Here’s how you can install the latest Firefox on the Debian Stable version (Debian 12 Bookworm).
Firefox is one of the most popular web browsers, known for its speed, security features, and customizability. If you are using Debian Stable and want to enjoy Firefox’s latest features and security enhancements, this guide will walk you through the installation process.
As per the established process, the Debian stable and testing version only features the Firefox ESR version (Extended Support Release). The Firefox ESR version is always a few releases behind than the latest Firefox version. Hence it is the most stable and secured Firefox version (primarily intended to deploy in large enterprise networks).
But if you are running Debian Stable on your personal machine, you may want to get the latest Firefox version with all new shiny features.
But installing it natively is a little tricky. In this tutorial, you will learn how to install the latest Firefox version in Debian stable via deb, Flatpak and Snap.
Debian “unstable” version usually has the latest version of Firefox. Don’t let the word “unstable” fool you. The Debian “unstable” contains packages which are “less” tested with all the package ecosystems, hence the name. Since the latest Firefox always lands in the “unstable” repo, you can install it with a few tweaks.
Table of Contents
Install Latest Firefox on Debian Stable (Debian 12 Bookworm)
- Firstly, we will add the “unstable” repo in the sources file to get the latest Firefox package. To do that, open the
/etc/apt/sources.listfile with any text editor or nano.
sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list
- Then at the end, add the following line.
deb http://deb.debian.org/debian/ unstable main contrib non-free
- Save and exit the editor (if you use nano, you can press CTRL+O and CTRL+X).
- Secondly, modify apt not to install packages from unstable repo unless you instruct it by setting up a low apt pin priority.
- Create a new file
/etc/apt/preferences.d/using nano or any text editor.
sudo nano /etc/apt/preferences.d/99firefox-unstable
- Type the following lines in that file. Save and close the file.
Package: * Pin: release a=stable Pin-Priority: 900 Package: * Pin: release a=unstable Pin-Priority: 10
- Now, open a terminal and install the latest Firefox from the unstable repo.
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -t unstable firefox
- After the above command is complete, you should see the latest Firefox in your Debian stable system. Usually, two versions of Firefox can run fine in systems. But if you want, you can remove the ESR version using the command below.
sudo apt purge firefox-esr
Revert back to Firefox ESR
You may want to revert back to the stock Firefox-ESR version in Debian stable. Because, the latest Firefox may bring in additional packages which may create some dependency issues. In those cases, you always have the option to revert the above steps back. Here’s how.
Open the /etc/apt/preferences.d/99firefox-unstable file using any text editor such as nano.
sudo nano /etc/apt/preferences.d/99firefox-unstable
Modify the pin priority by changing stable to 1001 and unstable to -1 as shown below.
Package: * Pin: release a=stable Pin-Priority: 1001 Package: * Pin release a=unstable Pin-Priority: -1
Once done, save and close the file. And make sure you upgrade your system using the below command. This will bring up the Firefox-ESR once again.
sudo apt update
sudo apt full-upgrade
Finally, remove the file /etc/apt/preferences.d/99firefox-unstable and remove the unstable line from the file /etc/apt/sources.list.
Install using Flatpak
If you do not want to with the above hassles and need a simple step, use Flatpak. First, set up your system to use Flatpak and Flathub in Debian.
sudo apt install flatpak
The using the following command to install the latest Firefox in Debian stable as Flatpak. This can co-exist with the ESR version.
flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo
Install using Snap
Similarly, if you want to use the Snap package format, you can install Firefox Snap in Debian stable using the below commands.
sudo apt update
sudo apt install snapd
sudo snap install firefox
Install using the official compressed download
Finally, you can always download the latest compressed & pre-compiled version from the official website.
After download, extract the files to your location of choice.
Then make sure you change the permission to the “firefox” folder to 755. For example, I have kept the extracted firefox in /home/arindam folder.
sudo chmod 755 /home/arindam/firefox
And create a .desktop file with the path to the icon and executable. You can use the below template. Save the file in /usr/share/applications/firefox-official.desktop location.
