# Firefox installation guide (Non snap)

**URL:** <https://discourse.ubuntubudgie.org/t/firefox-installation-guide-non-snap/5829>\
**Category:** General\
**Created:** [April 16, 2022, 1:14pm UTC](https://discourse.ubuntubudgie.org/t/firefox-installation-guide-non-snap/5829 "2022-04-16T13:14:59Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Basilcat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c2a13f/32.png) [@Basilcat](https://discourse.ubuntubudgie.org/u/Basilcat)\
**Post date:** [April 16, 2022, 1:14pm UTC](https://discourse.ubuntubudgie.org/t/firefox-installation-guide-non-snap/5829/1 "2022-04-16T13:14:59Z")

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In light of firefox becoming a snap, i have a tutorial on how to replace the snap version with the version from mozilla’s website.  
Note: This involves getting through a little bit of terminal, but we’ll just be copying and pasting commands here.

This also works with any ubuntu flavour.  
Precaution: Remove firefox snap before attempting. Here’s how.

1. in a terminal, type in sudo snap remvoe firefox. Enter your password and snap firefox will be removed!  
Now, we can proceed to installing firefox! 😄

2. Download the tar from the website.

3. Open a terminal and paste this command: cd ~/Downloads

4. Then extract the contents using this command: tar xjf firefox-\*.tar.bz2

5. Apply this command: sudo mv firefox /opt. You will be asked to enter your password.

6. Apply this command to make sure firefox is executable: sudo ln -s /opt/firefox/firefox /usr/local/bin/firefox

7. And last but not least apply this command: sudo wget [https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mozilla/sumo-kb/main/install-firefox-linux/firefox.desktop](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mozilla/sumo-kb/main/install-firefox-linux/firefox.desktop) -P /usr/local/share/applications

8. And your done 🙂

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**Author:** ![fossfreedom](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex035/user_avatar/discourse.ubuntubudgie.org/fossfreedom/32/1405_2.png) [@fossfreedom](https://discourse.ubuntubudgie.org/u/fossfreedom)\
**Post date:** [April 16, 2022, 1:18pm UTC](https://discourse.ubuntubudgie.org/t/firefox-installation-guide-non-snap/5829/2 "2022-04-16T13:18:54Z")

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You could also use the firefox extended support release version … easily installed via budgie-welcome - getting started - browser ballot

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**Author:** ![makitso](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex035/user_avatar/discourse.ubuntubudgie.org/makitso/32/4961_2.png) [@makitso](https://discourse.ubuntubudgie.org/u/makitso)\
**Post date:** [April 16, 2022, 3:36pm UTC](https://discourse.ubuntubudgie.org/t/firefox-installation-guide-non-snap/5829/3 "2022-04-16T15:36:27Z")

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I have tried both installs. IMO, if you want the latest FF version then the .deb is the answer. If you just want FF installed and can wait for the enterprise version to be updated then the version from budgie-welcome probably is best.

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**Author:** ![frenchy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b9e5f3/32.png) [@frenchy](https://discourse.ubuntubudgie.org/u/frenchy)\
**Post date:** [April 16, 2022, 4:15pm UTC](https://discourse.ubuntubudgie.org/t/firefox-installation-guide-non-snap/5829/4 "2022-04-16T16:15:50Z")

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> [@Basilcat](#):
>
> - Apply this command: sudo mv firefox /opt. You will be asked to enter your password.
> - Apply this command to make sure firefox is executable: sudo ln -s /opt/firefox/firefox /usr/local/bin/firefox

Thanks for this 🙂

The only problem with this method will be for updating firefox.  
You will need to give rights to your user on the directory /opt/firefox if you want firefox tu auto update or to install firefox in the home folder but then it will only be accessible only for you

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**Author:** ![Basilcat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c2a13f/32.png) [@Basilcat](https://discourse.ubuntubudgie.org/u/Basilcat)\
**Post date:** [April 16, 2022, 7:26pm UTC](https://discourse.ubuntubudgie.org/t/firefox-installation-guide-non-snap/5829/5 "2022-04-16T19:26:43Z")

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H’mm, will see if what i did will intefere with firefox updating as frenchy said.  
As you guys said that esr is best, I decided not to choose it because I like being current.  
I’ll check if firefox updates properly in a few days. 👍  
I’ll keep you posted.

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**Author:** ![Basilcat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c2a13f/32.png) [@Basilcat](https://discourse.ubuntubudgie.org/u/Basilcat)\
**Post date:** [April 18, 2022, 6:11am UTC](https://discourse.ubuntubudgie.org/t/firefox-installation-guide-non-snap/5829/6 "2022-04-18T06:11:43Z")

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In case you don’t depend on snap, here’s how to remove it completely.  
Again: Warning! This will remove budgie welcome. If you depend on it or any other snaps, don’t use the below commands.  
To remove snapd type in sudo apt remove snapd. Wait until snapd is removed.  
Then to prevent it from coming back type in: sudo apt-mark hold snapd

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**Author:** ![Basilcat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c2a13f/32.png) [@Basilcat](https://discourse.ubuntubudgie.org/u/Basilcat)\
**Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 8:59am UTC](https://discourse.ubuntubudgie.org/t/firefox-installation-guide-non-snap/5829/7 "2022-04-19T08:59:07Z")

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To be honest, my only problems with snaps is that they take long to launch at first boot and some firefox extensions don’t work.

