*Sudo add-apt-repository ppa:libreoffice/ppa. And press enter. You'll then have to press enter a.
*Jan 29, 2020.How to Install Linux on Your Chromebook
Mar 24, 2020. May 06, 2020.What You'll NeedIf you want to go beyond the extensions and Android apps Chrome OS offers, there are a few ways to get Linux up and running to make your Chromebook more versatile.
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Chromebooks are amazing little machines. Since they run a barebones operating system with just a browser on top, they are often inexpensive, low-powered, and incredibly useful. However, if you want to go beyond the extensions and Android apps Chrome OS offers, there are a few ways to get Linux up and running to make your Chromebook more versatile.What You'll NeedInstall Linux Apps On Chromebook
There are a few ways to run Linux apps on your Chromebook, but in almost all cases, we recommend you have a few things:
*An Intel-based Chromebook. Technically, some of these methods can work on ARM-based machines, but you'll be more limited in the apps you can run. To truly unlock your Chromebook's potential, you'll want one using an Intel processor. Our favorites include the Asus Chromebook Flip (C302CA-DHM4) and HP Chromebook x2.
*Some Linux chops. We can walk you through the basic steps to get up and running, but in order to actually use Linux, you'll need some basic knowledge of how the operating system works, including the command line. If you're still a beginner, you can get an awful lot of help from the Ubuntu Forums and Linux subreddits.
*A recovery disk. Before you start messing with your Chromebook, I recommend installing the Chromebook Recovery Utility and creating a recovery disk. You'll need a flash drive with 4GB of space or more, and you'll be glad you have it on hand in case something goes wrong and you want to reverse the process.
*Nerves of steel. Two of these methods are not officially supported by Google, and require you to put your Chromebook in Developer Mode (which creates a slightly less secure environment if you careless). The third is official, but still in pretty early beta. No matter what you decide to do: proceed with caution, and know that there's always a possibility something will break! (Hence the recovery disk recommended above.)
Still keen on moving forward? Alright, let's do this.Install Linux Apps With Crostini
Google's official method for installing Linux apps is called Crostini, and it allows you to run individual Linux apps right on top of your Chrome OS desktop. Since these apps live inside their own little containers, it's quite secure, and if something goes awry, your Chrome OS desktop shouldn't be affected.
However, this is a fairly new feature, and it's still in development, meaning certain things don't work—like audio in Linux apps, or accelerated graphics for Linux games—so don't expect the world just yet. In addition, not all Chromebooks support it, but if yours does, it's probably the ideal way to get those extra apps running.
To get Crostini started, click on the clock in the bottom-right corner of the screen and select the Settings icon. Scroll down to the 'Linux (Beta)' setting—if you don't see it, your Chromebook isn't supported yet, and you'll need to use one of the other two methods below. If you do see this option, click the Turn On button to install the feature.
You'll be presented with a Linux Terminal. From there, type the following two commands, pressing Enter after each one:
sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade
These commands ensure all your Linux software is up to date. Right now, that just means the software running the underlying Linux system, but you can run these commands in the future to update your Linux apps as well.Install a Linux App Using Crostini
Speaking of Linux apps, let's install one. We'll use GIMP for this example, since—let's be honest—it's probably why half of you are reading this anyway. Run the following command:
sudo apt install gimp
You can obviously replace gimp in that command with the package name of whatever app you want to install.
Once that's done, you should be able to open Chrome's app launcher, scroll down to the Linux Apps folder, and launch GIMP (or whatever other apps you've installed) from there.
Note that these apps can't access your Chromebook's regular folders, so if you want to open a file you downloaded in Chrome, you'll need to drag it to the new 'Linux Files' folder in Chrome OS' file manager.
Remember, this is still in early beta, and not everything works perfectly yet. If you run into any trouble, the /r/crostini subreddit is a good place to ask for help.Get a Full Linux Desktop With Crouton
If you want a more full-fledged Linux experience—or if your Chromebook doesn't support Crostini—you can install an Ubuntu desktop alongside Chrome OS with an unofficial chroot environment called Crouton. It's extremely quick and easy to set up, and most users will probably end up going this route.
