How to try out Microsoft Edge on Linux before release
Microsoft has finally released the Edge browser on Linux. Only, there’s a catch. It’s the “development” version and is very buggy and unstable. Still, it’s exciting to see Microsoft programs and apps land on the Linux platform.
If you’re dying to try out the new Microsoft Edge on your Linux PC, we can help! Follow along with the instructions below as we go over how to install Microsoft Edge for Linux!
Ubuntu installation instructions
sudo apt install curl
After installing the Curl app, use it to grab the Microsoft Edge Dev GPG key. This key is needed to enable the repo on Ubuntu, and it will not work without it.
curl https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc | gpg --dearmor > microsoft.gpg sudo apt-key add microsoft.gpg
After downloading the GPG key to your computer, you need to add the Microsoft Edge Dev software repository to your sources list. There are a few ways to add repos. The fastest and the least convoluted way to do it is to make use of the add-apt-repository command.
sudo add-apt-repository 'deb [arch=amd64] https://packages.microsoft.com/repos/edge stable main'
Once the software repository is added to your Ubuntu PC, you’ll need to refresh Ubuntu’s software sources. The reason software sources must be updated is that Ubuntu will not be able to install Edge without it. To refresh software sources, run apt update.
sudo apt update
Following refreshing Ubuntu’s software sources, it is finally time to install Microsoft Edge Dev for Linux. Using the apt install command below, get Edge working.
sudo apt install microsoft-edge-dev
Debian installation instructions
Microsoft released a DEB package for Ubuntu/Debian users to install their Edge DEV browser’s latest release on Linux. However, the downloadable DEB package isn’t great if you want to receive regular updates. Thankfully, there’s a software repo that works on Debian. Here’s how to set it up.
First, you must download the GPG key for the Edge repo. Ensure you have the Curl app set up on your PC. Then, run the following curl command below to get the Microsoft Edge key.
curl https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc | gpg --dearmor > microsoft.gpg
Next, enable the key on your Debian Linux system using the following command.
sudo install -o root -g root -m 644 microsoft.gpg /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/
With the GPG key enabled, it is time to add the Microsoft Edge Dev official software repository to Debian. There are a few ways to do this. However, for best results, we’re going to use the add-apt-repository command. It’s quick and easy.
sudo add-apt-repository 'deb [arch=amd64] https://packages.microsoft.com/repos/edge stable main'
After adding the Microsoft Edge Dev official software repository to your system, it is time to update software sources. Using the apt-get update command, refresh Debian.
sudo apt-get update
With everything up to date, it is time to install the latest build of Microsoft Edge Dev on your Debian system. Using the apt install command below, get the app working.
sudo apt-get install microsoft-edge-dev
Arch Linux installation instructions
On Arch Linux, Edge doesn’t have an official release package. However, that won’t stop Arch Linux users, as there is already a Microsoft Edge browser package in the AUR. To start the installation, use the Pacman command to install the “Git” and “Base-devel” packages.
sudo pacman -S base-devel git
After installing the “Git” and “Base-devel” packages on your computer, use the git clone command to download the Trizen AUR helper. This program makes installing AUR packages much more manageable than by hand, and it will aid in setting up Edge on Arch.
git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/trizen.git cd trizen
Using the makepkg command, install Trizen on your Arch Linux system.
makepkg -sri
Finally, use the trizen -S command to install the latest release of the Microsoft Edge Dev browser on Linux.
trizen -S microsoft-edge-dev-bin
Fedora installation instructions
On Fedora Linux, you’ll be able to get Microsoft Edge working, but you’ll need to do it with the official Microsoft Fedora repo, as there isn’t an RPM floating around (that we know of).
To start the installation, import the Microsoft repo key. This repo key is required to use the Edge repo, and it won’t work without it.
sudo rpm --import https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc
After importing the key to your Fedora machine, you need to import the software repo itself. To do that, execute the following commands in a terminal window.
sudo dnf config-manager --add-repo https://packages.microsoft.com/yumrepos/edge
sudo mv /etc/yum.repos.d/packages.microsoft.com_yumrepos_edge.repo /etc/yum.repos.d/microsoft-edge-dev.repo
Now that the Microsoft Edge software repo is set up on your Fedora Linux PC, the installation of Microsoft Edge for Fedora Linux can begin. Using the dnf install command, get Microsoft Edge installed.
sudo dnf install microsoft-edge-dev
OpenSUSE installation instructions
The Microsoft Edge Dev browser is supported on OpenSUSE through the same software repository as Fedora is. To enable it, you must first add the RPM key, which is required to install Edge. Using the rpm command, add the key.
sudo rpm --import https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc
After adding the repo key to your OpenSUSE system, you’ll need to add the Microsoft software repo. To do that, execute the following zypper command.
sudo zypper ar https://packages.microsoft.com/yumrepos/edge microsoft-edge-dev
Next, the software sources for OpenSUSE must be refreshed. To do a refresh, run the zypper refresh command.
sudo zypper refresh
Finally, install the Microsoft Edge Dev browser on OpenSUSE using the following zypper install command.
sudo zypper install microsoft-edge-dev
