Installing software with linux

How do I install applications in Ubuntu?

Mitch’s answer is the best way to go. Although, if you’d like you could skip the first part of using the terminal for the «wget» command, by going to google.com/intl/en/chrome/browser and clicking «Download chrome». You could then select 32 bit or 64 bit. Save it where you’d like and double click it just like an installer in Microsoft Windows. Other than that, please refer to Mitch’s answer. Welcome to Ubuntu, hope you enjoy it here!

11 Answers 11

You can install applications different ways. Terminal, the Ubuntu Software Center, and Synaptic.

With the Ubuntu Software Center, you just open it from the Launcher, and search for the application that you want.

If you know the right commands to install via terminal, then you’d just press Ctrl + Alt + T on your keyboard to open Terminal. When it opens, you can run the command(s) needed to install the application.

For synaptic, it has to be installed on you system. To install it, just press Ctrl + Alt + T on your keyboard to open Terminal. When it opens, run the command(s) below:

sudo apt install synaptic 

Once installed, you can open it, and search for the application that you want to install, and just mark it for installation.

Also in some cases, you have to download either a .deb file in case of your question about Chrome, and have to manually install it, or a .tar.gz file, and that also have to done manually.

Now as far as Chrome is concerned, you can install it by downloading the .deb file, or just press Ctrl + Alt + T on your keyboard to open Terminal. When it opens, run the command(s) below:

wget https://dl.google.com/linux/direct/google-chrome-stable_current_i386.deb sudo dpkg -i google-chrome-stable_current_i386.deb 

wget https://dl.google.com/linux/direct/google-chrome-stable_current_amd64.deb sudo dpkg -i google-chrome-stable_current_amd64.deb 

If you encounter any error during the installation, when its done do

For pros and cons of the different ways to install see this Post.

_{Source for Chrome installation: Google}

Addition

Installing software in Ubuntu can be done several ways:

Ubuntu Software Center

You can search for an application, or go through the categories:

Synaptic Package Manager

You can search for an application, or go through the categories:

Installing via Terminal

Installing from terminal can be done in several ways:

APT
You can search for an application. The command to search for software is:

Edit the sources list file, and add

sudo -H gedit /etc/apt/sources.list 

sudo add-apt-repository sudo apt update sudo apt install

Others ways you can install

Manual download of a .deb (Debian package):

• Once downloaded, you can double-click on the package to have it open in the Software Center, from where you can install it.
• Or, just press Ctrl + Alt + T on your keyboard to open Terminal. When it opens, navigate to the download location, and run the command(s) below:

• .rpm files are packaged for Fedora or Mandriva, but you can use alien (you can install using Synaptic) that allows you to convert .rpm files to .deb . (may not work all the time)
• .tar.gz files are compressed. If you see the .tar.gz , it could be compressed files that have a pre-compiled binary file, or files that have the source code allowing you to compile the application from source. To find out how to install from a .tar.gz , see How to install from a .tar.gz.

Also, if you aren’t worried about having the google branded version of the browser, you can always install chromium from the repository.

I strongly advise to only install programs from the official Ubuntu repositories (Synaptic, Software Center, or apt-get). By this, you’ll get automatic updates and security patches. Also, programs installed from other sources might in rare cases cause issues when upgrading to a newer Ubuntu release. Only if you really, really need a program, and it is not available in the official repositories, I’d consider a direct download of a .deb file.

Why talk about Ubuntu Software Center as last? That’s the easiest way by far and you push it to the bottom.

There are many ways to install packages in Ubuntu. I will try to list the most used methods, giving links to detailed explanations for each one.

Installing packages with an internet connection

1. Installing packages via your web browser

The APT protocol (or apturl) is a very simple way to install a software package from a web browser.

2. Installing packages via a basic graphical method

Ubuntu Software Center is a one-stop shop for installing and removing software on your computer.

3. Installing packages via an advanced graphical method

Synaptic is a graphical front-end to apt, the package management system in Ubuntu.

4. Installing packages via text based methods

Installing packages without an internet connection

1. Using Keryx

Keryx is a portable, cross-platform package manager that provides a graphical interface for gathering updates, packages, and dependencies for offline computers.

2. Using the Synaptic package download script

Synaptic package manager has built-in feature to generate a package download script.

3. Using apt-offline

apt-offline is an offline text based apt package manager.

4. Installing downloaded packages

How to install Ubuntu software when you’re a (future) ex-Windows user!

16.04 and higher: Ubuntu Software Center has been renamed to Ubuntu Software

(Everything else remains the same)

The most important thing is to remember that some day you’ll have to remove this piece of software that you’re going to install, so always use a removal method identical to your installation method.

