How to get latest Skype for Linux version from repository?

Question

I have Skype installed which I got from the Canonical Partners repository, however after reading this article I have come to understand that I can get this latest Alpha version from a repository too though no such update has come to me via the partner repository I have activated. So I have several questions on this matter:

1. So from which repository (unless that was just a mistake in the article) do I get it from? Is it available under a different name in the partner repository, or is there another official Skype repository?

2. If it is the case that there is a more official repository to get this from then when it is no longer Alpha but instead Stable, will I be able to upgrade to it via the partner repository I currently have enabled or is it no longer support in there?

I am running Ubuntu GNOME 16.04 with GNOME 3.20.

Solution

1. Download the Deb package for Skype for Linux Beta with your favourite web browser or HTTP client.

   • For a terminal-based solution use:

     wget https://go.skype.com/skypeforlinux-64.deb
     

2. Install the Deb package with your favourite package manager, e. g. Software Center or GDebi.

   • For a terminal-based solution or to debug the package installation use:

     sudo dpkg -i skypeforlinux-64.deb
     sudo apt install -f
     

3. You're done! When you installed the package it automatically added the repository

   deb [arch=amd64] https://repo.skype.com/deb stable main
   

   to the file /etc/apt/sources.list.d/skype-stable.list to keep your installation of Skype up to date via Ubuntu's package update process.

Comments

[Admin]

@Pilot6: The article suggests that you can get it from a repo, I am not interested in just downloading a .deb file, I want to be able to update it through apt, and it is suggested at the end of the article that this is possible. So how do I add the repo? Also, it might have been announced somewhere or there might be a standard thing to happen with the version in the partner repository. If you don't know, say, the most important thing I want to know is how to get it from a repo so that I can just upgrade it with apt rather than having to download a new .deb file every time.

[Admin]

The repo is https://repo.skype.com/deb/pool/main/s/skypeforlinux/ as you can easily find out. But it is not that sort of repo that can be used with apt.

[Admin]

@Pilot6: How do you explain this bit at the end of the article then: If you already have Skype for Linux installed you don’t need to download anything. You’ll be notified of this update through your distribution’s software update mechanism, which in Ubuntu’s case is Software Updater.?

[Admin]

Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat.

[Admin]

@Pilot6 of course it is, what are you talking about?

[Admin]

Related: How to Install Skype Alpha in Ubuntu 16.04 Via Console only?

[jnas]

If at some point the package is purged, the repository file seems to be left in place and active.

[Gunnar Hjalmarsson]

@jnas: Can you please post a question about that.

[jnas]

Posted askubuntu.com/questions/951657/…

[Sean Bone]

Why are you also running sudo apt install -f? I thought sudo dpkg -i would be enough.

[Gunnar Hjalmarsson]

@SeanBone: sudo dpkg -i don't install possible additional packages which skypeforlinux depends on. sudo apt install -f fixes that.

[Marco Sulla]

Unluckily when I run apt update I get W: GPG error: https://repo.skype.com/deb stable InRelease: The following signatures couldn't be verified because the public key is not available: NO_PUBKEY

[Gunnar Hjalmarsson]

@MarcoSulla: answers.microsoft.com/en-us/skype/forum/…