How to install the Zoom video conferencing app on Linux
Are you using Linux and in need of good video conferencing tool that can handle high-quality video and audio? Install Zoom! It’s a cloud-based conference tool that works perfectly on Linux and supports Ubuntu, Debian, Arch Linux (unofficially,) as well as Fedora, OpenSUSE, and many other Linux distributions via Flatpak.
Ubuntu instructions
The Zoom video conferencing application has first-class support for Ubuntu Linux, versions 14.04 and onward. The support doesn’t come from a dedicated, third-party repository or PPA. Instead, users looking to install the software must download a DEB package from their website.
To get your hands on the latest DEB package for Zoom on Ubuntu, head over to the download page on the website and select Ubuntu in the drop-down menu. Alternatively, open up a terminal window by pressing Ctrl + Alt + T or Ctrl + Shift + T on the keyboard and download it directly using the wget command.
wget https://zoom.us/client/latest/zoom_amd64.deb
After downloading the latest Zoom DEB package to your Ubuntu PC, use the dpkg command to load up the software.
sudo dpkg -i zoom_amd64.deb
Following the installation, you may notice some dependency errors have occurred. Don’t worry! These errors are easily fixed by running the apt install -f command.
sudo apt install -f
Are you still having dependency issues on Ubuntu? Follow our in-depth guide on how to correct dependency problems on Ubuntu Linux.
Debian instructions
Zoom for Debian Linux is well supported, though there isn’t a dedicated software repository that users can add to their sources file ensuring constant updates, and there’s only a DEB package available.
As of right now, Zoom works flawlessly on Debian Linux so long as you’re on version 8.0 of the operating system or higher. To get the Zoom DEB head to the download page on the official website and select “Debian” in the drop-down menu. Or, open up a terminal window with Ctrl + Alt + T or Ctrl + Shift + T, and use the wget command below to download it directly.
wget https://zoom.us/client/latest/zoom_amd64.deb
Once the Zoom DEB package is done downloading onto your Debian Linux PC, use the dpkg command to load up the software on your system.
sudo dpkg -i zoom_amd64.deb
When the installation finishes, you may run into dependency issues. To fix it, run the apt-get install -f command in a terminal window.
sudo apt-get install -f
Dependency issues still occurring? Be sure to check out our in-depth guide on how to fix dependency problems on Debian Linux.
Arch Linux instructions
Zoom’s website doesn’t indicate official support for Arch Linux. However, there is an unofficial AUR package available to users that pulls in the software so that it can be converted to run on Arch Linux.
Installing the Zoom AUR package on Arch Linux starts by installing both “git” and “base-devel” through the Pacman package management system. Using the Pacman command below, start the installation.
sudo pacman -S git base-devel
Following the installation of “git” and “base-devel,” use the git clone command to download the latest Zoom AUR package from the internet.
git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/zoom.git
When the files are done downloading through git, use the CD command to move into the “zoom” directory.
cd zoom
Build and install the Zoom app on Arch Linux using the makepkg command. Keep in mind that this is an unofficial package. If you have issues with it, consider running the Flatpak release instead.
makepkg -sri
Fedora instructions
The Zoom video conferencing application is available for Fedora Linux. To get it working on your Fedora system, start by heading over to the official Zoom website’s download page. Then, on the download page, click the drop-down menu, and select the “Fedora” option to get the latest RPM package. Alternatively, launch a terminal window by pressing Ctrl + Alt + T or Ctrl + Shift + T on the keyboard and use the wget download tool to get it through the command-line.
wget https://zoom.us/client/latest/zoom_x86_64.rpm
Once the downloading process is done for the Zoom RPM file, use the Dnf command to install the package on your system.
sudo dnf install zoom_x86_64.rpm
OpenSUSE instructions
Zoom has excellent OpenSUSE Linux support, as one of the packaging options is the RPM format. To get the latest RPM package for OpenSUSE, head to the Zoom website’s download page. Look through the page for the drop-down menu, and select the “OpenSUSE” option. Or, if you prefer the command-line, launch a terminal by pressing Ctrl + Alt + T or Ctrl + Shift + T on the keyboard, and use the wget command below to download the RPM.
wget https://zoom.us/client/latest/zoom_openSUSE_x86_64.rpm
After downloading the OpenSUSE Zoom RPM file, use the Zypper command to install the software your system.
sudo zypper install zoom_openSUSE_x86_64.rpm
Flatpak instructions
The Zoom video conferencing software is on Flatpak! So, if you’re not using Arch Linux, Ubuntu, or any of the other Linux operating systems covered in this guide, this is the best way to get the app working. To start, be sure you have Flatpak enabled on Linux. Then, open up a terminal window with Ctrl + Alt + T or Ctrl + Shift + T and enter the commands below to install.
flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo flatpak install flathub us.zoom.Zoom
