With Linux installed on your Chromebook, you can enjoy full desktop Linux apps. Installing Linux apps on Chromebook requires knowledge or at least the command line. There is no single Google Play Store-like website or application where you simply search and install the Linux application of your choice. Each seller chooses what he wants Linux distribution they want to support and publish their apps to the respective repositories. You then mostly use command line tools to install the respective apps. However, with flatpaks and snaps, you can browse and search Linux apps the same way you do with Android or iOS apps.
Learn more: How to set up Linux on your Chromebook
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If you’ve read my previous article on installing Linux on Chromebook, you should know that Linux runs on Chromebooks like a lightweight container or virtual machine. The default linux container installed is called penguin and is based on DebianName Linux distribution – the same branch on which the popular Linux desktop operating system Ubuntu is based. Therefore, the easiest way to install Linux apps on your Chromebook is to use .deb files which is the application package system for Debian-based Linux distributions.
To open installed applications, use the all button (search button) and type the app name. If installed, it should return a result of the installed application. Just click on it and it should start. It may take a while to start if this is the first app you’ve opened because Chrome OS also needs to start the Linux container, which takes a few seconds.
In summary, you can install Linux applications like;
- .deb file downloaded from the software vendor’s website. It is unreliable and difficult.
- apt Debian command line package manager. Quick and easy.
- flat pack applications distributed through the flathub.org store.
- break applications managed by Canonical and distributed through the snapcraft store. Not officially supported on Chromebooks, but works.
Here are several ways to install Linux apps on Chromebook. Don’t forget that you need Terminal app (Linux container) for all these methods.
Installing .deb files
You can now find .deb application files from various software vendor websites. For example, to install LibreOffice, the popular free and open-source alternative to MS Office, you visit the libreoffice.org website, then click download, then select .deb format. Once the .deb file (sometimes compressed) is downloaded to your Chromebook, move it to the Linux files folder (or subfolders if you created them) using the Files app. However, I to discourage using this method. I tried to install popular software such as Firefox or Libreoffice and failed. For one thing, I couldn’t find a single .deb file for either software. Second, it’s very manual, because even if you have the .deb, you might have to manually install additional dependencies, which can be very frustrating. So I gave up the .deb files. But if you must go this route, use the following commands to install a .deb file.
$ sudo dpkg -i /path/to/deb/file
$ sudo apt-get install -f Using the Apt Command Line Tool
So far, the easiest way to install Linux apps on your Chromebook is to use the ‘apt’ command line tool. This assumes you are using the default Debian-based Linux container that is installed by your Chromebook. Apt is software manager for Debian-based Linux distributions. It will install the software package and all its dependencies automatically without any extra effort on your part. You just need to specify the exact package name, otherwise it may not find the package name.
To install a package, run apt-get install [package name]. You might want to prefix this with ‘sudo’ which gives you root or administrative privileges. Usually the software vendor specifies the exact name of the package usually on their website, but if you are not sure, you can search first using proper research [package name] which will return a response from the possible candidates.
$ sudo apt install firefox-esrTo uninstall the software, simply run;
$ sudo apt-get purge [package name]Use of flatpacks
Flatpak bills itself as “a next-generation technology for building and distributing desktop apps on Linux.” Flatpak was developed by an independent community of volunteers. The idea behind Flatpak is to allow software developers to write their application once and distribute it across multiple platforms. True to this promise, Flatpak packages are supported on 33 Linux distributions. Flatpak apps can be found from a single app store called Flathub.org.
Flatpak apps can be installed on Chrome OS with the crostini Linux compatibility layer. However, this is not available for all Chromebooks. Check this list if your device is compatible. My Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Go is definitely supported, so I installed it. If your device is compatible, you can install Flatpak using the following commands;
Install Flatpak using;
$ sudo apt install flatpakAdd the Flathub repository which is the best place to get Flatpak apps;
$ flatpak --user remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepoTo complete the installation, restart Linux. You can do this by right-clicking on the terminal and then clicking “Stop Linux”.
Now, to install Flatpaks, visit flathub.org, search for the application you are interested in. Note that your app may not be available as a flatpak as this is a relatively new package format. If the application you are interested in is available, click on it and scroll down to the command line instructions. Here you will see two commands; one to install the flatpak and another to start or run it after successful installation.
For example, to install GIMP, the free open-source image editor, search for GIMP and open its page, then, as shown in the command line instructions, run the following commands;
To install GIMP, run
flatpak install flathub org.gimp.GIMPThen, to open the application, run ;
flatpak run org.gimp.GIMP
You can also simply open the installed application by simply searching for it using the All/Search button. In my experience, I find flatpaks to be a much more convenient way to install Linux apps on your Chromebook.
Use snapshots
Snap is an application distribution package developed by Canonical, the company behind the Ubuntu operating system. Snap is like a flatpak with the same goal of allowing developers to build apps that work on all Linux distributions. Snaps apps are hosted and distributed from the snapcraft store where you can browse and search for various Linux apps.
I need to install snaps on my chromebook. The experience is not as smooth as flatpaks. In fact, Chrome OS or Chromebooks are not listed among the supported platforms on the official site. However, you can still install snaps on your Chromebook.
$ sudo apt install -y libsquashfuse0 squashfuse fuse snapdRestart Linux by right-clicking the terminal application and selecting “Shut Down”, then start it. You can then install snaps like;
$ sudo snap install [name of app]
Start the installed application by running its snap-in name in the terminal. Unlike Flatpak apps, I couldn’t find the installed app by searching with the All button. So, Snaps seems to work best with full Linux desktop distributions such as Ubuntu, Arch Linux, Fedora, Linux Mint, CentOS, and Gentoo.
