Basically, you'd use Crostini to run another version, or “distribution,” of Linux, such as Ubuntu or Red Hat's Fedora, inside of a container inside of a virtual machine.

Within Termina, you can then run Linux applications inside 'containers,' which are similar to virtual machines but virtualize only parts of an operating system. This is exactly what it sounds like: a simulation of a computer that can be used to run operating systems and other hardware. With Crostini, Google makes it possible to easily run Linux apps without compromising your Chromebook.Īccording to Google's Crostini page, the system works by running a streamlined version of Linux called Termina inside what's called a virtual machine. It's long been possible to install Linux on a Chromebook, but it used to require overriding some of the device's security features, which could make your Chromebook less safe.

At its I/O developer conference this week, ZDnet reports, Google announced that all new Chromebooks will support Crostini. But Crostini was supported on only a few Chromebooks, such as Google's flagship Pixelbook. Then last year the company unveiled a feature called Crostini that enables users to install other Linux apps as well. That changed in 2016 when Google announced support for installing apps written for its other Linux-based operating system, Android. That meant you could only really use web apps. Not to be outdone, Google says all future Chromebooks will be able to run Linux applications.Ĭhromebooks run an operating system, ChromeOS, that is built on the Linux kernel but was originally designed to only run Google's web browser Chrome. Microsoft announced this week that it will bring the heart of the open source operating system Linux into Windows.

Install linux apps on chromebook