How to use alternate browsers on your Chromebook
Wish you could use more than just the Chrome browser on your Chromebook? As it turns out, you can! In this guide, we’ll show you how you can install alternate web browsers on your Chromebook.
Enabling Linux support on your Chromebook
The best thing Google ever did for Chrome OS is to allow users to install Linux apps via the Chrome OS Linux container system. Before the container system, installing alternative web browsers on a Chromebook was impossible.
However, before installing Firefox, Opera, Edge, Brave, or any other web browser, Linux support on Chrome OS needs to be enabled. Follow the steps below to enable Linux on your Chromebook.
- Find the app menu icon on the Chrome OS shelf, and click on it with the mouse. Then, type in “Settings.” Next, look for the settings icon under “Best match” and click on it to launch the settings area.
- Inside the Chrome OS area, find the “Advanced” section just above “About ChromeOS,” Expand it by clicking on the arrow.
- Once the “Advanced” button is expanded, locate the “Developers” section” and click on it with the mouse.
- Upon selecting the “Developers” option in the sidebar, you should see “Linux development environment.” Next, select the “Turn on” button with the mouse. When you choose the “Turn on” button, Chrome OS will automatically set up a Debian 10 container from which you can run apps.
- Once the new Linux environment is configured in Chrome OS, you must update it. Use the terminal app that appears, and type in the following command. Note: If you cannot find the terminal, open it by searching for “Terminal” in the Chrome OS app menu.
sudo apt update;sudo apt upgrade -y
With everything up to date, you’re ready to use Linux on your Chromebook or Chrome desktop computer!
Setting up Flatpak for Chrome OS
Chrome OS provides users with a Debian 10 container, which is nice. However, Debian 10 is seriously out of date. This shouldn’t be an issue for programs like GIMP, Thunderbird, etc. However, you must enable Flatpak support on your Chromebook for better access to Linux apps.
What is Flatpak? Flatpak is a universal app store for Linux users. It works on every Linux OS and provides the latest Linux apps in a safe “sandboxed” environment.
To enable Flatpak, launch the Chrome OS terminal and allow it to log into the Debian 10 container. Then, use the apt install command to install the “flatpak” package.
sudo apt install flatpak
Once the Flatpak package is installed, you must use the command below to enable Flathub as an app source for your Chrome OS Flatpak installation.
flatpak --user remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo
Once the Flathub software source is added to Chrome OS, it is time to install Gnome Software. Gnome Software is a Linux app browser that you can use to install Flatpak and Debian apps quickly. In the terminal, enter the command below.
sudo apt install gnome-software gnome-software-plugin-flatpak
How to install Firefox on Chrome OS
To install Firefox on Chrome OS, do the following. First, open up the “Software” app. It is located in the Chrome OS menu under “Linux apps.”
Once the “Software” app is open on Chrome OS, find the search button in the top right-hand corner and click on it. Then, type in “Firefox.”
After you’ve typed in “Firefox,” search results should appear. Select the Firefox icon to access the browser’s Gnome Software page. Then, select the “Install” button to install Firefox on Chrome OS.
How to install Opera on Chrome OS
You’ll need to open the Chrome OS terminal to install the Opera browser. Launch the Linux terminal by searching for “Terminal” in the Chrome OS app menu.
Once the terminal window is open, select the “penguin” icon to load up the Linux container command line. Then, download the Linux version of Opera from the download page.
Open the Chrome OS Files app after downloading the Opera package. Then, select the “Downloads” folder and load it up.
Drag the Opera DEB package into the “Linux files” area. Once the file is in the “Linux files” folder, run the following terminal command to install Opera.
sudo apt install ./opera-stable_*.deb
How to install Microsoft Edge on Chrome OS
Ever want to use Microsoft Edge on a Chromebook? Here’s how. First, launch the “Software” app by searching for it in the Chrome OS app menu. Once it is open, click on the search icon, and type in “Edge.”
Look through the search results for “Microsoft Edge.” Once you’ve located it, select it to access its page in Gnome Software. Select the “Install” button to install Microsoft Edge on Chrome OS.
How to install Brave browser on Chrome OS
Here’s how you can get the privacy-focused Brave browser working on your Chromebook. First, open up the “Software” app by launching it via the Chrome OS app shelf.
Once the Software app is open, click on the search icon, and type in “Brave” or “Brave Browser.” After typing in the search term, the Brave browser should appear in the search results. Select it with the mouse.
After selecting Brave in the search results, select the “Install” button to install it to your Chromebook or Chrome desktop.
