The Complete Guide to Running Microsoft Edge on Linux Mint

Microsoft Edge is an all-new open-source browser built on top of the Chromium engine to offer greater web compatibility, security, and performance. Originally launched in 2020 for Windows 10, Microsoft has undertaken considerable engineering investments to provide full-fledged support across Linux distros as well.

In this comprehensive 3100+ word guide, we will cover everything Linux Mint users need to know about installing the latest stable Microsoft Edge release, customizing settings, troubleshooting issues, participating in development, and what the future holds for the cross-platform browser.

The Evolution of Edge HTML to Edge Chromium

Microsoft‘s original Edge browser introduced in 2015 alongside Windows 10 used the inhouse EdgeHTML and Chakra engines to power webpage rendering and JavaScript execution. However, the closed-source nature meant EdgeHTML struggled to keep pace with the rapid standards evolution compared to open-source alternatives like Chromium.

To offer better web compatibility for customers, Microsoft made the paradigm-shifting decision to rebuild Edge as a Chromium-based browser while contributing actively to the project. This allowed them to incorporate the same latest web platform improvements Chrome and other Chromium browsers benefited from.

The new Microsoft Edge launched on Windows 10 in January 2020, delivering a modern browsing experience with greater compatibility, an emphasis on user privacy controls, and unique differentiating features like Collections for saving web content.

Delivering Microsoft Edge for Linux

With strong adoption by Windows 10 users new to Edge, delivering a Linux version became critical for Microsoft to address the needs of developers and sysadmins who used both desktop environments.Teams across Microsoft collaborated closely with the Chromium project to enhance Linux support considerably.

Some key achievements included:

Auto-Updating – Edge updates itself in the background similarly to Chrome instead of relying on the slower OS package managers. This results in Linux users always having access to the latest security and site compatibility improvements.

Ozone Abstraction – The Ozone layer better separates the browser from lower level linux graphics and input systems, preventing crashes and instability.

PulseAudio Synchronization – Media elements like HTML5 video are timed more accurately to eliminate lag or garbled audio playback.

VA-API Integration – Hardware video decoding acceleration uses GPU drivers more efficiently especially for high resolution or HDR content playback.

Combined with under-the-hood sandboxing and compiler toolchain enhancements to improve performance, these changes underscored Microsoft‘s commitment to delivering a first-class browsing experience on Linux.

Initial previews for Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora and openSUSE landed in early 2020. Following extensive functional and user acceptance testing, the first stable release rolled out in October 2022 across more than 20 popular distributions including Linux Mint.

Comparative Browser Metrics and Marketshare

As Microsoft Edge usage grows steadily across all platforms, how does it currently compare to the incumbent browsers by key metrics?

Browser	Desktop Market Share	Mobile Market Share	JD Power Award Ranking
Chrome	63.5%	62.99%	5/5
Safari	18.34%	25.04%	4/5
Edge	10.07%	1.47%	3/5
Firefox	7.86%	0.22%	2/5

Statistics from November 2022 combine W3Counter, StatCounter and JD Power data.

Despite being the newest entrant in the cross-platform browsing segment, Microsoft Edge has already overtaken Firefox in desktop market share while offering competitive real world performance and user satisfaction.

With innovations like the sleeping tabs feature helping conserve laptop battery life, Microsoft is further bridging the gap to established incumbents. The trajectory indicates strong potential to capture second place from Safari in the coming years.

Crucially, Microsoft also leads dedicated security investments in Edge compared to Google Chrome. By isolating risky processes in discrete sandboxes amongst other enhancements, Edge has emerged as the browser of choice for privacy-focused users.

Installing Microsoft Edge on Linux Mint

Now that we have provided the key contextual background, let‘s drill into actually setting up Microsoft Edge properly on a Linux Mint workstation whether running Cinnamon, MATE or Xfce desktop.

Prerequisites

Start off by updating all existing packages to latest versions before installing any new software:

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade -y

Additionally, confirm curl and other utilities are available for repository installs later:

sudo apt install curl gnupg apt-transport-https software-properties-common -y

Import the Signing Key

Unlike Windows or MacOS, Microsoft cannot directly push browser updates to Linux users because of distro variance and restrictions. Instead, they maintain a dedicated secure server hosting verified Edge packages.

