How to Install Strawberry on Ubuntu 26.04, 24.04 and 22.04

Large local music libraries are harder to manage when the player treats everything like a disposable stream instead of a collection you actually maintain. That is what makes it useful to install Strawberry on Ubuntu, because Strawberry Music Player focuses on library management, MusicBrainz lookups, smart playlists, and bit-perfect playback.

Strawberry is a fork of Clementine, which explains why that older name still shows up in search results and forum threads. Ubuntu 26.04 and 24.04 ship Strawberry in Universe, while Ubuntu 22.04 needs the Strawberry PPA or Flatpak. The official Strawberry downloads page lists direct Ubuntu packages for selected releases, but the package-managed routes here are easier to update and remove cleanly across Ubuntu 26.04, 24.04, and 22.04.

Install Strawberry on Ubuntu

Three installation paths make sense on current Ubuntu LTS releases. The default Ubuntu package is the simplest route when it exists, the Strawberry PPA keeps the app in APT while offering newer builds than Ubuntu 24.04, and Flatpak gives you the current Flathub build across every supported release.

Method	Source	Current Candidate	Updates	Best Fit
Ubuntu repositories	Ubuntu Universe	26.04: 1.2.18; 24.04: 1.0.23; 22.04: none	Native APT updates	The shortest package-managed install on Ubuntu 26.04 and 24.04
Strawberry PPA	Jonas Kvinge Launchpad PPA	26.04/24.04: 1.2.19; 22.04: 1.1.3	APT-managed updates	APT users who want the newer branch on 26.04 or 24.04, or any APT build on 22.04
Flatpak	Flathub	Flathub stable 1.2.19	Flatpak app and runtime updates	Desktop users who want the same current app branch across supported Ubuntu releases

Use the Ubuntu repositories on 26.04 or 24.04 when you want the shortest APT workflow.
Use the Strawberry PPA on 22.04, or when you want the PPA’s 1.2.19 build through APT on 26.04 or 24.04.
Use Flatpak when you want the same current Strawberry release on every supported Ubuntu version through Flathub.

Ubuntu 26.04 and 24.04 include Strawberry in Universe, while Ubuntu 22.04 returns no default package candidate and needs the PPA or Flatpak instead. All three methods install cleanly from a terminal, but Strawberry still needs an active graphical session to launch the desktop interface.

Update Ubuntu before installing Strawberry

Refresh APT first so the package index and any pending base-system updates are out of the way before you add or install anything else.

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

These commands use sudo for root privileges. If your account does not have sudo access yet, follow the guide to add a new user to sudoers on Ubuntu before continuing.

Install Strawberry from Ubuntu repositories

The default APT package is the easiest path on Ubuntu 26.04 and 24.04. Ubuntu 26.04 ships a 1.2.x build close to the current upstream branch, Ubuntu 24.04 stays on the older 1.0.x package, and Ubuntu 22.04 has no Strawberry package in the default repositories.

Strawberry comes from Universe on the releases that package it. Standard Ubuntu installs usually have that component enabled already, but trimmed images can disable it, so use the guide to enable Universe and Multiverse in Ubuntu if the policy check shows no candidate on 26.04 or 24.04.

Ubuntu release	Default Strawberry	Availability
Ubuntu 26.04	Strawberry 1.2.x	Available in Universe
Ubuntu 24.04	Strawberry 1.0.x	Available in Universe
Ubuntu 22.04	Not packaged	Use the Strawberry PPA or Flatpak

Check the package policy before installing so you can see which candidate your release exposes.

apt-cache policy strawberry

strawberry:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: 1.2.18-1
  Version table:
    1.2.18-1 500
      500 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu resolute/universe amd64 Packages

Ubuntu 24.04 shows Candidate: 1.0.23-1build3 from noble/universe. Ubuntu 22.04 shows Installed: (none) and Candidate: (none), which is your cue to use the PPA or Flatpak method instead.

