How to Install Tor Browser on AlmaLinux 8
If privacy is a priority and the default web‑browser in your distribution feels too exposed, the Tor Browser is a quick way to route traffic through the Tor network. On AlmaLinux 8 you’ll need to fetch the official bundle from the Tor Project website and unpack it locally—there’s no repository package that will keep up with the rapid security updates.
1. Gather the prerequisites
sudo dnf groupinstall "Development Tools" -y
sudo dnf install libX11-devel libXt-devel alsa-lib-devel \
libXcomposite-devel libXcursor-devel libXdamage-devel \
libXext-devel libXfixes-devel libXi-devel libXinerama-devel \
libXrandr-devel libXrender-devel libXScrnSaver-devel -y
These libraries are required for the bundled Firefox binary to run. AlmaLinux’s minimal installation often omits them, so installing the group makes sure everything is in place.
2. Download the latest Tor Browser bundle
cd /opt
sudo wget https://dist.torproject.org/torbrowser/12.0/TorBrowser-12.0-Linux-x86_64.tar.xz
The download URL changes with each release, so double‑check the site for the newest version. AlmaLinux users have complained that the package manager refuses to install Tor because of dependency hell; downloading directly sidesteps that.
3. Extract and set permissions
sudo tar -xvf TorBrowser-12.0-Linux-x86_64.tar.xz
sudo chown -R $(whoami):$(whoami) TorBrowser
Give yourself ownership so you can run the browser without sudo. The bundle is self‑contained; it doesn’t touch system libraries beyond what we installed earlier.
4. Create a launcher for convenience
cat <<'EOF' > ~/bin/torbrowser
#!/usr/bin/env bash
cd "$(dirname "$0")"/../TorBrowser/TorBrowser/x86_64/
./start-tor-browser.desktop --detach
EOF
chmod +x ~/bin/torbrowser
Add ~/bin to your $PATH, and you can start Tor just by typing torbrowser.
5. Run the browser
torbrowser
The first launch will spin up a fresh instance of Firefox bundled with Tor, download the latest security patches, and ask whether you want to connect immediately or configure settings. If you see a “certificate not trusted” warning, it’s because you tried launching an older system‑Firefox; the bundled one is always up‑to‑date.
Quick sanity check
After starting, look for the Tor icon in the address bar—green onion = everything’s wired through the network. You can confirm your IP by visiting https://check.torproject.org/. If it reports a different IP than your ISP, you’re good to go.
That’s all there is to it. No dnf magic needed, just a quick download and a couple of commands.
