How to Install VLC on Linux Mint?
VLC Media Player is a powerful and versatile multimedia application available for Linux as well as Windows-based operating systems. Users can play any audio-video format, as well as stream media from online sources. All these features make VLC an easy-to-use tool that is popular among different Linux systems (including Linux Mint, Ubuntu, Cent OS, Debian, etc.).
VLC allows users to customize their visual experience, such as playlists, filters, subtitles, and a lot more. Considering its importance, this guide will illustrate the VLC media player installation process on Linux Mint by supporting the below outline:
- How to Install VLC Media Player on Linux Mint?
- How to Launch VLC Media Player on Linux Mint?
- How to Install VLC Media Player on RHEL-based Linux Distributions?
- How to Uninstall\Remove VLC Media Player From Linux Mint?
How to Install VLC Media Player on Linux Mint?
To install VLC on Linux Mint, different methods can be used such as the “APT” package manager, “Snap” package manager, “Flatpak” package manager, and Software Manager (GUI). Alternatively, users can also download the VLC source code file to install the most updated version of VLC.
Different methods are used to install the VLC media player on the Linux Mint system, such as:
- Method 1: Using APT Package Manager
- Method 2: Using Flatpak Package Manager
- Method 3: Using Source Code
- Method 4: Using snap Package Manager
- Method 5: Using Software Manager (GUI)
Let’s move ahead and check them out one by one!
Method 1: Using APT Package Manager
The APT(Advanced Packaging Tool) is the default package manager on Linux Mint that is used to manage the packages, like install, update, and remove. To install the VLC media player on the Linux Mint system, use the APT package manager with simple steps.
Let’s follow the provided steps to begin the VLC installation.
Step 1: Update and Upgrade System Repositories
Before installing, updating, or removing packages from Linux, users need to update as well as upgrade the package list on the Linux Mint system.
It means downloading the latest list of available packages and their versions while upgrading repositories means installing the newest versions of the packages that you have already installed.
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade
Step 2: Install VLC Media Player
For installing the VLC media player on the Linux Mint system, use the APT package manager by running the below-stated script:
sudo apt install vlc
Step 3: Verify VLC Installation
Run the following command to verify the installation process:
vlc --version
Users can also authenticate the installation process by launching the VLC media player via the “vlc” command as below:
vlc
That is all from the installation process of VLC from the APT package manager (By default package manager).
Method 2: Using Flatpak Package Manager
Flatpak is a package manager tool that is pre-installed on the Linux Mint system. This utility fetches and installs packages from the Flathub repository. It is a famous alternative to the “Snap” for application installation.
Step 1: Update System Repository
Before installing the VLC package, it is good practice to update the package list (system repository). For this, run the “update” command with sudo privileges as below:
sudo apt update
Step 2: Check Flatpak Version
Flatpak package manager is already installed in the Linux Mint operating system. To confirm whether the flatpak is installed or not, check the current version using the “version” option below:
flatpak --version
The output confirms that the “Flatpak 1.12.7” version is already installed (latest) in the Linux Mint system.
Note: If the “flatpak” is not installed on the Linux Mint, then install it via the given command:
sudo apt install flatpak
Step 3: Install VLC
To install the VLC media player, use the “flathub” (location to get software\app remotely) and
“org.videolan.VLC” (application\software) in the below command:
flatpak install flathub org.videolan.VLC
Step 4: Verify Installed VLC Media Player
The installed VLC media player can be confirmed by launching it via the “vlc” command as below:
flatpak run org.videolan.VLC
It confirms the installation of the VLC media player “3.0.20” version using the flatpak.
Method 3: Using Source Code
You can install the VLC via the source code file. For this, download the VLC latest version (source file) via the official website. Then, extract the archive and move it to the directory where the file is present. Finally, compiles the source code and runs the make install command to install the VLC media player on your system.
Let’s follow the step-by-step instructions to install VLC.