In order to install Crouton, you'll need to put your Chromebook in Developer Mode. This will erase all your files and settings, so back up anything that isn't already synced to the cloud. Next, with your Chromebook turned off, hold down the Esc and Refresh keys, then press the Power button.
At the recovery screen that appears, press Ctrl+D, then press Enter when asked if you want to turn OS verification off. From now on, you'll need to press Ctrl+D every time you boot your Chromebook and see the OS verification screen.Install Crouton from Chrome OS TerminalChromebook Install Linux Apps On Sd Card
Once you're back in Chrome OS, download Crouton by clicking the link at the top of this page. Then, press Ctrl+Alt+T to open Chrome OS' terminal, type shell, and press Enter to open a shell.
Next, run the following command, which copies the Crouton installer to the /usr/local/bin folder, where it can be executed:
sudo install -Dt /usr/local/bin -m 755 ~/Downloads/crouton
Then run this command to install Crouton with the XFCE desktop environment (if you have another environment you prefer, you can replace it here):
sudo crouton -t xfce
This process will take a while, so be patient. Finally, when that's done, you can enter your Linux desktop by running:
sudo enter-chroot startxfce4
You can cycle between the Chrome OS and Linux desktops with Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Back and Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Forward on your keyboard—no rebooting required. From the Linux desktop you can install apps, customize your workspace, and basically live your life within that Linux environment.
The Crouton GitHub readme has some information on other things you can do to improve this setup, such as sharing your clipboard between environments, updating your version of Ubuntu, backing up your data, and enabling encryption for your Linux setup (which is highly recommended, since this process is inherently less secure than an untainted Chrome OS). This is where command line chops come in handy!
If you ever want to go back to a pure Chrome OS setup, turn off your Chromebook and start it back up by holding down Esc and Refresh while tapping the Power button. Insert the recovery drive you made (you did make one like we recommended, right?) and follow the instructions to start from scratch.Dual-Boot Chrome OS With Linux (for Enthusiasts)
Here's where things get a bit more complex. If you want to run Linux independently of Chrome OS—maybe you don't really want Chrome OS at all, or maybe you want a separate environment you can muck around in without endangering your Chrome installation—you can install Linux in a more traditional fashion, partitioning the drive and dual-booting it with Chrome OS.
Note that this will require dedicating quite a bit of extra space to your Linux installation, which may not be easy on Chromebooks with small amounts of storage. It'll also wipe your device, so back up important files now before continuing!
To dual-boot Linux, I recommend a tool call chrx, which will walk you through the necessary steps. By default, chrx installs GalliumOS, a lightweight distribution based on Xubuntu that's customized for low-powered Chromebook hardware.
If you want things as snappy as possible, GalliumOS is a great choice. However, chrx can also install Ubuntu and Fedora (plus Ubuntu derivatives like Lubuntu and Kubuntu), if you prefer.
Before using chrx, you'll need to enable Developer Mode, as we did when installing Crouton. You may also need to disable write protection and install custom firmware on your laptop, depending on its CPU.
Check out this page for compatibility information regarding your specific laptop, and what you'll need to do. (This custom firmware also allows you to wipe Chrome OS entirely and install Linux on its own, if you prefer that over dual-booting.)Install GalliumOS With chrx
Once that's done, press Ctrl+Alt+T to bring up a terminal, then type shell and press Enter. Run the following command to prepare your Chromebook for installation (using these flags, if you want to install a different distribution or adjust other settings):
cd ; curl -Os https://chrx.org/go && sh go
The chrx installer will guide you through partitioning your drive before rebooting, at which point you can open a terminal and run the command again to install Linux.
Once that's finished, your Chromebook will reboot and you can press Ctrl+L at startup to boot into your chosen Linux distro (or Ctrl+D to boot back into Chrome OS).
