For months, I have tried to install Snapd (the daemon responsible for installing and running Snaps) on my Chromebook only to fail miserably as my terminal spit out errors that made absolutely no sense to me as a Linux “newbie.” Thankfully, there are those that know a lot more about how these things work and a little trip over to Reddit provided me with the answers I was looking for to get this working.Ĭaveats: This installation works and it will allow you to install Snap packages. Having a storefront for the apps creates a more familiar environment for users who are accustomed to using shops like the Play Store, the Chrome Web Store, iTunes, etc.įor Debian 9 and 10, Snaps can be installed directly from the command line but unfortunately, they don’t work quite as well as they do on traditional Linux operating systems. For general users, Snaps offer a big advantage as they can be found in places such as the official Snap Store and installed with one click or a single command line code. Snaps (snap packages) are available for all major Linux distributions and can be installed on other distros using the applicable installation methods that can be found here. (It’s a bit more technical than that but this is an easy way to picture how these apps work) We’ve covered Flatpaks and Appimages but the other popular packages are Snaps. Next, there are “standalone” applications that consist of a file that contains all the necessary information to run directly from the image. tar or “tarballs” that require unpacking by various means before they can be made executable. deb files that will generally install with a simple double click. In my explorations, I’ve have spent a lot of time figuring out how to install different types of packages via Linux on Chrome OS. I enjoy tinkering and I’m happy to test new things and tread uncharted waters so that you don’t have to. I’m learning as I go and that’s why I was excited to start this new Command Line series. Since the Crostini project first emerged and brought Linux applications to Chrome OS, I have been quite busy researching the various Linux distros and more specifically, how apps are packaged and handled on said distributions. Before we go any deeper with this, I’d like to confess that I am in no way an expert on Linux.

Snapseed for chromebook