Download & Install VLC on Linux (apt, dnf, pacman, Snap, Flatpak)
How to get official VLC 3.0.23 on Debian/Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch, plus Snap and Flatpak options. Command-line install for every major distribution.
Official Download — No Bundle · VLC 3.0.23 · ~90 MB installed (package ~30–40 MB)
Official Download — No Bundle — VLC 3.0.23Note: videolan.org · Debian / Ubuntu / Fedora / Arch / openSUSE · Snap & Flatpak
On Linux, the recommended way to install VLC is through your distribution package manager — it integrates with your update system and dependency management. This page covers apt (Debian/Ubuntu), dnf (Fedora), pacman (Arch), plus Snap and Flatpak for distributions without VLC in their repos. All of these point to official VideoLAN sources (distro packages are built from official VLC source).
On this page
Available builds
| Build | File | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Debian / Ubuntu (apt) | sudo apt install vlc | From official distro repos. |
| Fedora (dnf) | sudo dnf install vlc | May need RPM Fusion enabled. |
| Arch (pacman) | sudo pacman -S vlc | From official repos. |
| Universal (Snap) | sudo snap install vlc | Snapcraft store, auto-updating. |
| Universal (Flatpak) | flatpak install flathub org.videolan.VLC | Flathub, sandboxed. |
System requirements
| Item | Requirement |
|---|---|
| OS | Any maintained distribution (Debian 12+, Ubuntu 22.04+, Fedora 38+, Arch, openSUSE) |
| CPU | x86-64, ARM64 or RISC-V; any dual-core |
| RAM | 512 MB minimum, 2 GB recommended |
| GPU | VA-API / VDPAU support for hardware decoding (Intel, AMD, NVIDIA with drivers) |
| Disk | ~150 MB installed |
| Display | X11 or Wayland (XWayland compatibility) |
Install steps
Step 1Step 1 — Install via your package manager
Run the command for your distribution (see the architecture list above). On Ubuntu/Debian, VLC is in the "universe" repo, usually enabled by default. On Fedora, enable RPM Fusion first if dnf cannot find vlc.
Step 2Step 2 — Enable hardware acceleration
Install the VA-API/VDPAU drivers for your GPU: sudo apt install intel-media-va-driver (Intel), mesa-va-drivers (AMD), or the NVIDIA proprietary driver + nvidia-vaapi-driver. Then in VLC: Tools → Preferences → Input/Codecs → Hardware-accelerated decoding → VA-API video decoder.
Step 3Step 3 — Verify the install
Run vlc --version in a terminal — it should report 3.0.23. Launch VLC from the app menu and play a test file. On Wayland sessions, if video flickers, switch VLC to the X11 output: Tools → Preferences → Video → Output → X11.
Frequently asked questions
apt says "vlc: not found" on Ubuntu
sudo add-apt-repository universe then sudo apt update && sudo apt install vlc.No hardware decoding after install
vainfo — if it lists profiles, decoding should work.VLC video flickers on Wayland
QT_QPA_PLATFORM=xcb vlc.