[Desktop Entry] Name=Firefox (Official) Name[bg]=Firefox Name[ca]=Firefox Name[cs]=Firefox Name[el]=Firefox Name[es]=Firefox Name[fa]=Firefox Name[fi]=Firefox Name[fr]=Firefox Name[hu]=Firefox Name[it]=Firefox Name[ja]=Firefox Name[ko]=Firefox Name[nb]=Firefox Name[nl]=Firefox Name[nn]=Firefox Name[no]=Firefox Name[pl]=Firefox Name[pt]=Firefox Name[pt_BR]=Firefox Name[ru]=Firefox Name[sk]=Firefox Name[sv]=Firefox Comment=Browse the World Wide Web Comment[bg]=Сърфиране в Мрежата Comment[ca]=Navegueu per el web Comment[cs]=Prohlížení stránek World Wide Webu Comment[de]=Im Internet surfen Comment[el]=Περιηγηθείτε στον παγκόσμιο ιστό Comment[es]=Navegue por la web Comment[fa]=صفحات شبکه جهانی اینترنت را مرور نمایید Comment[fi]=Selaa Internetin WWW-sivuja Comment[fr]=Navigue sur Internet Comment[hu]=A világháló böngészése Comment[it]=Esplora il web Comment[ja]=ウェブを閲覧します Comment[ko]=웹을 돌아 다닙니다 Comment[nb]=Surf på nettet Comment[nl]=Verken het internet Comment[nn]=Surf på nettet Comment[no]=Surf på nettet Comment[pl]=Przeglądanie stron WWW Comment[pt]=Navegue na Internet Comment[pt_BR]=Navegue na Internet Comment[ru]=Обозреватель Всемирной Паутины Comment[sk]=Prehliadanie internetu Comment[sv]=Surfa på webben GenericName=Web Browser GenericName[bg]=Интернет браузър GenericName[ca]=Navegador web GenericName[cs]=Webový prohlížeč GenericName[de]=Webbrowser GenericName[el]=Περιηγητής ιστού GenericName[es]=Navegador web GenericName[fa]=مرورگر اینترنتی GenericName[fi]=WWW-selain GenericName[fr]=Navigateur Web GenericName[hu]=Webböngésző GenericName[it]=Browser Web GenericName[ja]=ウェブ・ブラウザ GenericName[ko]=웹 브라우저 GenericName[nb]=Nettleser GenericName[nl]=Webbrowser GenericName[nn]=Nettlesar GenericName[no]=Nettleser GenericName[pl]=Przeglądarka WWW GenericName[pt]=Navegador Web GenericName[pt_BR]=Navegador Web GenericName[ru]=Интернет-браузер GenericName[sk]=Internetový prehliadač GenericName[sv]=Webbläsare X-GNOME-FullName=Firefox Web Browser X-GNOME-FullName[bg]=Интернет браузър (Firefox) X-GNOME-FullName[ca]=Navegador web Firefox X-GNOME-FullName[cs]=Firefox Webový prohlížeč X-GNOME-FullName[el]=Περιηγήτης Ιστού Firefox X-GNOME-FullName[es]=Navegador web Firefox X-GNOME-FullName[fa]=مرورگر اینترنتی Firefox X-GNOME-FullName[fi]=Firefox-selain X-GNOME-FullName[fr]=Navigateur Web Firefox X-GNOME-FullName[hu]=Firefox webböngésző X-GNOME-FullName[it]=Firefox Browser Web X-GNOME-FullName[ja]=Firefox ウェブ・ブラウザ X-GNOME-FullName[ko]=Firefox 웹 브라우저 X-GNOME-FullName[nb]=Firefox Nettleser X-GNOME-FullName[nl]=Firefox webbrowser X-GNOME-FullName[nn]=Firefox Nettlesar X-GNOME-FullName[no]=Firefox Nettleser X-GNOME-FullName[pl]=Przeglądarka WWW Firefox X-GNOME-FullName[pt]=Firefox Navegador Web X-GNOME-FullName[pt_BR]=Navegador Web Firefox X-GNOME-FullName[ru]=Интернет-браузер Firefox X-GNOME-FullName[sk]=Internetový prehliadač Firefox X-GNOME-FullName[sv]=Webbläsaren Firefox Exec=/home/arindam/firefox %u Terminal=false X-MultipleArgs=false Type=Application Icon=firefox Categories=Network;WebBrowser; MimeType=text/html;text/xml;application/xhtml+xml;application/xml;application/vnd.mozilla.xul+xml;application/rss+xml;application/rdf+xml;image/gif;image/jpeg;image/png;x-scheme-handler/http;x-scheme-handler/https; StartupWMClass=Firefox StartupNotify=true
Conclusion
I hope you have successfully installed the latest version of Firefox on your Debian Stable system using this guide. You can now enjoy a faster, more secure, and feature-rich browsing experience. Feel free to explore Firefox’s various settings and extensions to tailor the browser to your needs.
