Quick Links Debian and Debian-Based Distros Fedora Linux Arch Linux and Arch-Based Distros
If you're part of a team that's even a little bit virtual, you're most likely familiar with Zoom Meetings, the famous conferencing software. It works very well on almost any operating system, but Linux users may occasionally run into issues, which is why I'll go over how to install Zoom on Linux.
In most cases, setting up Zoom on your system will take just a few simple steps. However, since Zoom isn't open source, you can't use the usual repositories. Instead, Zoom has versions for all major Linux distros in its Download Center, so make sure to grab the most relevant one for you before you get started.
If you do end up having issues, don't forget that Zoom will also run in your browser, albeit with reduced functionality. If you're having issues getting Zoom working and need to quickly get to a meeting, though, it should do just fine.
Debian and Debian-Based Distros
For Debian, Ubuntu, Mint, and other Debian and Ubuntu-based distros, you can download the file you need from the Zoom download center, linked above.
Alternatively, you can use wget in the terminal with the following command:
wget https://zoom.us/client/latest/zoom_amd64.deb
Check out how to use wget if you're not familiar with it; it's a very cool tool.
However you get the Zoom file, you can launch it in the terminal by navigating to your download folder and entering the following command:
sudo apt install ./zoom_amd64.deb
Alternatively, you can use your graphical interface. For example, in Linux Mint I navigated to my Downloads folder and double-clicked the file.
Regardless of how you open it, follow the brief on-screen instructions and Zoom should now be working. If not, there may be an issue with the program's dependencies. In most cases, simply updating your system should fix the issue. Enter the following in the terminal:
sudo apt update
In my experience, that fixes almost all issues with dependencies.
Zoom on Linux Mint
If you're using Linux Mint, you can also use your software manager to install Zoom. Go to the manager and there search for "zoom."
There are two options you can use, the flathub one or the "regular" one, which I highlighted. In my experience the latter is more stable, but you may have better results. That said, these two seem to always be a few updates behind, so I recommend using the downloads on the Zoom website, instead.
Fedora Linux
For Fedora and other distros based on RPM, you're best off downloading the file from the Zoom Download Center and opening it by double-clicking on it in your downloads folder. From there just follow the on-screen instructions and Zoom should be working as intended.
Alternatively, you can open the file in the terminal by navigating to the folder and entering the following command:
sudo yum localinstall zoom_x86_64.rpm
Like with Debian-based systems, if there's an issue with your install, update your system. You can do so by entering the following command into the terminal:
sudo dnf upgrade Arch Linux and Arch-Based Distros
The best way to install Zoom on most flavors of Arch Linux is to use the pacman package manager. As there's no repository, you're best off downloading the Arch Linux file from the Zoom website linked above and then in the terminal entering the following:
sudo pacman -U zoom_x86_64.pkg.tar.xz
If you're using an Arch-based distro with the pamac graphical library installed, simply double-click the downloaded file.
Zoom is a powerful conferencing program which works quite well on Linux in most cases. Getting it working shouldn't take longer than a few minutes.