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Microsoft Edge arrives on Linux in preview

The Chromium-based web browser is now supported on all major desktop and mobile operating systems

21 Oct 2020

Microsoft

Microsoft has announced that its Chromium-based Edge browser is now available on Linux.

The release, which sees the first preview version of Microsoft Edge arrive on the open source operating system, means the browser now runs on all major desktop and mobile platforms, including Android, iOS, macOS and Windows.

In a blog post, Microsoft confirmed that the initial Edge Dev release on Linux supports the Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, and OpenSUSE distributions.

The company is aiming the release squarely at developers, who can use the preview to "build and test in the preferred environment and be confident in the experience customers will have on other devices.” While Edge for Linux operates much as it does on macOS and Windows, according to Microsoft, this means it's currently lacking some end-user features.

For example, the initial release doesn’t support signing into Edge via a Microsoft Account or an Azure Active Directory Account, not does it support the syncing of favourites or settings. Microsoft says these features will be coming in a later preview.

If you want to try out Edge for Linux, you can download the Dev channel preview directly from the Edge Insider site.

Microsoft says it is planning to release weekly builds, like it does with the Dev Channel builds for other platforms, but it has yet to confirm when the first stable version of Edge for Linux will become available.

Microsoft has also announced that it has begun accepting submissions for the Microsoft Edge Bounty Programme on Linux. Security researchers can earn between $1,000 and $30,000 for discovering and reporting vulnerabilities that are unique to the Microsoft Edge browser.