Installing Chromium Browser in Zorin

General Help
1

There seems to be no straightforward way to install Chromium browser in Zorin.

I tried the code from GitHub below >

https://github.com/scheib/chromium-latest-linux.git

but Terminal says No : X

2

It's over 9 years old. A lot of water have passed through the bridge in the Linux world. That said, don't run random scripts from an unknown person, it's a high security risk.

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3

I've been using Chromium for years without any security issues
(that's in XP of course).

This is the browser I use as default, so I want to install it in Zorin.
Is it the Terminal code that is outdated?

4

You can just install chromium from software store.

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5

The security risks @Storm is referring to are not related to Chromium, but to running scripts from unknown or untrusted sources. This advice applies to any operating system, not just Linux.
I've looked at the Chromium page and it seems that it redirects to that repository you shared, which is baffling since it's been 9 years without any modifications... I wouldn't use that, personally.

There are a few options you can choose from to install Chromium browser:

  1. Through the Software Store, search for "chromium browser" and install that. It will be installed as a so-called Flatpak package, which has it's own pros and cons, but it's the easiest way to go.

  2. Add an external repository source and install the native Debian package version from there. The reason you'd have to go this route is because the default repositories include a rather old build of Chromium (Version 81, while current is 132).

    In a terminal, run:

    sudo add-apt-repository ppa:xtradeb/apps
sudo apt update
sudo apt install chromium

    Note that by doing this you are trusting a third party that provides this package, so the same advice as before applies. In this case, I've looked at a and seems pretty popular, which is always a good sign. You can learn more about them here:

    About – XtraDeb

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6

It worked.. Many Thanks!

I prefer Chromium (which is also open source) over Firefox.
however, I do appreciate the security advice -- cheers!

7

I decided to test this...
And had an unusual result.
When installing Chromium, it also tried to install snapd.
And while several packages are labeled as and install as .deb packages, it then, without notice or warning... Converts them to Snap Packages.

To me, it really looks as though it is a means of, without notifying the user, reasserting Snapd and switching users to it.
I find this exceptionally misleading. The deliberate naming of it as xtraDEB and that nowhere, Not in the About page, not in the description, not in the Product Details, does it disclose that it is doing the old Bait And Switch on the package format.

But it makes sense that it would if it is claiming to bring later packages.
This type of Microsoft or Google style deceptive practices should be given no quarter on GnuLinux.

Used nuclear warheads to wipe all traces of that repository from my machine.

8

That is bad!

I thought Chromium is or was a standard app on ZorinOS. Has that changed to just "was".

9

Looking again at this, there's a mistake in the names of the packages...

The default repositories have chromium-browser at version 0.85 which is a transactional package that will install the Snap version. This is explained in the description of the package:

Package: chromium-browser
Version: 1:85.0.4183.83-0ubuntu2.22.04.1
[...]
Pre-Depends: debconf, snapd
Description: Transitional package - chromium-browser -> chromium snap
This is a transitional dummy package. It can safely be removed.

chromium-browser is now replaced by the chromium snap.

I was aware of this when I wrote my reply but I thought that the PPA would take precedence and this wouldn't be an issue. You even get a message during the installation, though it's hard to spot if not looking at the terminal output:

=> Installing the chromium snap
==> Checking connectivity with the snap store
==> Installing the chromium snap

However, the new package has a slight different name, chromium, which I neglected to double check (I didn't expect it, either). This package will install Chromium Browser at version 1.32 from the PPA.

So, I need to edit my reply above to avoid confusion... Although I agree that the Snap package format is quite misleading. For example, I thought that the version installed would be 0.85 but after installing it myself, this does indeed install the latest one as well, only as a Snap.

@Zygoth, apologies for the confusion, you'll need to run a couple of commands to undo this mistake and install the proper version of Chromium.

snap remove chromium-browser
sudo apt install chromium

Interestingly, I need to enter my password when removing Snap packages, unlike with Flatpak. I didn't know that.

For reference, the Snap package format is similar to Flatpak in many regards. Again, pros and cons for each of them, but that's a topic for another day. This will install the latest version of Chromium using the native package format used by Zorin OS.

If you want to double check this time, you can run apt show chromium and check the source from the line:

APT-Sources: Index of /xtradeb/apps/ubuntu jammy/main amd64 Packages

10

It does say so in the terminal. That was how I knew, as well.

It does not say so on the page or in the About.
Let's be realistic, most users do not watch the terminal as I do.

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11

That's how I found out as well, I installed at first because I thought that would be enough, and then I saw those lines. That's the only reason I tried looking for another way, but I didn't expect the name to change.

But I agree, it's sneaky and misleading. I like Flatpak much better than Snaps!

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12

You are not alone in this.

They also have a large gathering of packages - Pinta, Gparted, Intelli-J... all things I have installed. I was very glad I was watching before i ran the Upgrader...

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13

Chromium is all sorted now -- thanks zenzen !

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