Waterfox, a Firefox‑derived browser that strips telemetry while keeping the same extension ecosystem, gives Manjaro users a lightweight alternative to the default web client. The guide explains how to prepare the system by installing base‑devel tools, cloning an AUR helper like yay, and then installing either waterfox-bin or the community wrapper with simple terminal commands for each step. It also covers optional nightly builds, shows how to keep Waterfox fresh—including development releases via a devel flag—and demonstrates fixing a common libgtk-3.so loading error by reinstalling gtk3 from the official repository. In short, using an AUR helper makes installing and maintaining Waterfox on Manjaro straightforward, letting you enjoy a privacy‑focused browser without manual patches or corporate baggage.

How to Install Waterfox on Manjaro Linux

If you’re looking for a Firefox‑based browser that’s less bloated and still full of goodies, Waterfox is worth the install. This guide will walk you through getting it up and running on Manjaro with minimal fuss.

Why you’ll want this

Waterfox keeps the same great extensions ecosystem as Firefox but strips out telemetry and other “privacy‑not‑really‑private” features. On a rolling‑release distro like Manjaro, installing from the AUR is usually the cleanest path—no need to juggle .deb packages or worry about manual dependency resolution.

Step 1: Make sure your system is ready

sudo pacman -Syu --needed base-devel git

Why this matters:

The base-devel group contains tools like make, gcc, and pkg-config, which the AUR build scripts rely on. Without them you’ll hit a wall before even downloading Waterfox.

Step 2: Grab an AUR helper (if you don’t already have one)

git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/yay.git
cd yay
makepkg -si

Why this matters:

An AUR helper automates the download, build, and installation steps. I’ve seen people waste hours pulling source tarballs manually—skip that.

Step 3: Install Waterfox

yay -S waterfox-bin

If you prefer the community‑maintained wrapper instead of the upstream binary, swap waterfox-bin for waterfox. The -bin package is a precompiled build, so it finishes faster.

What to expect:

You’ll see a progress bar while makepkg pulls in the tarball, unpacks it, and copies everything into /usr/bin. Once done, you can launch it from your application menu or via:

waterfox &

Step 4: (Optional) Add the “Nightly” build

If you want bleeding‑edge features, install the nightly build:

yay -S waterfox-nightly

Why you might need this:

Sometimes a bug you’re hunting is fixed in Nightly before it lands in the stable release. I’ve used this when debugging site‑specific quirks that only appear after the latest engine changes.

Step 5: Keep Waterfox fresh

yay -Syu --devel waterfox-bin

The --devel flag tells yay to also check for updates from development branches like Nightly. On Manjaro, your system’s rolling updates keep the rest of your stack current, so you won’t miss a security patch.

Common hiccup: “Could not load shared library libgtk-3.so”

If you hit that error after installing, run:

sudo pacman -S gtk3

The AUR package sometimes pulls in an older version of the dependency, causing a mismatch. Reinstalling gtk3 from the official repo fixes it.

Final thought

Waterfox is as lean on Manjaro as it can be if you use the AUR helper to pull the binary. No need for workarounds or manual patching—just install, launch, and enjoy a browser that respects your privacy without the corporate baggage.