How to Install Zoom on Linux

“Can I install Zoom on Linux?” was the first question that came to mind when my bosses informed me that we would be working from home and using Zoom for remote meetings and one-on-one interactions with fellow employees and clients. The answer to that first question is yes, you can install Zoom on Linux. Let’s look at how to download and install the Zoom client on four different Linux distributions: Fedora, Manjaro (Arch), OpenSUSE, and Ubuntu/Debian.

How to Install Zoom in Fedora

To show how to install Zoom in Fedora, we are using Fedora 35. To get started,, you have to first download the package from the Zoom website.

1. Open your web browser and go to the Zoom download page.

2. Choose “Fedora” for “Linux Type” and “64-bit” for “OS Architecture.” Click “Download.”
3. Save the file to your Downloads folder.

4. Open a terminal window and type the following command:

sudo rpm -i Downloads/zoom_x86_64.rpm

5. Enter the root password when prompted, then “y” when prompted. This will install the Zoom package.
6. Launch Zoom from the Applications menu.

Alternatively, if you want to avoid using the terminal and command lines, right-click the downloaded package (x86_64.rpm) and select “Open with Software Install.”

Enter the root password when prompted.

Wait for Zoom to be installed.

How to Install Zoom in OpenSUSE

A fork of openSUSE Linux Enterprise, openSUSE Leap, is one of the most stable and popular Linux distros in the open source community. We are using openSUSE Leap for this tutorial.

1. Open your web browser and go to the Zoom download page.
2. Choose “OpenSUSE” for “Linux Type” and “64-bit” for “OS Architecture.” Click “Download.”

3. Save the file to your Downloads folder.
4. Once downloaded, open a terminal window and type the following command:

sudo zypper install Downloads/zoom_openSUSE_x86_64.rpm

5. Enter the root password when prompted, then click “y” when prompted. This will install Zoom on your system.
6. Click “i” (for ignore) when presented the “Signature verification failed [6-File is unsigned]” message.

7. Once installed, you can launch Zoom from the Applications menu.

Alternatively, you can right-click the “zoom_openSUSE_x86_64.rpm” package and select “Open with Discover.”

This will allow you to install Zoom with a GUI interface.

How to Install Zoom in Manjaro

Manjaro is based on Arch Linux and is a distro that is easy to use, particularly for new Linux users.

Note that installing the Zoom client on an Arch-based distro differs greatly from installing on a Debian-based or RHEL-based distro. With an Arch-based distro, you need to run the makefile command to install the Zoom client.

1. Open a terminal to install the git and base-devel tools.

sudo pacman -S git base-devel

2. Get the Zoom package via the git clone.

git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/zoom.git

3. Change to the “zoom” directory and install Zoom via the makepkg command.

cd zoom
makepkg -si

Enter “y” when prompted to proceed with the installation.

4. Once installed, you can launch Zoom from the Applications menu.

How to Install Zoom in Ubuntu/Debian

1. Open your web browser and go to the Zoom download page.
2. Choose “Ubuntu” (or Debian) for “Linux Type,” “64-bit” for “OS Architecture,” and click “Download.”. Save the .deb file to your Downloads folder.

3. Open a terminal window. Change directory to the “Downloads” directory and launch the Zoom installation via the apt install command.

cd Downloads
sudo apt install ./zoom_amd64.deb

Enter the root password when prompted. Also, click “y” when prompted.

4. Once installed, you can launch Zoom from the Applications menu.

Alternatively, you can double-click the .deb file to launch the Software Center Installer. Click the Install button.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Why should I install Zoom on Linux when there are so many Zoom plugins?

Although the Zoom plugin is available for multiple web browsers, in the rare event your web browser stops working, you have the Zoom client. Besides, sometimes it takes months after a new release for the developers to update plugins.

2. Can you easily uninstall the Zoom client?

Uninstalling Zoom is a snap from the command line. All distros can be uninstalled via a single command.

For example, to uninstall the Zoom client from an Ubuntu-based distro, enter the following from the command line:

sudo apt autoremove zoom

Alternatively, to uninstall from a Red-Hat based distro, enter the following from the command line:

sudo yum remove zoom

The Arch distro install is just as easy:

sudo pacman -Rs zoom

Uninstalling Zoom from other Linux distros is just as simple.

3. Why not just install Zoom from the distro’s repository?

Linux development teams have been slow to adopt Zoom in their repositories. They’re coming around, though. For example, Fedora includes Zoom in its repository.

It’s refreshing to see Linux installation options for such a popular application like Zoom – especially when so many application development teams overlook Linux when they release a new version of an application. Not only do the Zoom developers offer a Linux installation, they go the extra mile by offering multiple installs for different Linux distros, including Ubuntu, Debian, and Arch.

If you’re looking for some extra help with Zoom, check out this Zoom keyboard shortucuts cheatsheet and how to use a custom background with Zoom.