Step 1: Update System Repository
Before installing any application/package in the Linux system, it is necessary to update the (packages list) system repository. For this, use the “update” command with the sudo or root privileges as below:
sudo apt update
Step 2: Install Basic Dependencies
Now, install some basic dependencies that are required for building any package from the source code by executing the following script:
sudo apt install -y git build-essential pkg-config libtool automake autopoint gettext
Step 3: Enable Source Code Repositories
To enable source code repositories, search “Software Sources” in the Linux Mint menu and launch it. After that, enable the “source code repositories” toggle button in the pop-up window:
Now, it requires the login user password for authentication. After that, hit the “Authenticate” button after input the password:
Now, select the “Official Repositories” option > enable the “Source code repositories” toggle button > click on the “OK” button:
After doing so, a new interface is opened on which the system cache needs to be update: 
Step 4: Build VLC Dependencies
Now, the users need to all the VLC’s build dependencies using the “build-dep” option with the “vlc” command:
sudo apt build-dep vlc
In this way, all dependencies have been installed and built successfully.
Step 5: Get Source Code File
To download the latest VLC source tarball from the official VLC website, execute the “wget” command with the URL of the VLC sources file. During installation, the current version is “3.0.20” which can be seen below script:
wget http://get.videolan.org/vlc/3.0.20/vlc-3.0.20.tar.xz
Step 6: Extract the Source Code File
To extract the source file, use the “tar” command with the “xvf” utility. Here, “x” extracts the tarball, “v” displays the extracting file progress, and “f” specifies the extracting file name. Let’s extract the downloaded source tarball of VLC:
sudo tar -xvf vlc-3.0.20.tar.xz
Step 7: Packages Configuration
Then, run the “./configure” command in the extracted “vlc-3.0.20” directory. It checks the availability of dependencies, creates the makefile, and executes it to get the source code:
cd vlc-3.0.20 ./configure
Finally, the configuration and dependencies have been done successfully. Let’s move further.
Step 8: Build Installation Package
Now, run the “make” command to compile the source code binaries. Here, the “j” option specifies the number of jobs to execute simultaneously for optimization:
make -j3
It reads instructions from the makefile (description file) which was created in the previous step.
Step 9: Install VLC Media Player
To complete the installation process of VLC on the Linux Mint system, run the “make” command. It compiles binary files and distributes them system-wide (build final executable):
sudo make install
Finally, install the “vlc-bin” executable file by specifying its name along with sudo privileges in the Linux Mint terminal:
sudo apt install vlc-bin
Step 10: Verify VLC Media Player
To check the installed version of the VLC media player, use the “version” option with the “vlc” command in the terminal:
vlc --version
Finally, the VLC media player has been successfully installed on Linux Mint using the source code.
Method 4: Using snap Package Manager
Another way to install a VLC media player on the Linux mint system is by using the “snap” application manager which is containerized with all its dependencies. To handle and manage the snap packages, the “snap daemon” is used which refers to a background service.
Pre-requisites: Enable Snap Support
The “nosnap.pref” file contains the code that does not enable you to install snaps on your system. You need to either comment on the code or remove the “nosnap.pref” configuration file. This can be done by executing the “rm” command along with its full path:
sudo rm /etc/apt/preferences.d/nosnap.pref
Now, update the system repositories and install the snap daemon on your Linux Mint system to manage the snaps by running the below-given command:
sudo apt update && sudo apt install snapd
Afterward, enable the snap daemon by running the “systemctl” command:
sudo systemctl enable snapd
Now your system is ready for installing the VLC media player using the snap application manager.
Install VLC (Media Player)
To download as well as install the VLC, use the “snap” command. It permits users to install the VLC media player on your Linux system using the snap package manager:
sudo snap install vlc
According to the given output, VLC has been installed successfully on the Linux Mint system.
Method 5: Using Software Manager (GUI)
If users want to install VLC on their Linux Mint system, they can use the “Software Manager” (graphical tool). It lets users browse, install, and remove applications from official repositories and third-party sources.
Here are the steps to install VLC using Software Manager:
Step 1: Open the Software Manager
Open the Software Manager from the menu or by pressing the Super key, typing “software”, and selecting the “Software Manager” application as below:
Step 2: Search VLC Media Player
Next, type “vlc” and press the “Enter” button in the search box. It sees the VLC media player in the results:
Step 3: Install the VLC Media Player
Click on the VLC media player icon and then click on the “Install” button:
After pressing the “Install” button, it requires installing some dependencies. For this, press the “Continue” button below:
You may be asked to enter your password (Login User) to confirm the installation:
Now, you can see the progress in the status bar at the bottom of the window:
Now, Launch VLC by pressing the “Launch” button:
How to Launch VLC Media Player on Linux Mint?
Once the installation is completed, the VLC media player is ready to use. For that purpose, you can use the CLI command or launch it manually through GUI(Graphical User Interface).
