How to Install Linux Apps on Your Chromebook

By Ajoy Kumar 7 Min Read
How to Install Linux on Your Chromebook

On Chromebook, you can only run web-based apps and Android apps. If you want to install desktop apps on your Chromebook, you can install Linux. Linux allows you to install Linux applications on your Chromebook. Here is a guide on; how to install Linux apps on your Chromebook.

To install Linux apps on Chromebook, you don’t need to install any third-party tools. It is already in-built into the Chrome OS. You need to enable the Linux development environment in developer mode. To do so, follow the guide till the end.

How to Install Linux on Your Chromebook

When you turn on the Linux development environment on your Chromebook, it will allow you to run Linux tools, editors and IDEs on Chromebook. Also, you can develop an Android application on your Chromebook. Here are the steps to install Linux on your Chromebook:

Step 1: Open the “Settings” apps on your Chromebook. For that, open “App Drawer” and select “Settings.” Or else, you can also go to “Settings” from the notification panel.

Step 2: The settings window will appear. Select the “Advanced” option and click on the “Developers” option.

Step 3: Here, you will find an option to enable the Linux development environment. To enable it, click on the “Turn On” option.

Note:- Also, you can remove the Linux development environment from your Chromebook. From the developers’ settings page.

Step 4: You have to set up the Linux development environment. For that, click on “Next” to continue.

Step 5: Create your Linux username and select disk size. Recommended disk size is 10 GB, but you can also specify a custom disk size. Then click on the “Install” button.

Step 6: After that, Linux will get installed on your system. This process may take a few minutes. Wait for the process to complete.

Step 7: After the installation is complete, you can run Linux and start using the Linux Terminal on your Chromebook. You will find the Terminal app inside the app launcher. Look for the Linux app folder to get the “Terminal” app.

How to Install Linux Apps on Your Chromebook

After you have installed the Linux development environment on your Chromebook, you are ready to install any Linux apps on your Chromebook. Here, we will share different ways to install Linux applications:

1. Install Linux Apps Using the Terminal

If you know the terminal command for the app that you want to install, then you can use the terminal to install the application on your Chromebook. On the official website of any Linux app, you can find the terminal command.

Note:- The commonly used terminal command to install Linux is: sudo apt-get install package_name -y, in which you change the “package_name” part with the actual name of the app you want to install. 

For example, if you want to install the popular image editor called Gimp, here are the steps you need to follow:

Step 1: Open the terminal. If you did not get the terminal command, click on the penguin option. Now, it should open the terminal.

Step 2: Now, to install the GIMP Linux app, you need to run the following command on the terminal and hit enter

sudo apt-get install gimp -y

Step 3: To open GIMP, click on the “App Launcher” icon and look for the Linux apps folder. Here you will find all the installed Linux apps. Then click on the GIMP icon to open it. 

2. Installing Linux Apps Using the .deb file

If you don’t want to use the Linux terminal to install the apps, you can directly download the .deb Linux installer files from the official website for any applications. It is a bit simpler method for installing Linux apps on your Chromebook. For example, let us install Minecraft.

Step 1: Visit the official website and download the Minecraft.deb installer file for Debian/Ubuntu. After the download is complete, move the downloaded file to the “Linux files” section; inside the Files app.

Step 2: Double-click the Minecraft.deb file. Here, you will get a Linux application installation window. Click on the “Install” button to install Minecraft on your Chromebook using the .deb Linux installer file.

Step 3: Now, to open “Minecraft Launcher,” click on the “App Launcher” icon and look for the Linux apps folder. Here you will find all the installed Linux apps.

Best Linux Apps for Chromebooks

Here is the list of some best Linux apps for your Chromebook and their terminal command to install them.

GIMP: It is the best alternative to Adobe Photoshop.

sudo apt-get install GIMP -y

LibreOffice: LibreOffice is a free and open-source office suite; it is the best free alternative to Microsoft Office.

sudo apt-get install LibreOffice -y

VLC: It is the best media player to play any type of video and audio file format.

sudo apt-get install vlc -y

Shotcut: It is a free and open-source professional video editor for your Chromebook.

sudo apt-get shortcut -y

Audacity: It is the best free audio recorder and editor. It helps you to edit your audio to a professional level.

sudo apt-get install audacity -y

Conclusion

That’s it; this is how you can install Linux apps on your Chromebook. If you want to install Flatpak and Snap apps on your Chromebook, you have to install them. You can follow our linked guide.

I hope this article was helpful to you. If you liked the article, share it with your friends. If you have some suggestions, do not hesitate to leave them in the comments section below. We are always there to assist you.

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He is a prominent tech writer with over six years of experience and the founder of TheCoderWord. He delivers high-quality content revolving around troubleshooting and how-to guides for Windows, Linux, macOS, Chrome, and more.
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