Firefox is a well-known web browser that is included by default in the full Ubuntu 24.04 installation. The most recent version of Firefox includes better security, private browsing, and tracker blocking (social platform trackers and cookies). Meeting the demands of the technological revolution, Firefox possesses a killer interface and an insane browsing speed that optimizes the user experience.
The uniqueness and speed in quality browsing have deemed Firefox to be the default browser in Ubuntu 24.04. But if you installed the minimal system, you may not always have Firefox.
This post will describe a way to install Firefox on Ubuntu 24.04 (if not installed already), as follows:
Table of Contents
4 Ways to Install Firefox on Ubuntu 24.04
Firefox can be found in the Snap Store, the Flatpak Store, the PPA Repository, and the binaries from the official sources. Let’s start with the Snap method:
How to Install Firefox Using the Snap?
On Ubuntu 24.04, if snap is enabled, the CLI (terminal) and GUI (Ubuntu Software Centre) are available. First, the CLI way we have seen:
Using CLI Support of Snap
Install support for snaps (i.e., snapd) and the low-level (i.e., snap core) requirements for snaps on the system:
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sudo apt install snapd && sudo snap install core |
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Now that you have snapd up and running, install Firefox with the command:
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sudo snap install firefox |
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Check which version of Firefox got installed by running:
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firefox –version |
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You can now check the installation by typing the following command, which will open Firefox:
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firefox |
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Bonus Tip: How to Install Firefox Snap Using apt?
Firefox default repo support is now part of the apt, and the Firefox package name is referred to as “firefox”. So you can install Firefox Snap from apt using the following command:
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sudo apt install firefox |
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Using the GUI Support of Snap
Go to the Ubuntu Software Center and look for the Firefox application. Click on the Firefox in your search results:
Now, click the install button:
If authenticated, the Firefox browser will be installed.
How to Install Firefox Using Flatpak?
Flatpak is a package management system that is similar to Snap or apt, but with no dependency issues, and tens of applications can be run Linux-wide. Flatpak applications are somewhat more controlled, stable, and I recommend them instead of Snaps. Let’s look at how to install Firefox using Flatpak.
For starters, you must install the support for the utility flatpak with the command:
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sudo apt install flatpak |
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Flatpak apps are downloaded/installed through the flathub repo. So add (if it doesn’t exist yet) the remote support of the falthub repository (before the app’s installation):
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sudo flatpak remote-add –if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo |
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When finished, run the following command to install Firefox:
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flatpak install flathub org.mozilla.firefox |
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To start the installed Firefox via flaktpak, run the following:
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flatpak run org.mozilla.firefox |
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How to Install Firefox Using the PPA?
PPA (Personal Package Archive) is also a repository where you can install software on Ubuntu. PPAs are hosted by the community and are maintained by individuals, where PPAs typically house the packages’ latest release, which has not yet been pushed to the default repository. Now firefox is also available from PPA. Let’s follow the commands below to install:
Step 1: Add the mozillateam PPA
First of all, add the mozillateam PPA to the apt source list by running below command:
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sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mozillateam/ppa |
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Step 2: Set the Preference for the apt
Paste the following into the “preferences. d” file, which will permit apt to load the package added with ppa (otherwise, the installation you want to perform will not take place):
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echo ‘ |
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Step 3: Install Firefox
Run the following command to refresh the packages list and install Firefox:
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sudo apt update && sudo apt install firefox |
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The above output means the installed version for Firefox is already updated than the one that can be installed using this PPA. The new PPA also includes a different Firefox ESR. If you’d like to install that one, prefer the firefox-esr’ keyword instead of firefox’.
Use the following command to start it:
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firefox |
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Or start Firefox from the applications menu in Ubuntu 24.04.
How to Install Firefox Using the Mozilla Builds (Firefox Tarball)?
Mozilla’s official website is offering its own tarball with Firefox. The tarball includes the Firefox binary, so it is possible to run/firefox from the download directory. Let’s do it:
Step 1: Download the TAR File
Now, visit “Firefox For Linux Page” and click on the download button to download:
Or you could use the terminal to download the file: This previous command would store the file in your home directory with the name “firefox. Tar. bz2”):
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wget -O ~/firefox.tar.bz2 “https://download.mozilla.org/?product=firefox-latest&os=linux64” |
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Step 2: Extract the Downloaded File
Once inside the directory, run the following “tar” command to unpack the binaries (substitute the actual name of the file for “firefox”):
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sudo tar xjf ~/firefox.tar.bz2 -C /opt/ |
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Step 3: Move the Current Firefox Executable/Create a Backup
To use Firefox as installed from binaries, move somewhere in your system (you can also just symlink these files). This will eventually back up Firefox’s executable (for you to be able to re-launch Firefox in case anything goes wrong).
The following command moves the current Firefox executable to a file with a “_bck” suffix:
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sudo mv /usr/bin/firefox /usr/bin/firefox_bck |
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To obtain the path of the Firefox executable, you can run the following command:
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which firefox |
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Step 4: Create a Symbolic Link
Create a symbolic link of the “executable that was placed in the extracted directory” in the /usr/bin/ directory so that the system can start knowing the new Firefox:
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sudo ln -s /opt/firefox/firefox /usr/bin/ |
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And here’s the Firefox:
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firefox |
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How to Remove Firefox From Ubuntu 24.04?
As mentioned, you can get Firefox from lots of places. So, the uninstallation process is dictated by how you installed Firefox, and they are as follows:
If Installed Using snap
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sudo snap remove firefox |
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Please note that the Firefox snap package is not merged with the apt snap package. So, the answer is that Firefox from the snap store can be uninstalled with the apt command:
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sudo apt autoremove firefox |
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If you want to remove Firefox using the GUI, you can search for Firefox in the menu. Click on it, then click the Uninstall/Remove button to remove it.
If Installed Using PPA
Uninstall Firefox with:
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sudo apt autoremove firefox |
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Then you can also get rid of the Mozillateam PPA from your system:
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sudo add-apt-repository –remove ppa:mozillateam/ppa |
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If Installed Using Flatpak
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flatpak uninstall org.mozilla.firefox |
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If Installed Using Binaries
You need to delete the directory in which you have extracted the “tar. bz2” file:
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sudo rm -r /opt/firefox |
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Then you can copy the backup file (specifying the location that you copied it to) back to its original location as follows:
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sudo mv /usr/bin/firefox_bck /usr/bin/firefox |
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That’s how easily you can install the Firefox browser in Ubuntu 24.04.
Conclusion
The Firefox browser is fast; it loads web pages quickly, and you can visit any site you want to. It also makes your browsing experience faster since it is light, you have access to a lot of features, such as tracking control /tracking block, and so on. It’s also why the full edition of Ubuntu 24.04 includes it by default.
Here are some proven ways to install Firefox. You can opt for the snap, the flatpak, PPA, or Firefox binaries. In addition to installation, updating/removal instructions are provided too.
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