Install the package with APT when the policy output shows a candidate on your release.

sudo apt install strawberry -y

Verify the installed package version after APT finishes.

dpkg-query -W strawberry

strawberry	1.2.18-1

On Ubuntu 24.04, the same command returns strawberry 1.0.23-1build3. If you want the newer 1.2.x branch there, use the PPA or Flatpak method instead.

Install Strawberry from the PPA on Ubuntu

The stable PPA is the better APT option when you want Strawberry 1.2.19 on Ubuntu 26.04 or 24.04, or when you need an APT package on Ubuntu 22.04. The Jammy PPA package is older at 1.1.3, so use Flatpak instead on 22.04 if you want the current 1.2.19 app release. Standard Ubuntu installs already include add-apt-repository, and stripped-down images can add it by installing software-properties-common first if the command is missing.

Add the stable PPA maintained by Jonas Kvinge.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:jonaski/strawberry -y

Refresh APT so the new Launchpad source is visible before you install the package.

sudo apt update

Hit:5 https://ppa.launchpadcontent.net/jonaski/strawberry/ubuntu resolute InRelease
Get:6 https://ppa.launchpadcontent.net/jonaski/strawberry/ubuntu resolute/main amd64 Packages [784 B]
Reading package lists...

Use a package-policy check before installing so you can confirm the PPA has taken priority.

apt-cache policy strawberry

strawberry:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: 1.2.19-resolute
  Version table:
    1.2.19-resolute 500
      500 https://ppa.launchpadcontent.net/jonaski/strawberry/ubuntu resolute/main amd64 Packages
    1.2.18-1 500
      500 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu resolute/universe amd64 Packages

Ubuntu 24.04 currently shows 1.2.19-noble from the PPA with a higher priority than the older 1.0.23-1build3 Ubuntu package. Ubuntu 22.04 shows 1.1.3-jammy from the PPA and still has no default-repository fallback.

Install Strawberry once the policy output shows the PPA candidate you want.

sudo apt install strawberry -y

Verify both the package version and the application version string after installation.

dpkg-query -W strawberry && strawberry --version

strawberry	1.2.19-resolute
Strawberry 1.2.19

On Ubuntu 24.04, the package line ends in 1.2.19-noble. On Ubuntu 22.04, the stable PPA currently installs 1.1.3-jammy and prints Strawberry 1.1.3.

Install Strawberry from Flatpak on Ubuntu

Flatpak is the easiest way to keep Strawberry 1.2.19 across Ubuntu 26.04, 24.04, and 22.04. Ubuntu does not ship Flatpak by default, so add it first if your system does not already provide the flatpak command.

If Flatpak is not set up yet, install Flatpak on Ubuntu first so the base package, the Flathub remote, and the desktop integration pieces are already in place before you add Strawberry.

Add Flathub at system scope so the install, update, and removal steps all use the same scope.

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

Verify that the Flathub remote exists before you install the application.

flatpak remotes --columns=name,options | grep -E '^flathub[[:space:]]'

flathub system

Install Strawberry from Flathub.

sudo flatpak install flathub org.strawberrymusicplayer.strawberry -y

The first Flatpak install on a system can also pull shared runtimes, so the initial download is often larger than the app itself.

Flathub lists Strawberry with broad desktop-player permissions, including network and audio access, device access, Wayland and X11 sockets, MPRIS D-Bus entries, and file access to xdg-music, /media, /mnt, and /run/media. That makes Flatpak useful for consistent packaging and updates, but it is not a strict-isolation choice here.

Confirm that the Flatpak app is installed and note the current version.

flatpak list --app --columns=application,version,branch,origin | grep -F org.strawberrymusicplayer.strawberry

org.strawberrymusicplayer.strawberry	1.2.19	stable	flathub

Launch Strawberry on Ubuntu

Strawberry is a desktop application, so launching it still requires a graphical session even if you installed it from a remote shell. Once you are back at the Ubuntu desktop, use the command or menu entry that matches your install method.

