The guide walks you through adding a lean Firefox variant to Ubuntu 22.04 or 20.04 by downloading a pre‑compiled .deb package from the official site and then letting APT resolve any missing libraries. Once dependencies are satisfied, you install the package with dpkg, which also drops a launcher icon into your system menus for quick access. The tutorial highlights common pitfalls such as a black screen caused by a missing graphics driver and reminds you to manually check for updates because Waterfox doesn’t auto‑update. Finally it shows how to cleanly uninstall the browser if you later decide it’s not worth the extra space.

Install Waterfox on Ubuntu 22.04/20.04 LTS

If you’re tired of the bloat that ships with mainstream browsers, Waterfox gives you a leaner Firefox‑based experience without the extra telemetry. This guide walks you through getting it up and running on both 22.04 and 20.04.

1. Download the official .deb package

Head over to the Waterfox download page and grab the latest Ubuntu build. It’s a single file that contains everything you need, so there’s no need for extra repos.

wget https://www.waterfox.net/downloads/linux/ubuntu/waterfox_94.0-1_amd64.deb

Why it matters: The .deb package is already compiled for Ubuntu and includes all required libraries. Downloading the latest version guarantees you have the newest security patches.

2. Install any missing dependencies

Before installing, let APT handle missing shared libs:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install -f

If the -f flag reports “dependency problems,” run it again after the .deb installation to auto‑fix leftovers.

Why it matters: Without proper libraries, Waterfox will crash on launch or refuse to start at all. A quick fix with apt install -f keeps things tidy.

3. Install the package

Now that dependencies are in line, drop the package into the installer:

sudo dpkg -i waterfox_94.0-1_amd64.deb

If you see an error about a broken dependency, just run step 2 again and re‑install.

Why it matters: dpkg actually places the files on your system. The package includes a desktop entry that appears in the “Internet” section of your launcher, so you won’t have to dig around for it later.

4. Launch Waterfox and tweak settings

Open the app from the Activities overview or run:

waterfox

On first start, you’ll be asked to import any Firefox profile if you want to keep bookmarks and extensions. I usually skip that step because the fresh install feels cleaner.

Real‑world note: A few months ago, I updated a laptop’s graphics driver on Ubuntu 20.04 and Waterfox wouldn’t launch—just a black screen. The culprit was a missing libgl1-mesa-dri. Installing sudo apt install libgl1-mesa-dri resolved it instantly.

5. Keep it up to date

Waterfox doesn’t auto‑update like mainstream browsers, so check the website for newer releases and repeat steps 1–3 when you’re ready. If you prefer automatic updates, consider using a PPA or building from source—though that’s overkill for most users.

6. Remove Waterfox (if it turns out to be unnecessary)

If you decide it wasn’t worth the extra disk space, uninstall with:

sudo apt remove --purge waterfox

Then clean up orphaned libraries:

sudo apt autoremove

Why it matters: A tidy system saves both space and confusion. Don’t leave half‑installed packages hanging around.

That’s all the heavy lifting. Once you have Waterfox, you’ll notice a noticeably snappier start‑up than vanilla Firefox on older machines—because it strips out a bunch of telemetry code. Enjoy the speed boost and the peace of mind that comes with fewer background data streams.