Recently, software giants have been including Linux in their mainstream operating systems in one way or another. Microsoft recently released WSLg on Windows 10 with GUI application support, while Google introduced Linux on Chromebooks in 2018, calling it Project Crostini. In the last three years of development, it received GPU acceleration and microphone support on Chrome OS, Chromebook, USB devices, and audio over Linux. From general users and IT administrators to software developers and students who want to learn to code, adding Linux to a Chromebook has proven to be a boon. And in the next Chrome OS release, Linux is also out of beta. On that note, let’s go ahead and learn how to run Linux on a Chromebook in 2022.
Run Linux on Your Chromebook (Updated 2022)
To be clear, all Chromebooks released in 2019 and beyond will have Linux support. And yes, it includes school-issued Chromebooks more. However, school administrators can disable Linux support from their end. If this is the case with your Chromebook, contact your school administrator to remove the restriction. Other than that, you don’t need to move your Chromebook to Developer mode or any other channel. Linux support is already available on the stable channel. You can also install Linux on ARM-based Chromebooks so you don’t have to worry about that.
You can use the table of contents below to jump to any section of interest.
Installing Linux on Chromebook
1. First, open the Settings page from: clicking the gear icon In the Quick Settings panel.
2. Then, “Developed” in the left pane and expand the menu. After that, click on “Developers”. If you have a school-issued Chromebook and the “Developers” menu is not available, contact your school administrator.
3. After entering the Developers menu “HungryNext to the “Linux development environment (Beta)” section.
4. An installation dialog will open. Now, Click the “Install” button and keep running Linux on your Chromebook.
5. On the next page, enter your desired username for Linux and choose “Customized” to select it. how much disk space You want it for Linux. I have a total of 64GB of internal storage, so I reserved 25GB. If you have a larger storage capacity and want to play games and develop programs on Linux, you should expand the storage even more.
6. Will take a few minutes To install Linux on your Chromebook. After the installation is complete, you can run Linux and start using the Linux Terminal on your Chromebook. Inside the launcher you will find the Terminal application.
How to install Linux apps on a Chromebook
1. Before using Linux apps on a Chromebook, you must update the Linux build to the latest version. As a good Linux practice you should run the following command in Terminal as it will update all packages and dependencies. Simply copy and paste the command into the Terminal window.
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade -y
2. Once Linux is updated on your Chromebook, you can go ahead and install an app. For example, we installed the GIMP image editor on our Chromebook and the installation went smoothly. You can follow our list of best Linux apps for Chromebooks to find more such apps. We have included detailed instructions for installation. After installation, you will find Linux applications inside the launcher.
Share Files Between Chrome OS and Linux
1. Now that you have successfully run Linux on your Chromebook, you should know that Chrome OS and Linux have different file systems. well Access local folders and files in Linux applicationsyou will need to move the files from Downloads to “Linux files” section.
In case 2, you I don’t want to move files always go to the Linux section, then right click “Downloads” and click “Share with Linux”. Now all files and folders under “Downloads” will be available to Linux applications.
3. You can Access to downloads from the following path directory. You can right click “Downloads” to add it to the bookmark section. From now on, you don’t need to manually navigate to the Downloads folder in Linux apps.
mnt/chromeos/MyFiles/Downloads
4. You can also set Wine to run Windows 10 apps on your Chromebook. Other than that, you can set up ADB on Chromebook and sideload Android apps on Chrome OS.
5. You can also install Steam on your Chromebook, play Minecraft on Chrome OS, use Signal on Chromebook, install desktop MS Office on Chromebook, and even install Microsoft Edge on your Chromebook. All thanks to Linux support in Chrome OS.
Activate Linux on Your Chromebook and Unlock Endless Possibilities
This was our short article on how to install and run Linux on a Chromebook. The steps are pretty easy and straightforward so you don’t need to change your update channel or make any changes to the Chrome Flags. Simply, go ahead and enable Linux on your Chromebook by following the guide. If you want to know such tips and tricks of Chrome OS, go to our separate article. Anyway, that’s it for us. If you run into any problems running Linux, comment below and let us know the problem.
