How to Install Software on Linux

This wikiHow teaches you how to download and install new apps on your computer, using a Linux operating system. In most Linux distributions, there is a dedicated app that comes with a simple graphical user interface (GUI) for installing...

Method 1 of 3:

Using the Ubuntu Software Center

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    Click the Dash icon on your desktop. This button looks like a whirling circle in the upper-left corner. It will open your menu.
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    Find and click the Software Center on the Dash menu. The Software Center icon looks like a white "A" on an orange shopping bag. It will open the software store in a new window.
    1. You may also be able to find this icon on the left-hand side of your desktop.
    2. If you're using a different Linux distribution than Ubuntu, you may have a similar GUI for installing new software. Check out the Software or Applications section in your desktop environment.
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    Find and click the software you want to install. You can either browse through the categories from the menu on the left-hand side, or type what you're searching for in the search box on the top-right.
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    Click the Install button next to the app. This will download and install the selected software on your computer.
    1. You will have to verify your computer's admin user password.
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    Type your account password. Select your username in the drop-down, and type your password into the password field.
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    Click the Authenticate button. This will verify your user password, and install the selected app.
    1. You can open the app by clicking on its icon on the launcher at the left of the screen.
Method 2 of 3:

Using the Snap Store

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    Open the Snapcraft Store in your internet browser. Type or paste https://snapcraft.io/store into your browser's address bar, and press ↵ Enter or ⏎ Return on your screen.
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    Click the Store tab. This button is on a gray navigation bar at the top of the page.
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    Find and click the software you want to install. This will open the selected app's details on a new page.
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    Scroll down and select your Linux distribution. Snap is available in a variety of different Linux distributions, including Ubuntu, Fedora, CentOS, and Linux Mint.
    1. This will open a new page, and show the specific command prompt instructions for your system.
    2. If you already have the snapd tool installed and enabled on your system, just click the green Install button on the app info page to see the install command.
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    Open a Terminal window on your computer. You can open the command prompt from your desktop environment's applications menu.
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    Run the "Enable snapd" commands from the web page. Follow the instructions for your Linux distribution, and run the required commands in Terminal to install the snapd tool.
    1. Some systems like Ubuntu 19.04 and 18.10 will not require any extra installation. Snap is already installed and ready to use.
    2. Your system may require multiple steps to install and enable Snap. All the required commands are provided on this page for each available system.
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    Type and run the selected app's install command in Terminal. After enabling Snap on your computer, find the installation command prompt for the selected app in the lower-right corner, and run it on your computer.
    1. This command often looks like sudo snap install , such as sudo snap install opera for the Opera web browser.
    2. This will install the selected app on your computer.
Method 3 of 3:

Using the Ubuntu Apt Manager

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    Open a Terminal window on your Ubuntu/Debian system. Click the Dash icon on the top-left and select the Terminal app to open a new window.
    1. Alternatively, press Ctrl+Alt+T on your keyboard to open a new terminal window.
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    Type sudo apt-get update in terminal. This command will update your repositories, and make sure you have all the latest software packages for installation.
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    Press ↵ Enter or ⏎ Return on your keyboard. This will run the command, and update your repositories.
    1. If you're prompted, enter your user password to run the command.
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    Run sudo apt-get upgrade in terminal. This command will upgrade all the installed software on your computer to the latest versions.
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    Run sudo apt-cache search [package name] to search. You can use this command to search and find software to install.
    1. You will get a list of the matching packages below your search command.
    2. For example, you can run sudo apt-cache search "opera-stable" to find the latest stable version of the Opera browser available for install.
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    Run sudo apt-cache show "package name" to see details. This command will show the details for any available software package, including its version, architecture, and installation size.
    1. For example, run sudo apt-cache show opera-stable to see the package details for the latest stable version of the Opera web browser.
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    Run sudo apt-get install "package name" to install. This command will install the selected software package on your system.
    1. For example, sudo apt-get install opera-stable will install the latest stable version of the Opera web browser.
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    Enter Y to proceed with the installation. When the terminal asks "Do you want to continue? [Y/n]," enter Y to continue, and install the software on your computer.
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    Add --reinstall at the end of the install command to reinstall. If you're having issues with software you already have and want to reinstall it, run the standard installation command with this bit added at the end.
    1. For example, if you have the stable Opera browser and want to reinstall it, run the sudo apt-get install opera-stable --reinstall command.
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    Run sudo apt-get remove "package name" to uninstall. If you want to remove an app from your computer, run this command to uninstall it, and remove the software files from your computer.
    1. Alternatively, you can use the sudo apt-get purge "package name" command. This will remove all the configuration files and personal preferences of the specified app.
Update 04 March 2020
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