Install VLC on Ubuntu 24.04: APT, Snap or Flatpak

Last updated: October 8, 2026

VLC media player is officially available on many Linux distributions including Ubuntu 24.04. The VLC is an outstanding media player that is natively open-source and cross-platform. It supports media formats that aren’t supported by other media players and you don’t need to download additional plugins to do so. VLC handles H.264, HEVC, AV1, MKV, MP4, FLAC, and dozens of other formats out of the box, including DVDs and network streams. To convert between those formats from the terminal, you can also install FFmpeg on Ubuntu 24.04.

Quick answer

The quickest way to install VLC on Ubuntu 24.04 is:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install vlc

That installs VLC 3.0.20 from Ubuntu’s universe repository (package version 3.0.20-3build6, checked with apt-cache policy vlc on Ubuntu 24.04 on 8 Oct 2026). App Center, Snap and Flatpak are alternatives if you prefer a graphical install or a sandboxed package. Use one method only, or you will see two VLC entries in the app menu.

Install method comparison

Method	Source	Auto-updates	Best for
APT	Ubuntu repository	With apt upgrade	Most users; cleanest system integration
App Center	Snap (via GUI)	Automatic	No-terminal install; same package as Snap
Snap	Snapcraft	Automatic daily refresh	Sandboxed, always up to date
Flatpak	Flathub	With flatpak update	Cross-distro sandboxed package
Source	videolan.org	Manual rebuild	Custom builds only; not recommended for most users

How to Install VLC in Ubuntu 24.04

Method 1: Install VLC in Ubuntu 24.04 Via the App Store or GUI

The VLC media player is available in Ubuntu 24.04’s App Center, which installs the Snap version. To install it, open App Center, search for VLC, choose the stable channel (the other channels are test builds) and click the Install button to install it:

After installing VLC via the App Store, you can launch it via the Activities or by entering the “vlc” command in the terminal.

Method 2: Install VLC in Ubuntu 24.04 Using the apt Package Manager

The VLC media player is officially available in Ubuntu 24.04’s default repositories and you can install it using the apt package manager via the following command:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install vlc

VLC from the repository is updated with the rest of the system by sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade. To update only VLC, use --only-upgrade, which never installs VLC if it is missing (on a system without VLC it prints “Skipping vlc, it is not installed and only upgrades are requested”). The screenshot below shows the older sudo apt upgrade vlc form from the original guide.

sudo apt update
sudo apt install --only-upgrade vlc

Method 3: Install VLC in Ubuntu 24.04 Via flathub

The flathub hosts numerous applications and can be used on almost every other Linux distribution. The same repository also carries browsers, so you can install Firefox on Ubuntu 24.04 the same way. You can install the VLC using the flathub in Ubuntu 24, by following these steps:

Step 1: Install Flatpak and add Flathub

Ubuntu 24.04 does not include Flatpak by default. Install it first if flatpak --version says “command not found”:

sudo apt install flatpak

The flathub is the centralized repository of the flatpak apps. To add the flatpak repository in Ubuntu 24.04, execute the below-mentioned command:

flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

Step 2: Skip this command

The original version of this guide ran sudo flatpak install flathub here (shown in the screenshot below). It does not install VLC and is not needed; Flathub is ready once the remote is added. Go straight to step 3.

Step 3: Install VLC Media Player in Ubuntu 24.04 Via flathub

Now install the VLC media player using the following command:

flatpak install flathub org.videolan.VLC

To run the VLC installed via the flathub, use the command:

flatpak run org.videolan.VLC

You can update the flatpak-based VLC media player by running the below-highlighted command:

sudo flatpak update --app org.videolan.VLC

Method 4: Install VLC in Ubuntu 24.04 Via snap

The snap is a collection of all libraries and dependencies contained in a package to install certain packages. Using the snap, you can install a variety of applications on almost every other Linux distro. It also hosts the VLC that can be installed by running the below-given command in Ubuntu 24.04:

sudo snap install vlc

If you want to update a snap-based VLC installation in Ubuntu 24.04, execute the following command:

sudo snap refresh vlc

Method 5: Install VLC in Ubuntu Using the Source Code

Building from source is only worth it if you need a build option or patch that the packaged versions do not have. It takes much longer than the other methods and you must rebuild it yourself for every security update. To install the VLC media player in Ubuntu 24 using the source code, follow the given stepwise instructions:

Step 1: Download the VLC source archive

The official source code of VLC is published as a .tar.xz archive. The command below uses 3.0.20 as in the original guide; check the official source page for the current version and replace the number. Download it with:

wget https://get.videolan.org/vlc/3.0.20/vlc-3.0.20.tar.xz

Step 2: Install the build dependencies

Warning: the original version of this step (shown in the screenshot below) used libxcb* and libvlc* wildcards. Do not copy it. The wildcards pull in every matching package from the repository, including Ubuntu’s own libvlc libraries, which defeats the point of building VLC yourself and can install a very large number of packages. The usual Debian/Ubuntu way is to let APT install the build dependencies of the packaged VLC, which needs source packages (deb-src) enabled in your APT sources:

sudo apt build-dep vlc

I did not run a full source build for this update. VLC’s configure step lists any missing libraries; install those by name rather than with wildcards.

Step 3: Configure the VLC Media Player’s Source Code

Now open files, navigate to Home, find the VLC media player’s source code file and extract it. After that, navigate the terminal to the extracted directory and ensure the availability of the required packages, using the following command:

cd /home/user/vlc-3.0.20
./configure

Step 4: Compile the VLC Media Player’s Source Code

Next, execute the following command to compile the VLC’s source code:

make

Step 5: Install VLC Media Player

Here, execute the below command and install the VLC media player in Ubuntu 24.04 using the source code:

sudo make install

Now, verify the installation via the below command:

vlc -v

Bonus Tip: How to Set VLC as Default Media Player in Ubuntu 24.04

To set the VLC media player as your default media player in Ubuntu 24.04, open Settings and navigate to Apps > Default Apps. From here, select VLC media player against the Music and Video.

How to Uninstall VLC From Ubuntu 24.04

You can uninstall the VLC media player from Ubuntu 24.04 based on the installation process you followed.

For an App Center installation, open App Center, click on Manage, find & click on VLC and then use the three dots to Uninstall it:

For apt-based installation of the VLC media player in Ubuntu 24.04, use the below command to uninstall it:

sudo apt autoremove vlc --purge

For snap-based VLC media player’s installation in Ubuntu 24.04, you can use the following command to uninstall it:

sudo snap remove vlc

To uninstall the flatpak-based VLC media player in Ubuntu 24.04, execute:

flatpak uninstall org.videolan.VLC

If you have used the source-based installation method for the VLC media player in Ubuntu 24.04, execute the following command after navigating to the directory where you have extracted the source code:

sudo make uninstall

Which VLC install method should you choose?

APT is the easiest terminal method and fits most Ubuntu desktops because it uses Ubuntu’s normal package management. App Center is better if you prefer installing software without commands.

Snap and Flatpak are useful when you want a packaged desktop app that is updated separately from the Ubuntu repository — the same reasoning applies when you install Slack on Ubuntu 24.04. Source installation is only worth using if you specifically need to build VLC yourself.