Linux: Google Chrome

Written by: Michael Dougherty • Edited by: Michele McDonough
Published May 12, 2010 • Related Guides: Google | Linux | Google Chrome

Looking to install Google's next-gen of internet browser on your Linux distribution? With the release of the Google Chrome beta for Linux this is now much easier than it use to be.

Benefits of Chrome

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Google Chrome is my browser of choice. I find it a faster and more streamlined browsing experience. Even in its current beta state I am having a limited amount of problems using Google Chrome as my primary browser. Most problems I do encounter are due to its extensions API being a "work-in-progress" resulting in slow extension development for some of the more popular browser extensions. That being said, the extension support has improved greatly and will, in the future, equal or surpass the extension support that browsers like Mozilla Firefox offer.

One of the great things about being offered several different internet browsers is that there is nothing stopping us from installing and trying them all. Often times the best browser on the market is the one that completes the tasks you set out for it in the least amount of time with the least amount of hassle. Give Google Chrome for Linux a try. Keep reading to find out how.

Is my Linux distribution of choice officially supported?

Currently Google offers Google Chrome for Linux official packages for Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora and OpenSuse. The installation process for these distributions is fast and straightforward.

Visit the Google Chrome beta for Linux website.
Download the package appropriate for your Linux distribution.
Install the package according to the standards of your Linux distribution.

That's it. The Google Chrome for Linux install process will add the Google repository to your system to allow it to keep your Google applications up to date. Launch and enjoy the next-generation of internet browser!

What do I do if my Linux distribution is not officially supported?

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If you are not using Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora or OpenSuse Linux as your Linux distribution of choice don't fret. The Linux community is famous for providing packages of pretty much any program that will install on other popular Linux distributions. Google Chrome for Linux is no different.

For more information on installing Google Chrome for Linux on your Linux distribution please visit the Chromium Project to see if a package is available. Chromium is not exactly the same as Google Chrome, rather it is a community maintained project offering a fairly safe way to install Google Chrome on an unsupported Linux system. The official Google Chrome packages are simply Chromium packaged by Google with the addition of some features. Please see the notes on the package for your specific Linux distribution for details on what has been added or removed from your Google Chromium package.

Google Chrome for Linux (or Windows / Mac OS X) is an extremely fast and efficient browser. Currently it does not offer the plethora of browser extensions that are available for Mozilla Firefox on the same platform but will likely come close in the future as the extension API develops a more solid standard. Again, the question of what browser is best is simply the browser that lets you accomplish your day-to-day tasks quickly and effortlessly with very little user intervention. Google Chrome is this browser for me. Give Google Chrome for Linux a try and let me know, via the comments form below, how it shapes up head-to-head against your current browser.