How to Install Firefox on RHEL and Debian Systems

Ravi SaiveMarch 15, 2023 Web Browsers 57 Comments

In most modern Linux distributions, the latest version of Firefox has been already installed from the default distribution package manager and configured as the default browser.

In this article, we will explain other ways of installing the latest version of Firefox on RHEL-based distributions such as CentOS Stream, Fedora, Rocky, and AlmaLinux and Debian-based distributions such as Ubuntu and Linux Mint.

Table of Contents

1. Install Firefox Using Package Manager

To install Firefox on your Linux distribution using the default package manager, run:

$ sudo apt install firefox           [On Debian, Ubuntu and Mint]
$ sudo yum install firefox           [On RHEL/CentOS/Fedora and Rocky/AlmaLinux]
$ sudo emerge -a www-client/firefox  [On Gentoo Linux]
$ sudo apk add firefox               [On Alpine Linux]
$ sudo pacman -S firefox             [On Arch Linux]
$ sudo zypper install firefox        [On OpenSUSE]

The above installation method is recommended because it assures that Firefox and along with the needed libraries are installed and configured on your distributions.

However, there might be a little delay between the release of the latest Firefox version and the moment when your distribution updates the new version of Firefox is available to install from the default repositories.

2. Install Firefox Using Flatpak

To install the new Firefox version, you need to first install and configure Flatpak on your Linux distribution. Once Flatpak is installed, navigate to Firefox Flathub’s page and hit the Install button to install it.

Alternatively, you can type the following command to install Firefox in a terminal:

# flatpak install flathub org.mozilla.firefox

3. Install Firefox Using Snap

To install Firefox from Snap, first, you need to install Snap on your distribution. Once Snap is installed, navigate to the Firefox Snapcraft’s Store page, and hit the Install button to follow the instructions.

Alternatively, you can run the following command to install Firefox in a terminal:

# sudo snap install firefox

4. Install Firefox from Source in Linux

To install Firefox from the source tarball, you must log in as a root user or have sudo privileges to execute sudo commands on the system.

Open any web browser and visit the official Firefox download page and click on the Download Now button.

Next, open a terminal and go to the Downloads directory, where you have downloaded Firefox, and install it as shown.

# cd ~/Downloads
# tar xjf firefox-*.tar.bz2
# mv firefox /opt
# ln -s /opt/firefox/firefox /usr/local/bin/firefox
# wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mozilla/sumo-kb/main/install-firefox-linux/firefox.desktop -P /usr/local/share/applications

To verify that Firefox has been successfully installed, open the Troubleshooting Information page. In the Application Basics window, the value of Application Binary should be /opt/firefox/firefox-bin.

Uninstall Firefox from Linux System

If you have installed Firefox from the default distro-based package manager, you should run:

$ sudo apt purge firefox            [On Debian, Ubuntu and Mint]
$ sudo yum remove firefox           [On RHEL/CentOS/Fedora and Rocky/AlmaLinux]
$ sudo emerge --deselect firefox    [On Gentoo Linux]
$ sudo apk del firefox              [On Alpine Linux]
$ sudo pacman -R firefox            [On Arch Linux]
$ sudo zypper remove firefox        [On OpenSUSE]

If you have installed Firefox using Flatpack or Snap, run:

# flatpak uninstall flathub org.mozilla.firefox
OR
# snap remove firefox

If you have installed Firefox from the source binary package, simply remove the folder firefox in your home directory to uninstall Firefox.

# rm -rf /opt/firefox/firefox
# rm -rf /usr/local/share/applications/firefox.desktop
# rm -rf /home/user/.mozilla/

The above commands will remove Firefox along with the user data such as bookmarks, passwords, and cookies.

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57 thoughts on “How to Install Firefox on RHEL and Debian Systems”

Gaurav

May 6, 2014 at 11:03 am

the command
sudo yum –enablerepo=remi list firefox

displays version 26 as the latest.

Firefox v29 isn’t listed in that list.

Does anyone faced this issue.?
Reply
- Ravi Saive
  
  May 6, 2014 at 3:44 pm
  
  On Which OS version you’ve tried?
  Reply
  - Bla
    
    May 6, 2014 at 6:16 pm
    
    I have the same issue on Fedora 16.
    Reply
    - Ravi Saive
      
      May 7, 2014 at 12:10 pm
      
      I think, newer version of Firefox is not available for older Fedora versions via repositories. So, better install it from source using following commands.
      
