If you’ve been out of the loop, Google’s bringing Linux apps to Chrome OS. If you’re a fan of Chrome OS or Linux, this is a big deal. Chrome OS is gaining popularity and at least amongst the enthusiasts, it’s becoming a thing of its own. Chrome OS still lacks apps that can make it a true desktop OS competitor though. The absence of serious productivity apps is a roadblock. With Linux apps, Chrome OS can have that Photoshop alternative that doesn’t suck, for instance. It can have Adobe Premier alternatives that Linux users have been using for years. Maybe Google can even convince big names like Adobe to develop an app for Linux. In which case, it’s a win-win for everybody. You can even install Linux apps on a Chromebook powered by Chrome OS.
- Linux Apps On Chromebook
- Run Linux Apps On Chromebook
- Enable Linux On Chromebook
- Chromebook Install Linux Apps On Sd Card
- Jul 19, 2018.
- Mar 31, 2020.
Oct 30, 2016. May 06, 2020. Sudo add-apt-repository ppa:libreoffice/ppa. And press enter. You'll then have to press enter a.
Note
Before you begin though it’s worth noting that Linux app support is still in beta. Graphics acceleration or sound does not work with Linux apps yet and obviously, things can be buggy. Moreover, Linux apps are not supported on all Chromebooks right now. You can find a list of compatible devices on Reddit.
To use Linux apps, you’ll also have to switch to a Chrome OS development channel. Like the Chrome browser, at any given time, Google maintains four different versions of Chrome OS: Stable, Beta, Dev, and Canary. Everything except the Stable version is a development version. It has the least number of bugs if any. Canary, on the other hand, is the most experimental and least stable. The Beta and Dev versions are less buggy and can be used as daily drivers. You can follow this guide to switch to a development channel.
Enable Linux app support on Chromebook
Even after you’ve switched to a developer channel, Linux app support isn’t enabled by default. Enabling it only takes a few clicks though. Access the Chrome OS Settings by clicking on the gear icon in quick settings. Scroll down until you see the option for Linux apps and turn it on. If you don’t see the menu option, your device isn’t yet supported. When you’ve turned it on, you’ll be asked to install the Linux container.
Without going into details, it’s a bunch of things that will allow Linux apps to be installed on your device and also provide you with the means to do that. Installation can take some time depending on your internet connection. Once it is done though you’ll see a Terminal window where you can start typing commands. The Terminal app icon is also added to your app launcher. We have some more Chrome OS tips and tricks to get a better experience on your Chromebook.
Install Linux apps on Chromebook from repositories
Most things on Linux happen through the command line, via the Terminal. So a Terminal is all you need to get your Linux apps up and running on Chrome OS. Many of the popular Linux apps are included in the software repositories of most Linux distributions. The Linux container on Chrome OS runs Debian 9. Therefore, anything on the Debian repositories can be easily installed as long as you know the exact package name. For instance, say you want to install GIMP, the Adobe Photoshop alternative that’s completely free. You can simply run the following command in the Terminal to do that.
sudo apt-get install gimp
If you want to uninstall it, just run this command.
To update your system, and all the installed Linux apps, you can use this command.
Install Linux apps on Chrome OS from third-party sources
Android has the Google Play Store, but you can still install it from other sources via APK files. APK files are nothing but app packages for Android, Similarly, there are Debian app packages known as DEB and you can find plenty of those all over the internet. Once you have one, you can just open it normally with a double-click. If you’re somehow on an older version of Chrome OS, the File Explorer will not have support for opening .deb files. In that case, you can again use the Terminal.
Install Flatpaks
Like Debian packages, Linux distros also supports several other packaging formats but each format is restricted to a specific distro. Flatpak is one such packaging format developed to work across all Linux distributions. There are some apps that are available only as a Flatpak and can’t be found in the official repos or as a Debian package. While you can use Flatpaks on Chrome OS, its buggy and probably shouldn’t be used unless you have no other option. First, you’ll have to enable Flatpak support.
sudo apt-get install flatpak
Now add the Flatpak repository
Reboot your machine and then install any Flatpak from the Flathub website. Every app on Flathub has command-line instructions at the bottom of the page. Just add sudo before every command.
