Update: This script is no longer available/supported. We now support Google Chrome installation directly from the app center.
Announcing the Google Chrome for Endless 3 script
We are excited to announce that we have made a script available that you can use to download and configure Google Chrome to run from the Endless desktop.
This is particularly good news if you are trying to access video content (e.g., Netflix) that requires codecs that we are unable to license with our free version of Chromium (the default “Internet” browser on the Endless desktop).
We are working on making a Google Chrome app available from our App Center. We hope to make that available in a near-future release of Endless OS, and in the meantime, any Endless OS 3.x user may use commands in the terminal to download and install Google Chrome.
How to use the Google Chrome for Endless 3 script:
First open a terminal window by typing “terminal” on the desktop global search. Then, enter the following command line:
rm -f eos-install-google-chrome && wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/endlessm/eos-customer-support/master/eos-install-google-chrome && chmod +x eos-install-google-chrome && ./eos-install-google-chrome
Or, if you prefer, you can enter the commands one line at a time:
rm -f eos-install-google-chrome
wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/endlessm/eos-customer-support/master/eos-install-google-chrome
chmod +x eos-install-google-chrome
./eos-install-google-chrome
Note: The first time you try to access Flash content in Google Chrome, it will download the Flash plugin and the Flash content will fail to run. Once you see such a failure, restart the browser to enable the downloaded plugin, and now the Flash content should run properly.
If you want to update to a newer version of Google Chrome at any time in the future, simply repeat the steps above.
That’s it! Stay tuned for a similar script for Firefox in the next day or so…
For the technically curious: Feel free to examine the eos-install-google-chrome script to see exactly what we are doing. In summary, we download the latest version of Chrome from Google, and one dependency that is required (and not part of the Endless OS core) from Debian, and unpack them into a directory on the user’s home (~/.local/share/eos-third-party-apps/google-chrome). We link the dependency so it is loaded when Chrome is launched, and add the launcher icon to the desktop.