TeamViewer is a proprietary cross-platform remote access application for remote control, desktop sharing, file transfer, and online meetings. It is one of the most widely used remote support tools in the world, available for Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android.
TeamViewer is not included in the Ubuntu repositories because it is proprietary software. This guide covers how to install TeamViewer on Ubuntu 18.04 using the official .deb package. The same steps apply to Ubuntu 16.04, Debian, Linux Mint, and Elementary OS.
<strong>Prerequisite:</strong> You need sudo access.
Download the official TeamViewer .deb package. The _amd64.deb suffix indicates this package is for 64-bit x86-64 systems. For ARM-based machines, download the appropriate package from the TeamViewer Linux downloads page:
bashwget https://download.teamviewer.com/download/linux/teamviewer_amd64.deb
Install the package using apt. The ./ prefix tells apt this is a local file path, not a package name from the repositories:
bashsudo apt install ./teamviewer_amd64.deb
At the ‘Do you want to continue?’ prompt, type Y and press Enter. The installer resolves and installs the Qt5 library dependencies that TeamViewer requires for its graphical interface. TeamViewer also registers its official APT repository automatically during this process, which enables future updates.
Start TeamViewer from the Activities menu by searching for “TeamViewer,” or from the terminal:
bashteamviewer
The first time TeamViewer opens, click Accept License Agreement before the main interface loads.
The main window shows two important values:
To connect to a remote machine, enter its TeamViewer ID in the Partner ID field and click Connect. You will be prompted for the remote machine’s current session password.
A few capabilities worth knowing about:
Confirm the repository was added. During installation, TeamViewer registered its official APT repository automatically. Verify this:
bashcat /etc/apt/sources.list.d/teamviewer.list
The file contains deb https://linux.teamviewer.com/deb stable main. Future TeamViewer updates now arrive through the Ubuntu Software Updater alongside your other system packages. To update from the terminal:
bashsudo apt updatesudo apt upgrade teamviewer
About the license. TeamViewer is free for personal, non-commercial use with no time limit. Using it commercially — for business support, managing company devices, or as part of a paid service — requires a paid subscription. TeamViewer monitors usage patterns and may restrict accounts it identifies as commercial use without a license.
To uninstall TeamViewer:
bashsudo apt remove teamviewer
This removes the application but preserves the repository file at /etc/apt/sources.list.d/teamviewer.list. Delete that file separately if you want to remove the repository entirely.
TeamViewer is now installed on your Ubuntu 18.04 desktop. Share your ID and session password with whoever needs to connect, or configure unattended access to manage remote machines without an active session at the other end. Leave a comment below if you run into any issues.
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