When it comes to chatting to workplace chat, Slack is the undisputed king — and it is easy to install on Ubuntu.
A virtual office for distributed teams, Slack offers way for remote employees to talk, collaborate, and gossip spit-ball in real-time, be that in group chat or channel, or in a one-on-one conversation. To ensure nothing is overlooked, all messages are fully searchable too.
Slack has become the go-to messaging platform for teams of all sizes, in companies of all sizes, thanks to its simple interface, its wealth of features (most professional, a few silly), as well as its integrations with leading productivity apps and services.
But if you’re an Ubuntu newbie, you may be curious about how to install Slack on your system. Fear not, my friend, for the following guide will walk you through the whole process, ensuring you’re not slacking when it comes to Slack!
Installing Slack on Ubuntu
The official Slack Linux client is not open-source, and is not included in the Ubuntu repositories. This means you can run sudo apt install slack to get it.
However, Slack is available on the Snap Store so it’s easy to install:
- Open the Ubuntu Software app (or ‘App Center’ in 24.04+)
- Search for ‘Slack’
- Select the matching result
- Click the install button
- Enter your password when prompted
Once complete, you can launch the app.
You can also install the Slack Snap app from the command line:
- Open a new Terminal window
- Type
sudo snap install slackand press enter - Enter your password when prompted
Once the Slack snap is installed you can launch it from the application grid.
From there, follow the on screen prompts to sign up, or login with an existing account and join any Slack workspaces you’re invited to (if you’re not sure which workspace you need to join, ask your employer for an invite link or more information).
And that’s it. Now you’re all set to send messages, share files, and shower your colleagues and friends with endless emoji reactions. When you get a new message you’ll see a desktop notification. Clicking on this will open the app so you can respond — a real timesaver!
Download Official Slack DEB
Don’t want to use the Slack Snap package? You don’t have to; the official Linux client is available from the Slack website as a regular DEB installer.
To save time, you can download the Slack DEB by running this command:
wget https://downloads.slack-edge.com/desktop-releases/linux/x64/4.41.96/slack-desktop-4.41.96-amd64.deb
Once the Slack client DEB has completed downloading you can install it.
Either DEB file in the file manager to install through the Ubuntu Software/App Center app, or do it through the command line by running:
sudo apt install ./slack-desktop-*.deb
If you encounter any problems installing or using Slack refer to the support documentation, guides, and tutorials on the official website.
I hope this guide helps you to install Slack on Ubuntu. Let me know if you have any questions otherwise, happy slacking!