How To Install Opera On Linux
Though many have forgotten about it, the Opera web browser is still very much a thing. It’s still a solid browser that’s gone through some changes. For starters, the underlying technology is built with Chromium browser tech (rather than the old Opera rendering engine). In addition to it being built on Google tools, there are small tweaks and changes under the hood that make it a whole new type of browser. If you’ve let go of Opera but want to pick it back up again, you’ll be excited to know that it still has decent Linux support (in the form of Debs and RPM installers). Follow the instructions below to install Opera on Linux.
SPOILER ALERT: Scroll down and watch the video tutorial at the end of this article.
Debian/Ubuntu
There is no offical PPA or Debian software repository for the Opera browser. This means that getting the browser on Debian or Ubuntu means downloading a Deb package file and installing it manually. To get the latest package, head over to the official website. Keep in mind that you can’t actually choose the specific version of the Linux package. If you want to download a specific version, go here.
Once the Deb package is done downloading, open up a terminal window and use the CD command to move to the ~/Downloads folder. Then use the dpkg tool to install the Deb file.
Note: Debian users may need to change apt to apt-get.
cd ~/Downloads sudo dpkg -i opera-stable_*_amd64.deb
Just installing the Opera Deb via terminal may not be enough, as sometimes the dpkg tool forgets to install libraries and tools that the browser needs to run. Not to worry! This is an easy fix. Run apt install -f to correct the issue.
sudo apt install -f
When apt install -f finishes, Opera should be ready to go!
Arch Linux Instructions
Currently, on Arch Linux, the only way to use Opera is to install the beta version. For some reason, there aren’t any builds of the current stable build. Though, if you’re an Arch Linux user the chances are good that a beta version of the browser isn’t a big deal. To install it, make sure you have the git package. Then, grab the latest snapshot from the AUR via the git clone command.
git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/opera-beta.git
Using the CD command, enter the newly cloned folder.
cd opera-beta
Lastly, use makepkg to generate an installable Arch package. Be sure to add -si to the end of the makepkg command. This will tell the Pacman package tool to install all necessary dependencies and install Opera to the system.
makepkg -si
Keep in mind that because you installed the Opera browser directly from the Arch User Repository, you’ll need to either re-build this package every time there’s an update or install an AUR helper like Yaourt to make updating it easier.
Fedora
Installing Opera on the Fedora Linux operating system is as easy as downloading an RPM file. To get the latest RPM file, head over to the official Opera browser website. Click on the “Download now” button. If for some reason the download site gives you a Debian package instead of a Redhat one, click on the link next to “Prefer the RPM Package?”. Alternatively, if you’re trying to find an older version, go here.
When you’ve got the latest Opera browser RPM file, open up a terminal and use the CD command to move to the ~/Downloads folder.
cd ~/Downloads
Once you’re in the ~/Downloads folder, use the DNF package management tool to install the RPM.
sudo dnf install opera-stable_*_amd64.rpm
Alternatively, double-click on the RPM with the file manager to install Opera via Gnome Software.
OpenSUSE
Need Opera on your Open SUSE Linux PC? Not to worry, there’s an RPM available. Download it here from the website, and then open up a terminal window.
Using CD, move the terminal into the ~/Downloads folder. Then, use Zypper to install the package.
cd ~/Downloads sudo zypper install opera-stable_*_amd64.rpm
Don’t want to use the terminal? Open up the file manager, click on “Downloads” and then double-click the Opera RPM. It’ll open up in the SUSE RPM installation tool.
Other Linux Distributions
Sadly, the Opera browser is only available for Linux distributions that have support for Debian, RPM packages, or have a system that can reverse engineer and automatically port programs to their distribution (like Arch). If you’re looking to get this browser working on a Linux distribution that doesn’t have direct support from Opera, consider checking out the Deb2TarGz tool. With it, you’ll be able to convert the Debian Opera package over to a generic tar gzip archive.
From there, you can extract the archive, move the files around to the appropriate places, and tinker with it and see what it takes to get the browser to work.