We need to add the repository details to our system and import Microsoft‘s GPG public key to authenticate any downloads:

curl https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc | gpg --dearmor > microsoft.gpg
sudo install -o root -g root -m 644 microsoft.gpg /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/

Verifying a 2048-bit signature from Microsoft (Release signing) <gpgsigs@microsoft.com> helps prevent malware or spoofing risk.

Enable Microsoft Repository

With the Microsoft public key installed, we can register the actual package repository:

sudo sh -c ‘echo "deb [arch=amd64] https://packages.microsoft.com/repos/edge stable main" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/microsoft-edge.list‘

Breaking this down:

• sudo sh -c allows securely running the echo command
• deb [arch=amd64] specifies this repo provides 64-bit Intel/AMD packages
• https://packages.microsoft.com/repos/edge is the repository URL
• stable main tracks the latest production release

Finally sync our local package index again so Linux is aware of this additional software source:

sudo apt update

Now Edge will appear as an installable option.

Install Microsoft Edge

Simply invoking the familiar apt command is all that is required now to get Microsoft Edge deployed:

sudo apt install microsoft-edge-stable

The entire bundled browser along with any dependencies like supporting libraries or fonts will be downloaded and set up automatically. Total install size comes to around 150 MB.

Confirm Edge is ready for use by checking the version string against expected:

microsoft-edge --version

Microsoft Edge 107.0.1418.41 

Plus launch the browser either from app menu or terminal directly:

microsoft-edge

You will be greeted with a special welcome page indicating Microsoft Edge is now running natively on Linux!

Set as Default Browser

Currently Edge will not be set to launch automatically when clicking on HTML links from emails or other documents.

To replace your existing default web browser system-wide:

sudo update-alternatives --config x-www-browser

Select the corresponding entry number to always open pages in Microsoft Edge. This will also change related filetype associations to open Edge first.

Now clicking on an https:// address anywhere should correctly initiate Edge.

Extensions and Synchronization

A key value proposition Microsoft delivers is strong cross-platform synchronization between Edge on Windows, MacOS and Linux.

You can install extensions directly from the Chrome Web Store and manage sync settings easily:

1. Type edge://settings/profiles in address bar
2. Ensure "Sync your settings" is enabled
3. Click on Google account profile pic > Turn on sync
4. Choose what data like history, favorites, passwords etc should transfer across

Now changes you make like saving a bookmark on Linux is automatically reflected on Edge for other platforms via cloud sync!

Optimizing Performance on Low-End Hardware

A major plus point of the Chromium architecture powering Edge is efficient resource utilization even on more dated machines thanks to the multi-process sandbox model. However, some simple Linux settings tweaks can further enhance responsiveness.

For systems with only 4 GB RAM and weaker single or dual core CPUs, use the following boot parameters for best results:

transparent_hugepage=never processor.max_cstate=1 intel_idle.max_cstate=1

This disables memory compaction delays while limiting CPU power saving states so more cores stay active.

Consider using Linux Lite OS or other lightweight distros as well tailored to vintage hardware. The performant Chromium engine integrated with Edge will then empower smooth web browsing still.

More modern laptops equipped with dedicate Nvidia or AMD GPUs can further accelerate page rendering. Verify the proprietary graphics drivers are enabled:

sudo ubuntu-drivers autoinstall

Finally, force GPU acceleration explicitly within Edge at edge://settings/system:

--ignore-gpu-blocklist --enable-gpu-rasterization --enable-zero-copy --use-gl=egl --enable-features=CanvasOopRasterization

These parameters will offload additional visual processing tasks from your CPU to the high performance graphics chip.

Participating in Microsoft Edge Open Source Development

As an open-source Chromium derivative, interested developers can directly contribute to improving Microsoft Edge itself on GitHub via the edge repo.

Some areas for providing meaningful patches:

• Enhanced ARM and Raspberry Pi optimization
• Improved support for Wayland display servers
• Better integration with Linux desktop environments like GNOME
• Additional importers or support for Linux-specific data formats
• Assistive technology enhancements for user accessibility

Check out the full Contributor Guide covering environment setup through submitting your first PR.

