How to Install Flatpak and Snap App Store in Linux on Chromebook

Enhance the functionality of your Chromebook by installing the Linux App Store, Flatpak, and Snap Store.

By Avik Tarafder 8 Min Read
How to Install Flatpak and Snap App Store in Linux on Chromebook

Chromebook from Google is one of the revolutionary products today. One of its intriguing features is Linux support. Now you can install Linux on your Chromebook. This means people who love using Linux applications can use them on the Chromebook. That said, you will not get all the features that are there in a regular Linux OS. One such notable feature is the lack of a proper GUI Linux App Store.

The two prime apps that are missing on the Google Chromebook when using Linux are Flatpak and Snap App Store. However, there is a way to install them. In this article, we will discuss how you can install Flatpak and Snap App Stores on Linux on a Chromebook. If you wonder why you should own these apps, it is pivotal as you can access many favorite Linux apps on Chrome OS. So, let us dive in.

How to Install Flatpak in Linux on a Chromebook

In case you are wondering why you need Flatpak, it comes with its own set of essential packages and sandboxing tools. So, having it on your system allows you to access a variety of useful apps that you wouldn’t get by default.

However, before that, you must enable the Linux Development Environment on your Chromebook to add Linux app support. Once done, you are ready.

Now, let us learn how to install Flatpak on a Chromebook:

1. Click on the App Launcher and look for the Linux Apps folder.

2. Then open the Terminal App.

Open Linux Terminal on Chromebook

3. Once it is open, you need to type down a series of commands. Run the following commands one by one:

sudo apt install flatpak
sudo flatpak remote-add --f-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo
Install Flatpak on Chromebook

4. If you get a question; Do you want to continue? Here, press the Y key to continue the installation process. It should not take that long to install.

5. Sometimes you might encounter an error message stating Permission Denied. In that case, you need to execute a sudo su. That should give you the root directory access.

6. Then, type down these commands one after another. After following the above steps, you can expect that Flatpak has been installed on your Chromebook.

sudo su
sudo apt install flatpak
sudo flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo
Running Sudo Su Command

7. Oh, wait! You need to install a GUI application too. It is crucial if you want to find, install, and manage Linux apps on Chrome OS quickly. So, you need to type down the following commands one by one to get this done:

sudo su
sudo apt install gnome-software-plugin-flatpak
Installing Gnome Software for Flatpak

8. If you are curious whether you did it correctly or not, you need to find a Linux folder named Linux Apps. You will get that in the App Drawer. Open it, and you should access a fully functioning GUI store for Linux apps.

9. Now, search for an app using the search bar, and you should be able to install and use it.

Gnome Interface

Note

Every app you install will get fetched from the Flatpak repository. Also, you can visit the Flathub site to get the terminal command to install Linux apps with the terminal.

10. Sometimes GUI app does not work correctly. You can use the terminal to install Linux apps on your Chromebook. For that, open Flathub on your browser and discover the Linux apps you want to install. At the bottom, you will find the terminal command to install and run the app.

FlatHub Website Interface

How to Install Snap App Store in Linux on a Chromebook

Snap Store is renowned for its massive app repository. So, when people install Linux on Chromebooks, they like to get all its benefits. So, down below, we will discuss the steps to install the Snap App Store utility app on a Chromebook. Do note that, to install the Snap App Store you also need to enable the Linux support on a Chromebook.

1. Just like with Flatpak, you should also start the process here by opening Terminal. However, to install the Snap Store, you need to install the required dependencies for it. Snaps use fuse and squashfs to mount packages, among other things.

2. If you install Snap without these dependencies, you will encounter an error when downloading and installing a Linux application from the Snap App Store. To avoid this, run the following terminal command:

sudo apt install libsquashfuse0 squashfuse fuse

3. After that, type and run the two following commands one after another:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install snapd
Installing Snadp

4. Now, if you get any error, you can fix the program too. For that, you must first run sudo su, and type the commands below in this same chronology as we mentioned:

sudo su
sudo apt update
sudo apt install snapd
Installing Snapd with Su Command

5. After you have installed the Snap App Store, you need to install the GUI version of the Snap Store by the below command. It will be much easier for you to discover and install Linux apps on a Chromebook.

sudo apt-get install gnome-software-plugin-snap
Snap Store Interface on Chromebook

6. However, Sometimes the GUI app does not work correctly. You can use the Terminal to install Linux apps on your Chromebook. For that, open the Snap Store on your browser and find the Linux apps you want to install.

7. After that, click on the Install button at the top-right corner, and you will get the command to install the app. Copy it and run the command in the Terminal app.

Snapcraft Website Interface

8. To run the apps installed from the Snap App Store. You have to use the run command. For example, if you have installed VLC, use the below command:

sudo snap run vlc
Installing VLC using the Terminal Command

Conclusion

So, those are the steps to install Flatpak or Snap Store on your Chromebook while you are using Linux OS. As per our suggestion, we believe you should install Flatpak over the Snap Store. That is not because Snap Store is incompetent, but Flatpak works better. However, we are not against the idea that Snap Store is decent to use on Chromebooks.

We hope the article was helpful to you. If you liked the article, share it with your friends. Moreover, if you have any questions or suggestions, you can leave them in the comment section below.

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He is a professional content writer specializing in technology, How-to and troubleshooting guides for Windows operating systems, Linux, Chromebooks, and macOS.
2 Comments
  • “However, sometimes the GUI app does not work properly.”

    OK, but what is the common element here? I keep seeing articles like this one that claim the process outlined installs the Snap Store GUI, but it does not, at least not on my Chromebook or on any other Chromebook of a commenter on any of these articles. Did you actually test this process? If so, what Chromebook are you using, what version of ChromeOS, and what version of Debian are you running (Bullseye vs. Buster)? It is possible to install the snap-store GUI via:

    sudo snap install snap-store

    This allows you to run the Snap Store GUI from the CLI, but even if you install Snap packages from the GUI, they do not show up in the launcher, so I’m trying to figure out what exactly you did to make this magically work when nobody else seems to be able to reproduce what you (and an extremely small handful of others) have supposedly been able to do?

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