      # cd /usr/local # wget http://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/firefox/releases/29.0/linux-i686/en-US/firefox-29.0.tar.bz2 [For 32-Bit] # wget http://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/firefox/releases/29.0/linux-x86_64/en-US/firefox-29.0.tar.bz2 [For 64-Bit] # tar xvjf firefox-29.0.tar.bz2 # ln -s /usr/local/firefox/firefox /usr/bin/firefox # firefox
      Reply
      - Rex
        
        August 8, 2014 at 12:24 am
        
        Ravi,
        
        This wget then tar procedure works on my RHEL 6.5 (Santiago Kernel 2.6.32-431.el6.x86_64).
        
        I first went to check out the desired version of firefox (which is firefox-17.0.11esr.tar.bz2) over here –
        http://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/firefox/releases/latest-17.0esr/linux-x86_64/en-US/
        
        Then downloaded, unzipped and kicked it off as you mentioned above.
        # wget http://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/firefox/releases/latest-17.0esr/linux-x86_64/en-US/firefox-17.0.11esr.tar.bz2
        # tar xvjf firefox-17.0.11esr.tar.bz2
        
        # ln -s /usr/local/firefox/firefox /usr/bin/firefox
        # firefox&
        
        I now can enjoy Firefox.
        
        Great post.
        
        Cheers,
        Rex
royt

April 30, 2014 at 6:54 pm

The latest version of firefox in the remi repository is Firefox 26.0-2.

Otherwise a good and succinct article
Reply
shojib

March 27, 2014 at 1:31 am

Hi ,
I have successfully installed firefox on my vps
but when I open it , it says “No display specified”
Any solution on it?
Reply
- Ravi Saive
  
  March 27, 2014 at 12:44 pm
  First, you must have X server installed such as Gnome, KDE or XFCE or whatever you like. And then set the display variable as shown below.
```
# export DISPLAY=:0
```
  Now, run the firefox command again from the terminal.
  Reply
tuhin

February 2, 2014 at 6:21 pm

Error: Package: xulrunner-last-26.0-2.el6.remi.i686 (remi)
Requires: libssl3.so(NSS_3.13)
Available: xulrunner-last-26.0-1.el6.remi.i686 (remi)
libssl3.so(NSS_3.13)
Error: Package: xulrunner-last-26.0-2.el6.remi.i686 (remi)
Requires: libssl3.so(NSS_3.13.2)
Available: xulrunner-last-26.0-1.el6.remi.i686 (remi)
libssl3.so(NSS_3.13.2)
Error: Package: xulrunner-last-26.0-2.el6.remi.i686 (remi)
Requires: libsmime3.so(NSS_3.15)
Available: xulrunner-last-26.0-1.el6.remi.i686 (remi)
libsmime3.so(NSS_3.15)
Error: Package: xulrunner-last-26.0-2.el6.remi.i686 (remi)
Requires: libnss3.so(NSS_3.13)
Available: xulrunner-last-26.0-1.el6.remi.i686 (remi)
libnss3.so(NSS_3.13)
Error: Package: xulrunner-last-26.0-2.el6.remi.i686 (remi)
Requires: libz.so.1(ZLIB_1.2.0)
Error: Package: xulrunner-last-26.0-2.el6.remi.i686 (remi)
Requires: libsmime3.so(NSS_3.13)
Available: xulrunner-last-26.0-1.el6.remi.i686 (remi)
libsmime3.so(NSS_3.13)
Error: Package: xulrunner-last-26.0-2.el6.remi.i686 (remi)
Requires: nspr >= 4.10.2
Installed: nspr-4.8.6-1.el6.i686 (@anaconda-RedHatEnterpriseLinux-201009221732.i386/6.0)
nspr = 4.8.6-1.el6
Error: Package: xulrunner-last-26.0-2.el6.remi.i686 (remi)
Requires: libnss3.so(NSS_3.12.9)
Available: xulrunner-last-26.0-1.el6.remi.i686 (remi)
libnss3.so(NSS_3.12.9)
Error: Package: xulrunner-last-26.0-2.el6.remi.i686 (remi)
Requires: libjpeg.so.62(LIBJPEG_6.2)
Error: Package: xulrunner-last-26.0-2.el6.remi.i686 (remi)
Requires: libnssutil3.so(NSSUTIL_3.13)
Available: xulrunner-last-26.0-1.el6.remi.i686 (remi)
libnssutil3.so(NSSUTIL_3.13)
Error: Package: xulrunner-last-26.0-2.el6.remi.i686 (remi)
Requires: libssl3.so(NSS_3.15)
Available: xulrunner-last-26.0-1.el6.remi.i686 (remi)
libssl3.so(NSS_3.15)
Error: Package: xulrunner-last-26.0-2.el6.remi.i686 (remi)
Requires: nss >= 3.15.3
Installed: nss-3.12.7-2.el6.i686 (@anaconda-RedHatEnterpriseLinux-201009221732.i386/6.0)
nss = 3.12.7-2.el6
Error: Package: xulrunner-last-26.0-2.el6.remi.i686 (remi)
Requires: libssl3.so(NSS_3.14)
Available: xulrunner-last-26.0-1.el6.remi.i686 (remi)
libssl3.so(NSS_3.14)
You could try using –skip-broken to work around the problem
You could try running: rpm -Va –nofiles –nodigest
Reply
ravinder

