Since then, I have been sharing my Chromebook as a platform to run the Chrome OS with Android apps and a limited number of my daily Linux tools. That method installs a command line version of the Linux OS to run Debian Linux apps on supported Chromebooks. “Crostini” is Google’s umbrella term for making Linux application support easy to use for integrating Linux with Chrome OS. Since Google first released a Chrome OS version with the Linux apps feature a few years ago, I have been using the Crostini project to run Linux apps on a Chromebook. This alteration will give you access to both complete operating systems running simultaneously so you can move between them with a keyboard shortcut. Related: How To Run a Full Linux Desktop on a Chromebook. This adds to the existing use of Android apps all in separate containers on top of Chrome OS on a single Chromebook. However, I mean running a complete Linux graphical environment with the KDE desktop. I have done that on an end-of-life early Chromebook with usable results. I do not mean flashing the Galium OS distribution as a replacement for Chrome OS.

It is not yet flawless, but it does create a hybrid computing platform that lets Linux and Android apps coexist on top of the Chrome OS. For now, you’ll have to switch your Chromebook to the “dev channel” and update to the latest, unstable code to get these features.Chromebooks with the right stuff inside are now able to install and run a complete Linux experience with the KDE desktop without giving up the Chrome OS on the same device. These options were just added to the development version of Chrome OS, so they should show up in the stable version 41 of Chrome OS. These changes were explained by Chrome evangelist Francois Beaufort on Google+. But they’re also useful for us enthusiasts looking to run Linux on our Chromebooks. These new debugging tools are useful for developers, sure. You could then access that powerful Linux system in a Chrome OS desktop window thanks to another awesome tool from Crouton developer and Google employee David Schneider. Want to stay up-to-date on Linux, BSD, Chrome OS, and the rest of the World Beyond Windows? Bookmark the World Beyond Windows column page or follow our RSS feed. Theoretically, it would be possible for a Linux-installation tool to run as a desktop program, ask for your Chromebook’s IP address and SSH password, and then SSH into your Chromebook and automatically install and configure the Linux system. You can then use an SSH client to access the Chomebook’s command-line “shell” from another computer. Other options allow you to enable secure shell (SSH) access and set a custom password you can use to access it. Putting a Chromebook into developer mode and updating it.

Kali linux on chromebook