Therefore, use the following priority for installing software on Ubuntu:

1. Forget about what you know about downloading and installing from websites all over the place and use the following priority list on how to install software under Ubuntu because you now have (and want to keep) a stable system.
2. For beginning users: first 3 months, up to a year of using Ubuntu
   Install/remove from the standard Ubuntu repositories using the GUI of the Ubuntu Software (Center). As per below screen shot, click the dash in the upper left corner, type software , click the Ubuntu Software (Center).
   The Ubuntu Software (Center) opens: and you have a ton of application categories on the left to choose from. Or type the name of the software in the search box in the top right corner (which is what we’ll be using) I’m as amazed as you, but there is indeed crap software for Ubuntu, 🙂 so just click the crap you want, click on «Install», wait a bit and done! To remove software using this method, click on the «installed» button on the second screen shot, click the crap you want to uninstall and click the «Uninstall» button! Easy-peasy. And if the software is not there, don’t go downloading it from somewhere else and install it using some of the more advanced features below! You’re a beginner!
3. (Intermediate users, 6 months-1 year of experience)
   Use the TUI of aptitude
   Press Ctrl + Alt + T to go to a terminal and type:

sudo apt install aptitude 

to start it. This is still kind of familiar: you can use the mouse, but it’s like you’re back in 1988 before the WWW was invented. And now comes the first hurdle: RTFM for aptitude by typing:

• apt install szPackageName to install
• apt purge szPackageName to completely remove
• apt remove szPackageName to remove the application, keeping its configuration files. (meaning: you might want to reinstall this sometime later and you just spent a few hours configuring the damn thing and don’t want to lose the config!)

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Installing Software on Linux¶

One of the most difficult things to get used to in the Linux world is installing new software packages. In the world of Windows, every program comes with a Setup.exe program that asks you some very easy questions and takes care of the job for you. While Linux software can be almost that easy to install, you will sometimes find software that seems to fight every step of the way. I can’t cover all the problems you might run into, but I’ll try to give you the basics and a few pointers to help get you over the rough spots.

Software tends to come in “packages”. In the Windows world a package is a Setup.exe or a program.zip file. On a Mac a package is a program.dmg or a program.sit file. In the Linux world, there are several kinds of packages, and each distribution has its own preferred package format.

The standard Linux package format (according to the Linux Standard Base) is RPM. RPM is a packaging system originally developed by Red Hat and widely used in the Linux community. Distributions using it include Fedora, Mandriva, Red Hat (naturally), and SUSE. An RPM package file normally will be named something like program-version-other.rpm

Another popular package format is DEB, the Debian software package. Debian packages and the Advanced Packaging Tool (APT) were the first to introduce several advanced features that are now common, such as automatic dependency resolution and signed packages. Debian packages are used by Debian GNU/Linux (naturally), and distributions based on it, including Ubuntu, Knoppix, and Mepis. A Debian package file normally will be named something like program-version-other.deb

Remember, you will need to become SuperUser to install software.

Debian, Ubuntu: APT¶

There is a broad array of tools for working with DEB packages, but the one you will commonly use is apt-get , arguably the easiest of Linux package management tools. apt-get is so easy because it not only keeps track of what packages are installed, but also what other packages are available. It will even download them from the Internet for you (if properly configured).

To remove software is just as easy.

Although the repositories that contain installable packages might live on the Internet or on a disc somewhere, APT keeps a local database on your hard drive with a list of all available packages and where to find them. This database needs to be explicitly updated. To update the APT database:

A common idiom is to update your package database, and then upgrade all the packages that have patches or security updates to install. The following command will do this all at once.

apt-get update; apt-get upgrade

For a more indepth apt-get tutorial and other resources, see Managing Software with APT and dpkg .

Fedora, Red Hat: yum ¶

yum does for RPM packages roughly what apt-get does for Debian packages. Like apt-get , yum can download and install packages from a configured repository.

To remove software is just as easy.

yum does not keep a local copy of your package database by default, so normally there is no need to update it. To install all available security patches and bug fixes, use this command:

You can also explicitly update a single package with:

For a more indepth yum tutorial and other resources, see Managing Software with yum and rpm .

Mandriva: urpm ¶

Mandriva Linux (formerly Mandrake and Connectiva) has a toolset similar to APT called urpmi . To install software:

To update the local package database:

To install security updates and bug fixes:

For a more indepth yum tutorial and other resources, see Managing Software with urpm .

Tar Balls¶

No, this is not a naughty term! A tar ball is a (usually compressed) archive of files, similar to a Zip file on Windows or a Sit on the Mac. Tar balls come in files that end in .tar , .tar.gz , .tgz , or something along these lines. To unpack a tar ball, use this command.

The parameters are x to extract files, z to filter through gzip for decompression (leave this off if the file does not have a gz extension), v for verbose mode so you can tell what’s going on, f indicating there will be a filename to follow. You may want to create an alias called “untar” that feeds in these options if you have a hard time remembering command line options as I do.

This command will not install the software, it will only extract the archived files. It is your job then to find the README file or INSTALL file and read its instructions for installation. If the archive contains binaries there will usually be a setup script (often called install.sh ) that you must execute as SuperUser .

Very often, software delivered in tar balls is not in executable form, but in source code, which must first be compiled before it can be installed. For more details on this, see Installing Software from Source Code .

Other Systems¶

Some other Linux distributions have their own way of managing packages, notably SUSE. SUSE uses RPM as its native package format, but has its own high level tool to manage system software installation.

SUSE Linux uses a tool called yast (which allegedly is an acronym for Yet Another Setup Tool) to perform all kinds of system administration tasks, including installing software. Having no experience with it, I cannot give you more details. man yast for help.

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