January 5, 2014 at 8:32 pm

i am not able to install IE 7 or add plugins to support IE7 on REDHAT Linux 5,Could you please let me know the proper plugin to support internect explorer 7 or 8.

I am new to work in Linux,please suggest process as well….Thanks.

Thanks,
Srinivas.
Reply
- Ravi Saive
  
  January 6, 2014 at 3:50 pm
  
  Please install wine application to install Windows software’s on Linux. User our search bar to search for Wine.
  Reply
kkk

December 29, 2013 at 4:54 am

hi iam using RHEL 6.0 and getting the fallowing error please let me know what to do ?

yum –enablerepo=remi install firefox
Loaded plugins: refresh-packagekit, rhnplugin
This system is not registered with RHN.
RHN support will be disabled.
[[email protected] Desktop]# yum –enablerepo=remi install firefox
Loaded plugins: refresh-packagekit, rhnplugin
This system is not registered with RHN.
RHN support will be disabled.
[[email protected] Desktop]# yum –enablerepo=remi install firefox
Loaded plugins: refresh-packagekit, rhnplugin
This system is not registered with RHN.
RHN support will be disabled.
Setting up Install Process
Resolving Dependencies
–> Running transaction check
—> Package firefox.x86_64 0:26.0-2.el6.remi set to be updated
–> Processing Dependency: xulrunner-last(x86-64) >= 26.0-2 for package: firefox-26.0-2.el6.remi.x86_64
–> Processing Dependency: system-bookmarks for package: firefox-26.0-2.el6.remi.x86_64
–> Processing Dependency: libxul.so(xul26)(64bit) for package: firefox-26.0-2.el6.remi.x86_64
–> Processing Dependency: libmozalloc.so()(64bit) for package: firefox-26.0-2.el6.remi.x86_64
–> Running transaction check
—> Package astronomy-bookmarks.noarch 0:1-6.el6 set to be updated
—> Package xulrunner-last.x86_64 0:26.0-2.el6.remi set to be updated
–> Processing Dependency: nss >= 3.15.3 for package: xulrunner-last-26.0-2.el6.remi.x86_64
–> Processing Dependency: nspr >= 4.10.2 for package: xulrunner-last-26.0-2.el6.remi.x86_64
–> Processing Dependency: libz.so.1(ZLIB_1.2.0)(64bit) for package: xulrunner-last-26.0-2.el6.remi.x86_64
–> Processing Dependency: libssl3.so(NSS_3.15)(64bit) for package: xulrunner-last-26.0-2.el6.remi.x86_64
–> Processing Dependency: libssl3.so(NSS_3.14)(64bit) for package: xulrunner-last-26.0-2.el6.remi.x86_64
–> Processing Dependency: libssl3.so(NSS_3.13.2)(64bit) for package: xulrunner-last-26.0-2.el6.remi.x86_64
–> Processing Dependency: libssl3.so(NSS_3.13)(64bit) for package: xulrunner-last-26.0-2.el6.remi.x86_64
–> Processing Dependency: libsmime3.so(NSS_3.15)(64bit) for package: xulrunner-last-26.0-2.el6.remi.x86_64
–> Processing Dependency: libsmime3.so(NSS_3.13)(64bit) for package: xulrunner-last-26.0-2.el6.remi.x86_64
–> Processing Dependency: libnssutil3.so(NSSUTIL_3.13)(64bit) for package: xulrunner-last-26.0-2.el6.remi.x86_64
