How to install and use VLC on a Chromebook
There’s no official release for VLC on Chrome OS. However, thanks to Linux support on Google’s platform, you can get the full VLC desktop experience on a Chromebook.
In this guide, we’ll show you how you to use and install the VLC Linux app on a Chromebook. To start, ensure your Chromebook supports virtualization technology.
How to enable Linux on your Chromebook
Before using the Linux version of VLC on your Chromebook, you must enable Linux support on Chrome OS. Thankfully, it is very easy to turn on Linux support. To start, select the clock on the Chrome OS dash with the mouse. Then, click on the gear icon to open up the settings area.
Inside of the settings area for Chrome OS, scroll down and locate “Advanced”. When you’ve located the “Advanced” section, click on the arrow next to it to reveal its options. Finally, click on the “Developers” section.
In the “Developers” area of the Advanced Chrome OS settings, locate “Linux development environment.” When you’ve found “Linux development environment,” click on the “turn on button.” Selecting the “turn on” button will download and install a Debian Linux container. This download should be fairly fast.
When the download is complete, Chrome OS will launch an app called “Terminal.” In this app, find “penguin,” and click on it with the mouse. When you select “penguin,” the terminal app will load up the Debian Linux command line interface.
Inside of the command line interface, run the apt update command. This command will check for any software updates and patches for Debian Linux. Keeping the container up to date is critical, so check for updates regularly!
sudo apt update
After you’ve run the apt update command to check for updates, it is time to run the apt upgrade command. This command will install any of the updates found by the previous command. Installing updates should be fairly quick.
sudo apt upgrade -y
With all software in the Debian Linux container up to date, Linux is ready to use on your Chromebook!
How to install VLC on Chrome OS
There are multiple ways to install VLC on Chrome OS via Linux. The easiest (and suggested way) to do it is via the software sources that are included within Debian Linux. To start the installation, launch the terminal via the Chrome OS app menu, and select “penguin.”
After selecting “penguin,” you will have command-line access in Debian Linux. From here, you can install the VLC app by using the apt install command below.
sudo apt install vlc
Upon entering the command above, the terminal will ask you if you wish to install VLC. Press the Y button on the keyboard (or enter) to confirm you wish to install VLC.
How to install VLC on Chrome OS – Flatpak
Setting up the VLC application on Chrome OS via the Debian software sources is a good idea. However, if you’d like a more updated version of VLC on your Chromebook, we suggest installing it via a Flatpak instead.
To set up VLC as a Flatpak on your Chromebook, start by opening up a terminal. Then, select “penguin.” Once you’ve got command-line access, use the apt install command to set up the “flatpak” package.
sudo apt install flatpak
After setting up the Flatpak package on your Chromebook, you need to enable the Flathub app store. This app store makes it possible to install apps like VLC. To enable the Flathub app store, use the following flatpak remote-add command below.
flatpak --user remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo
Once you’ve enabled the Flathub app store on your Debian Linux container, you can quickly install the VLC app on your Chromebook with the following command.
flatpak install flathub org.videolan.VLC -y
How to use VLC on Chrome OS
To use VLC on your Chromebook, start by opening up the Chrome OS app menu. Once inside of the Chrome OS app menu, search for “Linux apps,” and select the VLC icon to open up the VLC app on your Chromebook.
Note: Before using VLC on your Chromebook, place your video files/music files in the “Linux files” folder using the Chrome OS “Files” app.
Once the VLC app is open, find the “Media” button, and click on it with the mouse. You can then select the “Open file” button. Use the file browser to locate the video file or music file you wish to watch.
If you wish to watch a stream, select the “Media” button, then, choose the “Open Network Stream” button. Choosing this button will allow VLC to load up a network stream for playback.
