Install Chrome on WSL

These steps install Google Chrome from the official Debian package inside a WSL Linux distribution. They are useful when you need a Chrome binary for browser automation, testing, or tools that expect google-chrome to be available.

1. Download the Debian package

Download the current stable Chrome package:

wget https://dl.google.com/linux/direct/google-chrome-stable_current_amd64.deb

If wget is not installed, install it first:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install wget

2. Install the package

Install the downloaded .deb file with dpkg:

sudo dpkg -i google-chrome-stable_current_amd64.deb

At this point, dpkg may report missing dependencies. That is expected on a minimal WSL installation.

3. Install missing dependencies

Ask apt to repair the dependency state and install everything Chrome needs:

sudo apt install -f

After it finishes, verify that Chrome is installed:

google-chrome --version

You can also check the binary location:

which google-chrome

Notes for WSL

On older WSL setups without GUI support, Chrome may install successfully but not open a visible browser window unless an X server is configured on Windows. For automation or server-side testing, use headless mode:

google-chrome --headless --disable-gpu --dump-dom https://example.com

On newer WSL environments with GUI support, Chrome can usually be launched directly:

google-chrome

If Chrome fails to start, check the terminal output first. Most issues are caused by missing GUI support, sandbox restrictions, or an incomplete dependency installation.