Best Practices for Installing Google Chrome on Ubuntu

Getting Google Chrome properly installed on Ubuntu is an essential step if you’re setting up a Linux mini PC like mine. Whether you want to browse the web, manage Docker dashboards, or access web apps remotely using NoMachine, Chrome runs beautifully on Ubuntu — as long as it’s installed the right way.

When I first installed Chrome on my Ubuntu Mini PC, I did it manually using the .deb file downloaded from Google’s website. It worked fine at first, but later I learned there’s a better and more reliable approach that keeps Chrome automatically updated and properly integrated with Ubuntu’s package system.

🧹 Step 1: Uninstall Any Previous Manual Installation

If you’ve previously installed Chrome manually (like I did), it’s best to remove it before setting up the official version. Open your terminal and run:

sudo apt purge google-chrome-stable
sudo rm -rf /etc/apt/sources.list.d/google-chrome.list

This ensures you start clean without any conflicting entries or outdated packages.

🧠 Step 2: Add the Official Google Repository

Instead of manually downloading .deb files each time, you can add Google’s official apt repository. This allows Chrome to update automatically along with your system updates.

Run the following commands:

wget -q -O - https://dl.google.com/linux/linux_signing_key.pub | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/google-linux.gpg
echo "deb [arch=amd64 signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/google-linux.gpg] http://dl.google.com/linux/chrome/deb/ stable main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/google-chrome.list
sudo apt update
sudo apt install google-chrome-stable

✅ Benefits of this approach:

Always get official, signed, and secure updates.
Chrome automatically upgrades with sudo apt upgrade.
No need to manually re-download installers again.

🧩 Step 3: Choose the Right Chrome Version

You can install different Chrome builds depending on your needs:

Stable: sudo apt install google-chrome-stable ← Recommended
Beta: sudo apt install google-chrome-beta
Unstable (Dev): sudo apt install google-chrome-unstable

For most setups — especially on mini PCs or production machines — stick with the stable version.

🧱 Step 4: Run Chrome Securely

Never run Chrome as root. Always launch it as your regular user (johnny in my case):

google-chrome

Chrome’s built-in sandbox enhances security — don’t disable it unless absolutely necessary.

🔁 Step 5: Keep Chrome Updated

You can check for available updates at any time:

sudo apt list --upgradable | grep chrome

Or just update all packages with:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

Chrome updates automatically as part of your regular Ubuntu maintenance.

⚡ Step 6: Lighten Chrome for Mini PCs

If you want Chrome to be faster and lighter (especially on low-power hardware), you can start it with the following flags:

google-chrome --disable-background-mode --disable-sync --disable-extensions --no-default-browser-check

This minimizes RAM usage and background processes.

✅ Step 7: Verify the Installation

Check that Chrome is installed correctly:

google-chrome --version

You should see something like:

Google Chrome 130.0.6723.116

🧭 Final Thoughts

Installing Google Chrome using the official repository is the cleanest, most secure, and most future-proof method for Ubuntu systems — especially for a Mini PC setup like mine.

This ensures Chrome stays automatically updated, plays nicely with Ubuntu’s package manager, and remains stable over time.

If you’re new to Linux (like I was not long ago), don’t worry — once you start using apt repositories and package keys, everything feels much more seamless!

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