Launch VLC through CLI Command
To launch the VLC media player in the Linux Mint terminal (easiest way), run the “vlc” command and press the “Enter” button:
vlc
For Flatpak User
If you have installed the VLC player via the flatpak package manager, then use the “flatpak” command with the “run” option by specifying the application id “org.videolan.VLC” to launch it:
flatpak run org.videolan.VLC
For Source Code File
To launch the VLC media player after installing the source code file, type the “vlc” command and hit the “Enter” button as below:
Launch VLC Using GUI Method
To launch the VLC media player manually, then:
- Go to the Linux Mint menu > search “VLC media player” > launch it:
Usage of VLC Media Player
Users can access the main attributes of VLC Media Player from the menu bar. For this, right-click on the context menu, or the toolbar. Also, utilize mouse gestures or shortcuts to handle the playback:
Some of the features that you can use on the interface are:
– Play, pause, stop, fast forward, rewind, skip, or loop the media file.
– Switch to full screen, windowed, or minimal mode.
– Adjust the volume, mute, or change the audio track or subtitle.
Additionally, users can crop, zoom, rotate, or apply filters and effects to the video.
– Record, capture, or stream the media file.
– Open multiple files in a playlist or a media library.
– Browse and play files from your local drive, network, or online sources.
To explore more about the VLC media player by navigating to the official VLC website.
Bonus Tip: Install VLC Media Player on RHEL-based Linux Distributions
To install VLC on RHEL-based Linux Distributions (CentOS, Fedora, Arch Linux), first, enable the EPEL repository. It assists extra packages that are not present in the official repositories like the “vlc” package. Then, install VLC using the “yum” package manager as below:
Step 1: Enable the EPEL Repository
EPEL contains the VLC package as well as its dependencies. To do this, run the “yum” command with the “epel-release” as root or with sudo privileges:
yum install epel-release
It installs the EPEL package and enables the EPEL repository.
If users find an error, download the rpm file to install dependencies via the below command:
sudo yum install https://download1.rpmfusion.org/free/el/rpmfusion-free-release-7.noarch.rpm
Step 2: Install VLC
To install VLC on a CentOS-based Linux distribution, execute the “vlc” command with the “yum” package manager with the sudo privileges:
sudo yum install vlc
That is all from the installation of VLC on the CentOS operating system.
How to Uninstall\Remove VLC Media Player From Linux Mint?
To uninstall the VLC media player on the system, remove or uninstall it based on the installation procedure below:
For APT
If you have installed VLC via the apt repository, then execute the following command to completely remove it from your Linux Mint system:
sudo apt remove vlc # Remove VLC Packages sudo apt purge vlc # Remove VLC Packages (Dependencies, Configurations) sudo apt autoremove vlc # Remove VLC Packages (Dependencies, Configuration, and Temporary Files)
For Snap
To remove the VLC from the Linux Mint system via the snap package manager, execute the “remove” command with the “snap”:
sudo snap remove vlc
For Source Code
Execute the provided command to uninstall the VLC media player if you installed it through the source code. Here, the file will be accessed inside the directory where the files are extracted, configured, and compiled:
cd vlc-3.0.20 sudo make uninstall
For Flatpak
For those users who have installed the VLC through Flatpak, run the following command to uninstall it along with its associated data:
flatpak uninstall --delete-data org.videolan.VLC
For GUI
To remove/delete the VLC media player, go to the Linux Mint menu and search “Software Manager”. Then, type the “VLC” in the highlighted box. Finally, hit the “Remove” button as highlighted below:
It is all from the GUI method.
Bonus Tip: For RHEL-based Linux Distribution
To uninstall VLC on CentOS, you need to use the yum command with the remove option.
sudo yum remove vlc # Remove VLC sudo yum clean all # Remove the configuration files and cache files of VLC
It removes/uninstalls the VLC package along with its dependent packages from Linux Mint.
That is all about installation, uninstallation, and basic usage of the VLC on Linux Mint.
Conclusion
In this guide, we have provided the different methods for installing the VLC media player on Linux Mint. It includes the “APT” package manager, the “Snap” package manager, the “Source Code” file, and the “Flatpak” package manager.
Above these, the “APT” package manager is preferable if users want to install the non-stable(not up-to-date) version of VLC. Alternatively, the source code approach is sufficient for installing the newest version of VLC. You can now enjoy your favorite media files with this amazing player. VLC has various settings that you can customize as well as explore your liking.