You may need to futz with software and drivers a bit more with this method, but if you're a Linux veteran, you shouldn't have too much trouble—and you'll end up with a clean system you can customize to your heart's content.With time, Google’s Chrome OS has changed a lot from what it used to be. From starting off as a simple browser, it has evolved overtime into a strong, faster, and much more adept device. Its evolution has reached such heights that it has now become capable enough of not only running Android applications but has also grasped the power to run Linux apps as well. This introduction of Linux applications into its support feature clearly further defines over how powerful Chromebooks have become. Today we’ll be looking at how one can install and run these Linux apps on your Chromebooks.Step 1: Checking your Chrome OS version
Before we actually move onto the step of installing Linux applications on our Chromebook, we must first check whether your Chromebook actually has the ability to support them. For running Linux applications, your Chromebook should have the Chrome OS 69 or later versions installed. To check the version that you’re currently running, open the Settings window, which can be simply be accessed from clicking on your profile picture icon (See the image below).Linux On Chrome Os
Next select the Hamburger/three-line menu icon found in the upper-left corner and choose the About Chrome OS option.
If you see a Check for Updates sign, then it means your Chromebook isn’t running the latest version. To solve this, simply click on the button asking you to download the latest version. This will be followed by a request of asking you to restart your Chromebook. Please do so.Step 2: Turning On Linux Beta
Once your Chromebook has been updated to the latest version, there is one more step to do before we actually begin to install Linux applications. This is to turn on the Linux Beta option found in your Chromebook which is a newly introduced feature that allows you to install and run Linux applications. Once again, open the Settings window and select the Hamburger/three-line menu icon found in the upper-left corner. Now similarly, as done in Step 1, search for the Linux (Beta) option in the scroll down menu. See the image below.
If Linux Beta, however, doesn’t show up in your Settings menu, please go and check to see if there is an update available for your Chrome OS (Step 1). If Linux Beta option is indeed available, simply click on it and then select the Turn On option.
After this, you’ll get a prompt asking you whether you want to Install or Cancel the setting up of Linux Beta on your Chromebook. Please click on Install.
Depending on the specs of your Chromebook and your internet speed, the installation time can vary. When the installation will be complete, you’ll get a terminal window opened in front of you which would be an indication of having successfully installed Linux Beta.
If after installation, however, the terminal window doesn’t open, then go to the search bar and under the Linux apps subfolder, you’ll have a Terminal icon present. Click on it to get the Linux Bash at your disposal.Step 3: Updating your Linux
Now you are ready to install Linux apps on your Chromebook. However, before we actually move onto the installation step, we must first check for any updates or upgrades that our Linux requires. This is because Canonical, the developers of Ubuntu, continually release new updates for Ubuntu which are designed to fix common bugs as well as improve the overall system performance and efficiency. With the latest update, Ubuntu will have most of the issues in the old version sorted out and will be able to run much more smoothly. To do this, enter the following commands in the terminal:
Moreover, to check for any major upgrades available, run the following command:
On Linux, this would have required you to type in your password when using the sudo command. However, there is no need to do so on your Chromebook.Step 4: Installing Linux Apps on your Chromebook
With all the initial preparations out of the way, now finally it’s time to install a Linux application on your Chromebook. We’ll be using the command line to install our applications. The commands used here to install our applications will be the exact same as what we used in Ubuntu. Simply enter the following command and then press enter:
Note: app name here indicates the name of the application that you’re installing
Now you’d be greeted with a huge chunk of text which basically is indicating the downloading and installation of different components and dependencies of the application. Once the installation is complete, the terminal will return to its original green command prompt. To access the application you just installed, go to your list of programs installed and you’ll find your application present in the Linux apps subfolder.
Let us show you an example. We’ll be installing LibreOffice which is an excellent open source alternative to Microsoft Office. For installation, as told before, simply open the terminal and enter the following command and hit enter:
When the installation is done, simply exit the terminal and go look in your list of programs to find the different Libreoffice components installed under the Linux apps subfolder.
Voila, you can now edit your documents on a Chromebook with Libreoffice.Importance of having Linux Apps on your ChromebookInstall Linux Apps On Chromebook
With the technological field expanding at such a fast rate, Google’s introduction of Linux applications in Chromebooks is another feat worthy of being called a huge achievement as this not only diverges and opens up the possibilities of what Chromebook can accomplish but also helps in broadening its diversity of users. With the capabilities of running a diverse set of applications, Chromebooks have become something of a revolution in the industry and are continuously on the rise.
