How to Install Skype on Fedora 18 / 17 / 16

Edit: Due to the fact that this article is old, the installation instructions may not work anymore. In order to successfully install the latest version of Skype, please access the skype tag and open the latest article (the one on top).

The latest installation instructions for Skype

Hello Linux Geeksters.

In this article I will show you how to install Skype 4.1 on Fedora 18, Fedora 17 and Fedora 16.

As you know, Skype is the most popular chat program for video calling.

Follow this steps for a successful installation:

Install Skype on Fedora:

Step 1: Install the needed dependencies:

$ sudo yum install alsa-lib.i686 fontconfig.i686 freetype.i686 glib2.i686 libSM.i686 libXScrnSaver.i686 libXi.i686 libXrandr.i686 libXrender.i686 libXv.i686 libstdc++.i686 pulseaudio-libs.i686 qt.i686 qt-x11.i686 zlib.i686 qtwebkit.i686

Step 2: Download Skype:

$ wget --trust-server-names http://www.skype.com/go/getskype-linux-dynamic

Step 3: Extract the archive:

$ tar xvf skype-4.1* -C /opt/skype --strip-components=1

Step 4: Do this tweaks:

$ sudo ln -s /opt/skype/skype.desktop /usr/share/applications/skype.desktop
$ sudo ln -s /opt/skype/icons/SkypeBlue_48x48.png /usr/share/icons/skype.png
$ sudo ln -s /opt/skype/icons/SkypeBlue_48x48.png /usr/share/pixmaps/skype.png

Step 5: Create /usr/bin/skype and set the propper permissions on it:

$ sudo touch /usr/bin/skype
$ chmod 755 /usr/bin/skype

Step 6: Paste the following lines in /usr/bin/skype and save the file:

#!/bin/sh
export SKYPE_HOME="/opt/skype"
$SKYPE_HOME/skype --resources=$SKYPE_HOME $*