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**Author:** ![Basilcat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c2a13f/32.png) [@Basilcat](https://discourse.ubuntubudgie.org/u/Basilcat)\
**Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 12:00pm UTC](https://discourse.ubuntubudgie.org/t/firefox-installation-guide-non-snap/5829/8 "2022-04-19T12:00:53Z")

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Remvoe is actually remove.

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**Author:** ![Coeur-Noir](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex035/user_avatar/discourse.ubuntubudgie.org/coeur-noir/32/4515_2.png) [@Coeur-Noir](https://discourse.ubuntubudgie.org/u/Coeur-Noir)\
**Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 11:39pm UTC](https://discourse.ubuntubudgie.org/t/firefox-installation-guide-non-snap/5829/9 "2022-04-19T23:39:14Z")

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> **[How to Remove Snap Apps & Block Them in Ubuntu 22.04 | UbuntuHandbook](https://ubuntuhandbook.org/index.php/2022/04/remove-snap-block-ubuntu-2204/)**

[https://www.simplified.guide/ubuntu/remove-snapd](https://www.simplified.guide/ubuntu/remove-snapd)

First is inspired by how Linux Mint did ; second stops snap service through systemd ( which sounds « safer » since systemd is responsible for snap « starting » if I understand correctly ).

> [@Basilcat](#):
>
> some firefox extensions don’t work.

No native host messaging in confined app’s for the moment but it might get fixed soon ( can’t find the source I read about it though… )  
Maybe :

> **[Native messaging support in strictly-confined browser snaps](https://forum.snapcraft.io/t/native-messaging-support-in-strictly-confined-browser-snaps/26849)**
>
> This topic was already discussed in various places (forum posts, bug reports), so this is an attempt to collate and synthesize information in order to facilitate discussion to unblock the situation. Native messaging is a mechanism implemented in...

> **[1734371 - Firefox snap can't load PKCS#11 modules on the host system](https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1734371)**
>
> NEW (nobody) in Firefox Build System - Third Party Packaging. Last updated 2023-11-25.

> **[Bug #1741074 “\[snap\] chrome-gnome-shell extension fails to detec...” : Bugs :...](https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/chromium-browser/+bug/1741074)**
>
> (initially reported at https://forum.snapcraft.io/t/chrome-gnome-shell-does-not-work-with-chromium-snap/3377)
> 
> See attached screenshot.
> 
> \[Workaround\]
> If you're using Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, you can install GNOME Shell extensions with this app.
> 
> sudo apt...

In one or hundred words : these are known problems for years.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Basilcat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c2a13f/32.png) [@Basilcat](https://discourse.ubuntubudgie.org/u/Basilcat)\
**Post date:** [April 20, 2022, 7:28am UTC](https://discourse.ubuntubudgie.org/t/firefox-installation-guide-non-snap/5829/10 "2022-04-20T07:28:04Z")

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Both flatpak Firefox and flatpak chromium theme worse than the snap package. Also, Mozilla kinda asked to make Firefox a snap, so it isn’t entirely Canonical’s fault. I don’t know why people are throwing a fit all of a sudden and saying they’re moving to another distro or something like that. It just shows how intolerant us linux users are.

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**Author:** ![Coeur-Noir](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex035/user_avatar/discourse.ubuntubudgie.org/coeur-noir/32/4515_2.png) [@Coeur-Noir](https://discourse.ubuntubudgie.org/u/Coeur-Noir)\
**Post date:** [April 20, 2022, 10:13am UTC](https://discourse.ubuntubudgie.org/t/firefox-installation-guide-non-snap/5829/11 "2022-04-20T10:13:12Z")

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Mmm… I did not talk here about the how and the why people eventually move away from snap or ×buntu.

Just pointed some sources for removing _snapd_ as _you_ had suggested an approximate method for doing it.

And explanations for broken extensions in Firefox, as _you_ mentioned the problem.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Basilcat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c2a13f/32.png) [@Basilcat](https://discourse.ubuntubudgie.org/u/Basilcat)\
**Post date:** [April 20, 2022, 11:18am UTC](https://discourse.ubuntubudgie.org/t/firefox-installation-guide-non-snap/5829/12 "2022-04-20T11:18:30Z")

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I was not saying you were whining or anything. I’m just confused why people move to a different distro. It’s just a web browser.

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**Author:** ![fossfreedom](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex035/user_avatar/discourse.ubuntubudgie.org/fossfreedom/32/1405_2.png) [@fossfreedom](https://discourse.ubuntubudgie.org/u/fossfreedom)\
**Post date:** [April 25, 2022, 7:28am UTC](https://discourse.ubuntubudgie.org/t/firefox-installation-guide-non-snap/5829/13 "2022-04-25T07:28:04Z")

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FYI reading on IRC the mozilla team who maintain the PPA that has jammy builds for both firefox and firefox-ESR have made it clear that the PPA is not a guaranteed permanent thing.

