How to Install The Latest Mesa Graphics Driver in Ubuntu 20.04 / 21.04

Last updated: April 26, 2024

For those sticking to the open-source graphics driver, the latest Mesa 3D graphics library is easy to install via an Ubuntu PPA.

Mesa is an open-source software implementation of OpenGL, Vulkan, VDPAU, VA-API, and other graphics API specifications.

Ubuntu uses Mesa as OpenGL implementation if no proprietary driver is in use. It is however always old. For users want to play some games with the open-source RadeonSI, RADV, Intel, or Nouveau drivers, you may try the latest Mesa via PPA.

Install Mesa via Ubuntu PPA:

A trustworthy Ubuntu PPA is available that contains the latest stable Mesa packages for Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 20.04. It also provides packages for Ubuntu 20.10 and Ubuntu 21.04, but not tested.

1. Add the PPA:

Search for and open terminal from system app launcher. When it opens, run command to add the PPA:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:kisak/kisak-mesa

Type user password, no visual feedback, when it asks. Read the PPA description as you want and hit Enter to continue.

2. Install Mesa packages:

For Ubuntu 18.04, Linux Mint, you need to update package cache though it’d done automatically in Ubuntu 20.04 and higher.

sudo apt update

Finally install available upgrades of all packages including Mesa library via command:

sudo apt full-upgrade

3. Check mesa version:

To find out the package version, use command:

glxinfo | grep "OpenGL version"

Restore Original Mesa packages:

To restore your graphics driver to the original status, firstly install ppa-purge via command:

sudo apt install ppa-purge

Next purge the Ubuntu PPA which will downgrade all the installed packages:

sudo ppa-purge ppa:kisak/kisak-mesa

For Linux Mint 20, it’s recommended to add -d focal flag to work safely:

sudo ppa-purge -d focal ppa:kisak/kisak-mesa

Twitter

I'm a freelance blogger who started using Ubuntu in 2007 and wishes to share my experiences and some useful tips with Ubuntu beginners and lovers. Please comment to let me know if the tutorial is outdated! And, notify me if you find any typo/grammar/language mistakes. English is not my native language. Contact me via [email protected] Buy me a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/ubuntuhandbook1 |

3 responses to How to Install The Latest Mesa Graphics Driver in Ubuntu 20.04 / 21.04

  1. On the “Additional Drivers” tab in settings, It shows “Unknown: Unknown”. Will this help detect my driver or should I like it how it is?

  2. This article’s title is a little misleading.. I am trying to find out which mesa driver packages to install and this only helps if they are already installed. Thanks.

  3. This article is complete nonsense. It only tells you how to install it after you already installed it. Who needs that? Noone.