Install from Software Center
You can also install a Linux Software Center on Chrome OS, which is like the Chrome Web Store but for Linux apps.
Thanks to Linux support on Chromebooks, the Play Store isn’t the only place you can download apps from. A lot of Chrome OS devices can run Linux apps, which makes them all that more useful.
Installing a Linux app isn’t as simple as installing an Android app, although the process isn’t hard once you get the hang of it. The good news is that when done correctly, you’ll feel like a computer wiz since there’s a bit of code involved.
Here:What is a Chromebook and what can it do?
First, check your Chrome OS version
The first step is to check your Chrome OS version to see if your Chromebook even supports Linux apps. Start by clicking your profile image in the bottom-right corner and navigating to the Settings menu. Then click the hamburger icon in the upper-left corner and select the About Chrome OS option. The version of Chrome OS you’re running will appear.
Read next:The best Android apps for Chromebooks
If you’re running Chrome OS 69 or later, you can download Linux apps. If not, you’re out of luck. But in this case, make sure to check if there are any software updates available that may bump you up to one of the Linux supporting versions of the operating system. To do so, just click the Check for updates button on the About Chrome OS page you should already be on and then let your Chromebook do its thing.
Linux Apps On Chromebook
Alternatively, you can check our list of Chromebooks that support Linux apps.
Enable Linux on Chromebook
![App App](/uploads/1/1/9/5/119589277/751881477.jpg)
Now that you’ve figured out that your Chromebook supports Linux apps, the next step is to enable Linux on your machine. It’s easy to do and won’t take a lot of time overall, although this depends on how fast your internet speed is as well as the power of your Chromebook.
Open the Settings on your Chromebook and select the Linux (Beta) option on the left side. Then click the Turn on button followed by Install when a new window pops up. Once the download is completed, a terminal window will open that’s used to download Linux apps, which we’ll discuss in detail in the next section.
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Run Linux Apps On Chromebook
How to download Linux apps on Chromebooks?
Here’s the part you’ve been waiting for. But before we get into exactly how to download Linux apps on Chromebooks, there’s one more thing to do. To make sure everything runs smoothly, you have to update your packages by entering the command below into the terminal window.
- sudo apt-get update
Once that’s done, you can start downloading Linux apps on your device. To do so, you have to use the command “sudo apt-get install app name -y”, in which you change the “app name” part with the actual name of the app. For example, if you want to download the popular image editor called Gimp, you would use the following command:
- sudo apt-get install gimp -y
Once you enter the command into the terminal window, the app will be downloaded and placed in the app drawer along with your Android apps.
The best Linux apps for Chromebooks
In addition to the already mentioned Gimp, there are a number of other great Linux apps available to download. We’ll let you discover them on your own, but just to get you started and give you a little taste of what to expect, we’ve listed a few popular Linux apps below along with commands you can use to download them.
LibreOffice: An alternative to Microsoft Word, LibreOffice includes a word processor, a spreadsheet program, and a presentation tool, among other things.
- sudo apt install libreoffice libreoffice-gtk3 -y
Transmission: This is a free BitTorrent client that allows you to easily download and upload files.
- sudo apt-get install transmission-qt -y
Enable Linux On Chromebook
FileZilla: If you want to move files from your device to a server, an app like FileZilla makes the process a lot faster.
- sudo apt-get install filezilla -y
Evolution: In case you want to use a desktop mail client instead of a web-based one, the Evolution Linux app is for you.
- sudo apt-get install evolution -y
Audacity: This is an advanced audio editor and recorder that comes in handy when you want to play around with various audio files.
- sudo apt-get install audacity -y
Chromebook Install Linux Apps On Sd Card
Related:The best Android apps for Chromebooks
Which app was the first one you installed? Let us know in the comments! Also feel free to check out our other Chromebook-related guides below.