So whilst there is various reports on social media about how to install firefox from that PPA it may not be a medium/long term solution.

We will have to watch-and-see what decisions the mozilla team make.

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**Author:** ![Basilcat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c2a13f/32.png) [@Basilcat](https://discourse.ubuntubudgie.org/u/Basilcat)\
**Post date:** [April 25, 2022, 9:25am UTC](https://discourse.ubuntubudgie.org/t/firefox-installation-guide-non-snap/5829/14 "2022-04-25T09:25:21Z")

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The solution I posted is the best in my own opinion because it updates automatically and it opens faster than either snap or flatpak.

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**Author:** ![Coeur-Noir](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex035/user_avatar/discourse.ubuntubudgie.org/coeur-noir/32/4515_2.png) [@Coeur-Noir](https://discourse.ubuntubudgie.org/u/Coeur-Noir)\
**Post date:** [April 25, 2022, 12:43pm UTC](https://discourse.ubuntubudgie.org/t/firefox-installation-guide-non-snap/5829/15 "2022-04-25T12:43:59Z")

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Another solution is installing the Firefox .deb packaged by Linux Mint, from their repository.

But it’s maybe too soon for doing so in 22.04 since actual Mint version is 20.04 based - don’t know how it affects .deb packaging and needed dependencies though…

[https://mint.pkgs.org/20.3/mint-upstream-amd64/firefox\_99.0.1+linuxmint1+una\_amd64.deb.html](https://mint.pkgs.org/20.3/mint-upstream-amd64/firefox_99.0.1+linuxmint1+una_amd64.deb.html)

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**Author:** ![Piscatorius](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex035/user_avatar/discourse.ubuntubudgie.org/piscatorius/32/2648_2.png) [@Piscatorius](https://discourse.ubuntubudgie.org/u/Piscatorius)\
**Post date:** [April 25, 2022, 5:11pm UTC](https://discourse.ubuntubudgie.org/t/firefox-installation-guide-non-snap/5829/16 "2022-04-25T17:11:21Z")

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Another solution would be to try out the snap version of Firefox for yourself first, instead of blindly following the mostly negative coverage on Snap. This weekend I installed the new Ubuntu LTS release including the Firefox snap on my quite old laptop from 2009, and I can’t say anything bad about the snap Firefox so far. The first cold start of Firefox after installing the OS took a reasonable 10 seconds for me, and every subsequent start after that was much faster. On newer computers, it should be able to start even faster. The snap version of Firefox otherwise runs extremely smoothly and stable; I even dare to say that the snap version works better than the conventional .deb version. But of course, that’s just my personal experience.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Coeur-Noir](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex035/user_avatar/discourse.ubuntubudgie.org/coeur-noir/32/4515_2.png) [@Coeur-Noir](https://discourse.ubuntubudgie.org/u/Coeur-Noir)\
**Post date:** [April 26, 2022, 12:14am UTC](https://discourse.ubuntubudgie.org/t/firefox-installation-guide-non-snap/5829/17 "2022-04-26T00:14:47Z")

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Yes, that’s just your experience, in a « light » context.

If you’re into a multi-users context where most people rely on some addons/extensions that need Native Host Messaging, you just can’t use Firefox as a snap…

…and many addons/extensions need it, it’s not new, it’s not a surprise and it’s not limited to snap, flatpak suffers the same.

This will get fixed eventually but pretending it’s ready for mass adoption is deceptive.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Basilcat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c2a13f/32.png) [@Basilcat](https://discourse.ubuntubudgie.org/u/Basilcat)\
**Post date:** [April 26, 2022, 3:26pm UTC](https://discourse.ubuntubudgie.org/t/firefox-installation-guide-non-snap/5829/18 "2022-04-26T15:26:45Z")

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That’s true. I had to switch to the tar.gz firefox because of that. But if they fix the Native messaging protocol issue it, then i will use the snap again.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Basilcat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c2a13f/32.png) [@Basilcat](https://discourse.ubuntubudgie.org/u/Basilcat)\
**Post date:** [May 3, 2022, 2:52pm UTC](https://discourse.ubuntubudgie.org/t/firefox-installation-guide-non-snap/5829/19 "2022-05-03T14:52:00Z")

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Hmm @Frenchy. You seem to be wrong on firefox not being updated. Seems like my method is still fine.

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**Author:** ![frenchy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b9e5f3/32.png) [@frenchy](https://discourse.ubuntubudgie.org/u/frenchy)\
**Post date:** [May 3, 2022, 3:59pm UTC](https://discourse.ubuntubudgie.org/t/firefox-installation-guide-non-snap/5829/20 "2022-05-03T15:59:20Z")

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This is very good to know. Thanks for the feedback 🙂

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