Skype is a very famous video conferencing and chatting application that was launched back in 2003.
After the release of this application, its popularity increased day by day and the proof of it is that it is still widely used all across the world for online communications even after eighteen years of its release.
It is a cross-platform software available for most major operating systems, including Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS.
Here at LinuxAPT, as part of our Server Management Services, we regularly help our Customers to perform Software Installation task on Linux Mint Systems.
In this context, we shall look into how to install Skype on your Linux Mint.
To install Skype on Linux Mint 20, follow the steps given below.
Since we are going to install Skype on Linux Mint 20, therefore, it will be good to update our system before that with the following command:
$ sudo apt updateThe "update" command will look for all those packages that require updating and will update them accordingly.
Once the system update finishes, the next step is to upgrade your system. For that, you will have to execute the command shown below:
$ sudo apt upgrade –yThe up-gradation process took around half an hour to complete in our case since there were around 164 packages to be upgraded.
This time will vary according to the particular number of packages that are to be upgraded.
Now when our Linux Mint 20 system is fully updated and upgraded, we can go on with the installation of Skype on it.
Skype can be easily installed on Linux Mint 20 by running the following command:
$ sudo apt install skypeforlinuxOnce Skype along with all of its required packages and dependencies will be installed on your Linux Mint 20 system, you will be able to get the control of the terminal back.
By now, Skype will be successfully installed on your Linux Mint 20 system. You can verify it by launching this application.
All you have to do is to locate the Mint Menu icon on the taskbar and click on it.
In the Mint Menu, you will also be presented with a search bar in which you have to type "skype" and then click on the Skype search result.
When you will do this, the welcome window of Skype will appear on your screen.
From here, you can click on the "Let's go" button for getting started with Skype.
Although, Skype is a very useful video conferencing and chatting application, however, whenever you do not feel like using it any longer, you can conveniently remove it from your Linux Mint 20 system.
This will immediately free up the extra space that this application had occupied on your system.
You can remove Skype and its configuration files from your Linux Mint 20 system by running the command shown below:
$ sudo apt-get purge skypeforlinuxNow you can also run the command shown below to get rid of all the irrelevant packages that are no longer needed after the deletion of Skype:
$ sudo apt-get autoremoveThis command will only finish its execution once it has removed all the unused packages from your system.
This article covers how to install Skype on Linux Mint 20 system. Skype is used to make free video and voice calls, send instant messages, and also to share files with other people on Skype.
However, if at any instance, you feel like you are getting more inclined towards some other application or Skype is not fulfilling your needs anymore, then you can easily remove it by following the removal method prescribed in this guide.
To Install Skype on Linux Mint using the Software Center:
1. Click ‘Menu’, type ‘Software Manager’ in the search box and launch it.
2. Search for ‘Skype’ in the Software Manager’s search box. You should see Skype and Skype (Flathub). These are just coming from two different sources. Click on only the “Skype” version. This is coming from the official Linux Mint’s Repository source.
3. Click “Install”, enter the Root password to complete the installation.
4. After the installation is complete, you can click on the “Launch” button or open the app from the “Applications” menu.
5. Start using Skype!
