root -g root -m 644 microsoft.gpg /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/

Lastly, remove the downloaded key where you downloaded it too before installing it, this can be skipped, but it is good practice.

sudo rm microsoft.gpg

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'

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

sudo apt update

Install Microsoft Edge Browser

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

sudo apt install microsoft-edge-stable

Example output:

Type Y, then press the ENTER KEY to proceed.

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 97.0.1072.76

Optional. Install Microsoft Edge Browser Beta or Dev Version

Alternatively, you can install 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.

WARNING – THESE VERSIONS CAN POTENTIALLY HAVE SECURITY FLAWS AND BUGS WHILE IN TESTING.

DO NOT USE THESE IF YOU CAN NOT AFFORD THE RISK.

install Microsoft Edge Browser Beta:

sudo apt install microsoft-edge-beta

install Microsoft Edge Browser Dev (Nightly):

sudo apt install microsoft-edge-dev

Note these do not replace your stable version, and they are installed separately.

Next, verify the beta installation or unstable, use the following command.

Verify Microsoft Edge Browser Beta:

microsoft-edge-beta --version

Example output:

Microsoft Edge 98.0.1108.27 beta

Verify Microsoft Edge Browser Dev (Nightly):

microsoft-edge-dev --version

Example output:

Microsoft Edge 99.0.1141.0 dev

How to Launch Microsoft Edge Browser

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 desktop to open with the path: Applications > Search > Microsoft Edge.

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 to select from.

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 Browser package itself.

sudo apt upgrade microsoft-edge-stable

How to Remove Microsoft Edge

To remove Edge from elementary OS, execute the following terminal command:

sudo apt autoremove microsoft-edge-stable --purge

Example output:

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

Note unused dependencies will also be removed.

Alternatively, use the following commands if you have beta or unstable builds 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 GPG key from the “/etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d” directory.

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

Lastly, you will need to remove the GPG key that was imported. To do this, use the following command.

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

And that is it, and you have removed Microsoft Edge from your 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, Microsoft Edge is a solid option. However, many open-source and FOSS fans will not have a bar of it due to using a Windows product in a historical sense on Linux, and the long history of Microsoft vs. Linux, some of it is justifiable truly it is, some of it is just political rubbish.

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