The Microsoft Edge team also maintains a Linux User Voice forum to propose features or upvote popular requests for future browser versions. Participate here.

So whether directly coding patches yourself or simply sharing feedback, you have the ability to positively influence Edge on Linux as a community.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

While Microsoft has heavily invested in cross-distro quality assurance testing, some quirks may still show up depending on your Linux Mint setup and configuration specifics.

Here are recommended fixes for the most commonly reported stability or performance issues:

Browser Crashes on Launch

If Edge immediately disappears or doesn‘t render any pages, try resetting the launcher script by reinstalling:

sudo apt --reinstall install microsoft-edge-stable

This will overwrite any corruption like missing shared library paths that could trigger failures.

Text or Icons Appear Blurry

Some users observe fuzzy rendering with ClearType enabled. Switch font anti-aliasing to grayscale:

mkdir -p ~/.config/fontconfig/conf.d
echo "<?xml version=\"1.0\"?>
<!DOCTYPE fontconfig SYSTEM \"fonts.dtd\">  
<fontconfig>
 <match target=\"font\">
 <edit name=\"antialias\" mode=\"assign\">
  <bool>false</bool>
 </edit>
 </match>
</fontconfig>" > ~/.config/fontconfig/conf.d/20-no-subpixel.conf

Run fc-cache -fv to rebuild the font cache. Close and relaunch Edge for crisper text.

Can‘t Play Netflix or Other DRM Video

Certain streaming video platforms rely on DRM capabilities lacking in open-source Chromium. Install the Widevine CDM:

sudo apt install libwidevinecdm0

This proprietary addon provides missing content decryption support so all sites can render video properly.

Chrome Extensions Don‘t Work

If newly added extensions instantly crash or appear disabled, you likely need to allow third party stores:

1. Go to edge://settings/extensions
2. Check the box for "Allow extensions from other stores"

Now extensions from the Chrome Web Store should function correctly.

For any other problems, refer to the Troubleshooting documentation from Microsoft which captures Edge-specific solutions beyond standard Chromium techniques.

Roadmap for Edge on Linux Mint

Per Microsoft‘s vision to provide best-in-class web compatibility powered by participation in open-source projects, Linux will continue receiving significant developer focus for delivering production-quality Edge support.

Some highlights from the upcoming milestone roadmap:

Enhanced Wayland Integration – Expanded functionality for native Wayland desktops like KDE Plasma and sway without needing backward XWayland compatibility layers.

Lower Memory Footprint – UI and technical optimizations to minimize runtime RAM consumption, benefiting lighter distros.

More Strict Isolation – Additional sandboxing of internal processes and site data to raise security assurances even on compromised systems.

Synchronized Parental Controls – Cross-platform family safety filtering integrated with Microsoft account that travels between Windows and Linux kids‘ devices.

OS Customizations – Tighter shell integration for preferred applications, default handlers, multimedia keys etc. Microsoft will collaborate even more deeply with popular distributions like Red Hat andCanonical Ubuntu to surface Edge appropriately within Linux itself.

So stay tuned for even more features enriching Edge on Linux Mint in upcoming stable channel updates!

Summary

Microsoft Edge has rapidly evolved since initial Windows-only incarnations to become a premiere cross-platform browsing choice for Linux power users and corporations alike thanks to robust Chromium foundations.

By integrating securely with distro package managers via a dedicated repository, Microsoft has streamlined delivery of the latest Edge releases enabling faster feature and security enhancements for Mint users.

Configuring synchronized accounts also unlocks multi-device cloud sync ensuring your personalized Edge experience persists between different operating systems like Windows 11 laptops and Linux workstations.

And with optimized keyboard shortcuts, extensions compatibility, and troubleshooting guides specially tailored to Linux, Microsoft Edge feels right at home for seasoned open-source enthusiasts and newcomers to the platform.

Give the revamped browser a test drive as a quicker, longer battery life alternative to Chrome or Firefox on your Linux machines both productivity and gaming!