Launch Strawberry from the terminal on Ubuntu

APT installs use the regular launcher name.

strawberry

Flatpak installs use the application ID through flatpak run.

flatpak run org.strawberrymusicplayer.strawberry

Launch Strawberry from the applications menu on Ubuntu

The desktop entry appears as Strawberry in the application grid for both APT and Flatpak installs.

Open Activities.
Select Show Applications.
Search for Strawberry and launch it from the results.

Start Using Strawberry on Ubuntu

After launch, add your music folders from Strawberry’s interface and let the library scanner index the collection. The app’s own feature set covers tag editing, MusicBrainz tag retrieval, lyrics from multiple sources, smart playlists, and bit-perfect playback on Linux, so these core player features do not require a separate Ubuntu package.

Do not choose an install method from a generic RAM-use number alone. Memory use varies with library size, cover-art cache, active playback features, and whether shared Flatpak runtimes are already loaded, so compare after Strawberry has indexed your own collection.

Update or Remove Strawberry on Ubuntu

The update and removal path depends on whether Strawberry came from APT or Flatpak. Keep the package-manager cleanup and any optional source cleanup as separate steps so you can see what changed.

Update an APT-installed Strawberry package on Ubuntu

Use APT to refresh the package list, then upgrade only Strawberry without pulling unrelated packages.

sudo apt update && sudo apt install --only-upgrade strawberry -y

Update the Strawberry Flatpak on Ubuntu

Use the same system scope you used during installation when you update the Flatpak build.

sudo flatpak update org.strawberrymusicplayer.strawberry -y

Remove an APT-installed Strawberry package on Ubuntu

Remove the package first. This step is the same whether you installed Strawberry from Ubuntu’s repositories or from the PPA.

sudo apt remove strawberry -y

Verify that the package itself is gone before you clean up any optional repository source.

dpkg-query -W -f='${db:Status-Abbrev} ${binary:Package}\n' strawberry 2>/dev/null | grep '^ii' || echo "strawberry package not installed"

strawberry package not installed

If you want to remove orphaned dependencies afterward, preview the cleanup first. Continue only when the preview lists packages you intentionally want to remove, because autoremove can also include unrelated packages that were already orphaned before Strawberry was installed.

sudo apt autoremove --dry-run

Run the cleanup interactively after reviewing the preview.

sudo apt autoremove

If you used the stable PPA, remove the source afterward and refresh APT so the candidate falls back to Ubuntu’s own repositories when they provide one.

sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:jonaski/strawberry -y && sudo apt update

Confirm the source cleanup with another policy check.

apt-cache policy strawberry

strawberry:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: 1.2.18-1
  Version table:
    1.2.18-1 500
      500 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu resolute/universe amd64 Packages

After stable-PPA cleanup, Ubuntu 24.04 falls back to 1.0.23-1build3 from noble/universe. Ubuntu 22.04 shows Candidate: (none) because its default repositories still do not ship Strawberry.

Remove the Strawberry Flatpak on Ubuntu

Remove the system-scope Flatpak app with the same scope used during installation.

sudo flatpak remove org.strawberrymusicplayer.strawberry -y

Check the installed-app list afterward instead of relying on flatpak info, which is less reliable after the app has already been removed.

flatpak list --app --columns=application | grep -Fx org.strawberrymusicplayer.strawberry || echo "Flatpak app not installed"

Flatpak app not installed

Strawberry may not create its user-data directories until you actually launch the desktop app, so do not delete config paths by guesswork. If you want a full cleanup, inspect ~/.config/strawberry, ~/.cache/strawberry, ~/.local/share/strawberry, ~/.var/app/org.strawberrymusicplayer.strawberry, and ~/.strawberry, then remove only the directories that actually exist.

Conclusion

After installing Strawberry on Ubuntu, use it for local libraries, tag cleanup, smart playlists, and lossless playback. If you want better metadata hygiene next, install MusicBrainz Picard on Ubuntu. When the same collection also includes video files or network streams, install VLC Media Player on Ubuntu as well.