For the majority of you Windows users out there (myself included) this may be an update you could care less about. However, for our Linux folks out there this maybe some of the most exciting news you’ll see this year! Microsoft has recently announced the availability of Microsoft Teams for Linux users. This public preview can be found here and you can expect the client to include all of the Teams “core” capabilities. This includes: chat, video meetings, calling, and collaboration on O365 documents.
Image provided by: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/Microsoft-Teams-Blog/Microsoft-Teams-is-now-available-on-Linux/ba-p/1056267
In an effort for Microsoft to support multiple mixed environments (Windows, Mac, and now Linux) this latest addition will only help to strengthen collaboration between all of your users at your organization. In addition, this also presents opportunities for developers who have built apps for Teams to be able to expand into the Linux side of things.
Installing the Linux Client
You can install the native Linux package in either .deb or .rpm formats. If you’re worried about auto-updating don’t worry, that’s all taken care of for you automatically via the system’s package manager.
If you are installing Teams using a DEB package, follow the instructions below:
- Download the package from https://aka.ms/getteams.
- Install using one of the following:
- Open the relevant package management tool and go through the self-guided Linux app installation process.
- Or if you love Terminal, type:
sudo apt install **teams download file**
You can launch Teams via Activities or via Terminal by typing Teams.
On the other hand, if you’re installing using the RPM package, follow these instructions below:
- Download the package from https://aka.ms/getteams.
- Install using one of the following:
- Open the relevant package management tool and go through the self-guided Linux app installation process.
- Or if you love Terminal, type:
sudo yum install **teams download file**
You can launch Teams via Activities or via Terminal by typing Teams.
Known Issues with Teams on Linux
With new releases of any product, there are always bound to be a few bugs here and there as well as some limitations. If you happen to find a bug while using the Teams Linux client there will be a “Report a Problem” link within the client which you can use. Some known issues at this time are outlined in the table below:
| Issue Title | Behavior / Symptom | Known Workaround | Discovery Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| AutoStart on Linux is not working. | AutoStart on Linux does not start the Teams application. | 12/05/19 |
|
| White screen when resuming from sleep/suspend. | When your computer resumes / wakes from sleep or suspend mode there can be a network change (especially when the computer is connected to VPN before put to sleep/suspended) and that takes some time for the computer to reobtain the connection. The combination of these things can lead to a Teams white screen. | Restarting Teams client will help. | 12/05/19 |
| Cursor missing when screen sharing. | While sharing screen, the other party does not see the cursor of the person sharing the screen. | 12/05/19 |
|
| Issue running in parallel with VMWare workstation. | The Teams application experiences issues when running in parallel with VMWare workstation. | 12/05/19 |
|
| KDE notifications create new taskbar. | Notification on KDE creates new window in taskbar. | 12/05/19 |
|
| Package managers not showing changelist. | Package manager does not show changelist. | 12/05/19 |
|
| Cannot launch Teams client in offline mode. | Unable to launch Teams Offline in Linux client. | 12/05/19 |
|
| Device settings while in meeting. | When in a meeting and changing device settings, the Microphone indicator isn't registering anything being picked up. | 12/05/19 |
|
| Can't close Teams application using keyboard. | Can't close the Teams application using the default $mod + shift + q or by clicking the close button in the app. | 12/05/19 |
As you may notice, there aren’t many workarounds known yet. However, I encourage you to check back here on a regular basis as this may change in the coming weeks as the product matures. I hope you have found this article helpful and want to wish everyone a healthy and happy holiday!
I prefer Linux over Microsoft.
Hi, thanks for your feedback. Linux does tend to be the favorite OS especially when development comes into play! I believe this has been a smart play by Microsoft adding support for Teams on Linux as this expands their reach across all of the major operating systems!