How to Install and Configure the Zoom Client on Manjaro 21 Linux
If you’ve been hearing “Zoom’s the new email” and your coworker keeps pinging you for a quick catch‑up, it’s time to get the official Zoom client up and running on Manjaro. The steps below will have you dialing into meetings in minutes—no Windows‑style installer wizard required.
Step 1: Update your system first
A fresh update fixes most quirks before you even touch the Zoom package.
sudo pacman -Syu
Why it matters: Manjaro’s rolling releases mean libraries get patched regularly. An old libc or broken pulseaudio can make Zoom refuse to start, so keep everything current.
Step 2: Install the required dependencies
Zoom depends on a handful of libraries that aren’t in the default repo. Pull them from AUR or the official mirrors.
sudo pacman -S libxss1 libappindicator-gtk3 libnss
If you’re using an older kernel, you’ll also need:
sudo pacman -S mesa-libgl
These are needed for video rendering and notification handling—without them Zoom will crash right out of the box.
Step 3: Grab the Zoom package from the official website
Manjaro doesn’t ship a native Zoom package, but the .deb works fine when converted with debtap.
git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/debtap.git
cd debtap && makepkg -si
After installing debtap, download the latest Zoom deb:
wget https://zoom.us/client/latest/zoom_amd64.deb
Convert and install it:
sudo debtap zoom_amd64.deb
sudo pacman -U zoom_*.pkg.tar.zst
Why this trick: debtap rebuilds the Debian package into an Arch‑friendly one. It’s faster than compiling from source, and keeps you on a single binary that gets updates automatically.
Step 4: Verify the installation
Run Zoom to make sure it starts cleanly:
zoom
If it pops up with “Unable to open display” or similar, double‑check your DISPLAY environment variable and that you’re not running it through a remote session without X forwarding.
Step 5: Tweak audio settings (optional but handy)
Many users report the microphone picking up background noise after a kernel update. Open “Audio Settings” in Manjaro Settings, locate the Zoom profile under Applications, and enable “Reduce Background Noise.”
You can also lock Zoom to a specific audio device if you have multiple sound cards:
pactl set-default-sink alsa_output.pci-0000_00_1b.0.analog-stereo
Step 6: Keep Zoom updated
Zoom releases patches quickly, so keep an eye on the official site or use a simple script to auto‑install new debs.
watch -n 86400 "wget -O zoom.deb https://zoom.us/client/latest/zoom_amd64.deb && sudo debtap zoom.deb && sudo pacman -U zoom-*.pkg.tar.zst"
That’s a one‑minute job that runs once a day. No more manually downloading the next version.