–> Processing Dependency: libnss3.so(NSS_3.13)(64bit) for package: xulrunner-last-26.0-2.el6.remi.x86_64
–> Processing Dependency: libnss3.so(NSS_3.12.9)(64bit) for package: xulrunner-last-26.0-2.el6.remi.x86_64
–> Processing Dependency: libjpeg.so.62(LIBJPEG_6.2)(64bit) for package: xulrunner-last-26.0-2.el6.remi.x86_64
–> Finished Dependency Resolution
Error: Package: xulrunner-last-26.0-2.el6.remi.x86_64 (remi)
Requires: libsmime3.so(NSS_3.15)(64bit)
Available: xulrunner-last-26.0-1.el6.remi.x86_64 (remi)
libsmime3.so(NSS_3.15)(64bit)
Error: Package: xulrunner-last-26.0-2.el6.remi.x86_64 (remi)
Requires: libnss3.so(NSS_3.12.9)(64bit)
Available: xulrunner-last-26.0-1.el6.remi.x86_64 (remi)
libnss3.so(NSS_3.12.9)(64bit)
Error: Package: xulrunner-last-26.0-2.el6.remi.x86_64 (remi)
Requires: libnssutil3.so(NSSUTIL_3.13)(64bit)
Available: xulrunner-last-26.0-1.el6.remi.x86_64 (remi)
libnssutil3.so(NSSUTIL_3.13)(64bit)
Error: Package: xulrunner-last-26.0-2.el6.remi.x86_64 (remi)
Requires: libssl3.so(NSS_3.13)(64bit)
Available: xulrunner-last-26.0-1.el6.remi.x86_64 (remi)
libssl3.so(NSS_3.13)(64bit)
Error: Package: xulrunner-last-26.0-2.el6.remi.x86_64 (remi)
Requires: libssl3.so(NSS_3.15)(64bit)
Available: xulrunner-last-26.0-1.el6.remi.x86_64 (remi)
libssl3.so(NSS_3.15)(64bit)
Error: Package: xulrunner-last-26.0-2.el6.remi.x86_64 (remi)
Requires: nss >= 3.15.3
Installed: nss-3.12.7-2.el6.x86_64 (@anaconda-RedHatEnterpriseLinux-201009221801.x86_64/6.0)
nss = 3.12.7-2.el6
Error: Package: xulrunner-last-26.0-2.el6.remi.x86_64 (remi)
Requires: libsmime3.so(NSS_3.13)(64bit)
Available: xulrunner-last-26.0-1.el6.remi.x86_64 (remi)
libsmime3.so(NSS_3.13)(64bit)
Error: Package: xulrunner-last-26.0-2.el6.remi.x86_64 (remi)
Requires: libssl3.so(NSS_3.14)(64bit)
Available: xulrunner-last-26.0-1.el6.remi.x86_64 (remi)
libssl3.so(NSS_3.14)(64bit)
Error: Package: xulrunner-last-26.0-2.el6.remi.x86_64 (remi)
Requires: libnss3.so(NSS_3.13)(64bit)
Available: xulrunner-last-26.0-1.el6.remi.x86_64 (remi)
libnss3.so(NSS_3.13)(64bit)
Error: Package: xulrunner-last-26.0-2.el6.remi.x86_64 (remi)
Requires: libjpeg.so.62(LIBJPEG_6.2)(64bit)
Error: Package: xulrunner-last-26.0-2.el6.remi.x86_64 (remi)
Requires: nspr >= 4.10.2
Installed: nspr-4.8.6-1.el6.x86_64 (@anaconda-RedHatEnterpriseLinux-201009221801.x86_64/6.0)
nspr = 4.8.6-1.el6
Error: Package: xulrunner-last-26.0-2.el6.remi.x86_64 (remi)
Requires: libssl3.so(NSS_3.13.2)(64bit)
Available: xulrunner-last-26.0-1.el6.remi.x86_64 (remi)
libssl3.so(NSS_3.13.2)(64bit)
Error: Package: xulrunner-last-26.0-2.el6.remi.x86_64 (remi)
Requires: libz.so.1(ZLIB_1.2.0)(64bit)
You could try using –skip-broken to work around the problem
You could try running: rpm -Va –nofiles –nodigest
Reply
manoj

