How to Install Atom Text Editor on Ubuntu 18.04

Atom is a free and open source cross-platform code editor developed by GitHub. It It includes support package manager, Node.js plugins, embedded Git control, smart auto-completion, syntax highlighting and multiple panes. Atom is a desktop application built using web technologies. Atom is based on Electron a framework that enables cross-platform desktop applications using Chromium and Node.js. It is written in CoffeeScript and Less. In this tutorial, described how to install Atom Text Editor on Ubuntu 18.04 system.

Prerequisites#

Before you start Atom Text Editor installation on Ubuntu, you are logged in as a non-root user with administrator-level privileges.

Install Atom on Ubuntu#

Follow the below steps to install Atom on your Ubuntu 18.04 system:

At first, update the apt package list by typing:

sudo apt update

After that you should install necessary dependencies for fetching packages from https sources:

sudo apt install software-properties-common apt-transport-https wget

Import GPG key of the repository using following wget command:

wget -q https://packagecloud.io/AtomEditor/atom/gpgkey -O- | sudo apt-key add -

Next add the Atom apt repository to your system using below command:

sudo add-apt-repository "deb [arch=amd64] https://packagecloud.io/AtomEditor/atom/any/ any main"

Once the repository enabled again update the package index list:

sudo apt update

Finally, Execute the below command to install Atom Text Editor:

sudo apt install atom

That’s all. Atom is installed on your Ubuntu system and ready to use.

Starting Atom#

Now Atom is ready to start it using your system terminal by typing atom or your can launch from Activities -> Atom menu.

When you launch Atom editor first time it will look like as below:

Update Atom Text Editor#

You can update the Atom when a new version is available. You can update it through your desktop standard Software Update tool. Alternatively, you can update by running the following commands in your terminal:

sudo apt update

sudo apt upgrade

Conclusion#

You have learned how to install Atom on your Ubuntu 18.04 system. You also can customize your Atom editor by installing plugins. If you would like to get more details about Atom visit the official Atom documentation page.

If you have any question or suggestion, please leave comment below.