December 26, 2013 at 1:51 pm

Following error

Error: Package: xulrunner-last-26.0-2.el6.remi.i686 (remi)
Requires: libssl3.so(NSS_3.13)
Available: xulrunner-last-26.0-1.el6.remi.i686 (remi)
libssl3.so(NSS_3.13)
Error: Package: xulrunner-last-26.0-2.el6.remi.i686 (remi)
Requires: libssl3.so(NSS_3.13.2)
Available: xulrunner-last-26.0-1.el6.remi.i686 (remi)
libssl3.so(NSS_3.13.2)
Error: Package: xulrunner-last-26.0-2.el6.remi.i686 (remi)
Requires: libsmime3.so(NSS_3.15)
Available: xulrunner-last-26.0-1.el6.remi.i686 (remi)
libsmime3.so(NSS_3.15)
Error: Package: xulrunner-last-26.0-2.el6.remi.i686 (remi)
Requires: libnss3.so(NSS_3.13)
Available: xulrunner-last-26.0-1.el6.remi.i686 (remi)
libnss3.so(NSS_3.13)
Error: Package: xulrunner-last-26.0-2.el6.remi.i686 (remi)
Requires: libz.so.1(ZLIB_1.2.0)
Error: Package: xulrunner-last-26.0-2.el6.remi.i686 (remi)
Requires: libsmime3.so(NSS_3.13)
Available: xulrunner-last-26.0-1.el6.remi.i686 (remi)
libsmime3.so(NSS_3.13)
Error: Package: xulrunner-last-26.0-2.el6.remi.i686 (remi)
Requires: nspr >= 4.10.2
Installed: nspr-4.8.6-1.el6.i686 (@anaconda-RedHatEnterpriseLinux-201009221732.i386/6.0)
nspr = 4.8.6-1.el6
Error: Package: xulrunner-last-26.0-2.el6.remi.i686 (remi)
Requires: libnss3.so(NSS_3.12.9)
Available: xulrunner-last-26.0-1.el6.remi.i686 (remi)
libnss3.so(NSS_3.12.9)
Error: Package: xulrunner-last-26.0-2.el6.remi.i686 (remi)
Requires: libjpeg.so.62(LIBJPEG_6.2)
Error: Package: xulrunner-last-26.0-2.el6.remi.i686 (remi)
Requires: libnssutil3.so(NSSUTIL_3.13)
Available: xulrunner-last-26.0-1.el6.remi.i686 (remi)
libnssutil3.so(NSSUTIL_3.13)
Error: Package: xulrunner-last-26.0-2.el6.remi.i686 (remi)
Requires: libssl3.so(NSS_3.15)
Available: xulrunner-last-26.0-1.el6.remi.i686 (remi)
libssl3.so(NSS_3.15)
Error: Package: xulrunner-last-26.0-2.el6.remi.i686 (remi)
Requires: nss >= 3.15.3
Installed: nss-3.12.7-2.el6.i686 (@anaconda-RedHatEnterpriseLinux-201009221732.i386/6.0)
nss = 3.12.7-2.el6
Error: Package: xulrunner-last-26.0-2.el6.remi.i686 (remi)
Requires: libssl3.so(NSS_3.14)
Available: xulrunner-last-26.0-1.el6.remi.i686 (remi)
libssl3.so(NSS_3.14)
You could try using –skip-broken to work around the problem
You could try running: rpm -Va –nofiles –nodigest
Reply
- Ravi Saive
  
  December 26, 2013 at 3:57 pm
  
  Which OS version you using?
  Reply
Bob

October 29, 2013 at 10:00 am

Ravi,

After following your steps without error, my RHEL 6 system no shows FF 24 installed, but only version 22 will launch. Can you advise?

Thank you!
Reply
Preeti

October 25, 2013 at 10:05 pm

I am also getting the same issue as David and above steps also not resolve the problem
Reply
linuxnoob

October 21, 2013 at 1:21 am

wget ftp://ftp.pbone.net/mirror/ftp5.gwdg.de/pub/opensuse/repositories/home:/codice:/mono-redhat/CentOS_CentOS-6/x86_64/zlib-1.2.5-codice.4.1.x86_64.rpm

yum localinstall zlib-1.2.5-codice.4.1.x86_64.rpm

wget ftp://ftp.muug.mb.ca/mirror/centos/6.4/os/x86_64/Packages/libjpeg-turbo-1.2.1-1.el6.x86_64.rpm

yum localinstall libjpeg-turbo-1.2.1-1.el6.x86_64.rpm

yum –enablerepo=remi update firefox

Try above steps. This will resolve the issue.
Reply
- Preeti
  
  October 25, 2013 at 10:04 pm
  
  I am not able to get the problem resolved by above solution
  Reply