Installing crouton chroot environment
& Ubuntu onto Chrome OS
( ChromeBook | ChromeBox )
E. Frank Ball III
North Bay Linux Users Group
Why did I buy a Chrome ( Box | Book )?
- Security:
- Verified Boot.
- Operating system mounted read only.
- User files cannot be executed.
- Three years ago Netflix didn't work on Linux.
- FireFox & Chrome Browsers are limited to 1280x720 resolution on Netflix.
- It just works.
- Cheap.
Chrome OS Limitations & Annoyances:
- Can't export applications from Linux machine to Chrome OS display.
- ssh app is cumbersome.
- no rsync, scp, or sftp.
- very cumbersome gpg app, can't read signed files.
- no support for ext or other Linux filesystems on USB/SD media.
- different F key mapping for Chrome Browser.
Boot into Developer Mode:
- Disables verified boot.
- Deletes all downloaded files and user accounts.
- Instructions: Developer Information for Chrome OS Devices
- Press <Esc> <F3> (Refresh) & <Power>
- At recovery screen: <Ctrl> D
- At each boot: <Ctrl> D or wait 30 seconds to boot.
Install crouton:
- Boot into developer mode and create your login again.
- Download crouton
- <Ctrl> <Alt> t (starts crosh shell)
- shell
- sudo sh ~/Downloads/crouton -t xfce -r xenial
- Documentation: crouton on github
- Run "sh ~/Downloads/crouton -r list" to list releases.
- Run "sh ~/Downloads/crouton -t list" to list targets.
- update: run "sudo sh ~/Downloads/crouton -u -n xenial".
Recognized Releases:
- Recognized debian releases: potato! woody! sarge! etch! lenny! squeeze! wheezy jessie stretch buster sid
- Recognized kali releases: moto! kali! sana! kali-rolling
- Recognized ubuntu releases: warty! hoary! breezy! dapper! edgy! feisty! gutsy! hardy! intrepid! jaunty! karmic! lucid! maverick! natty! oneiric! precise quantal! raring! saucy! trusty utopic! vivid! wily! xenial yakkety* zesty* artful*
- Releases marked with ! are upstream end-of-life, and should be avoided.
- Releases marked with * are unsupported, but may work with some effort.
Starting Ubuntu:
- <Ctrl> <Alt> t (starts crosh shell)
- shell
- Linux command line in Chrome tab:
- sudo enter-chroot
- Run any Ubuntu program in it's own window on Chrome OS:
- Requires Crouton Integration Chrome extension.
- sudo sh ~/Downloads/crouton -t xorg,xiwi -u -n xenial
- sudo enter-chroot xiwi firefox
- sudo enter-chroot xiwi soffice
Starting Ubuntu Desktop:
- <Ctrl> <Alt> t (starts crosh shell)
- shell
- sudo enter-chroot startxfce4
- sudo enter-chroot xinit
- will run ~/.xinitrc file to start desired window manager
- sudo enter-chroot
- from command line type: xinit
- aliases can be put in /home/chronos/.bashrc file.
Switching between Chrome OS and Ubuntu:
- Switch to Ubuntu:
- <Ctrl> <Alt> <Shift> <F2>
or - Use the Crouton icon on the Chrome Browser.
- Requires Crosh Window Chrome extension.
- <Ctrl> <Alt> <Shift> <F2>
- Switch to Chrome OS:
- <Ctrl> <Alt> <Shift> <F1>
or - Log out to shutdown the Ubuntu chroot environment.
- <Ctrl> <Alt> <Shift> <F1>
Comparision of crouton & containers:
| Type: | ps sees: | systemd works: | RAM/swap limits: | disk quotas: | CPU limits: |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crouton chroot | all processes | Nope | Nope | Nope | Nope |
| LXC | container only | Yes | Yes | Nope | Nope |
| OpenVZ | container only | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Issues - Starting Services:
- systemd won't run in chroot environment.
- crouton will run /etc/rc.local
- Put services to startup in /etc/rc.local:
- /etc/init.d/ssh start
- /sbin/iptables -I INPUT -p tcp --dport 22 -j ACCEPT
- /sbin/ip6tables -I INPUT -p tcp --dport 22 -j ACCEPT
- /etc/init.d/cups start
- /etc/init.d/cron start
- /etc/init.d/nullmailer start
- /etc/init.d/ssh start
Issues - SD card mounting:
- SD card gets mounted noexec at boot time.
- Put this in /etc/rc.local:
- mount -o remount, exec /var/host/media/removable/SD\ Card
- SD card gets re-mounted noexec after suspend.
- Make alias for this command:
- sudo mount -o remount, exec /var/host/media/removable/SD\ Card
- Put this in /etc/sudoers.d/edward:
- edward ALL=NOPASSWD: /bin/mount, /usr/sbin/pm-suspend
Issues - xinit:
- when using xinit these need to be started manually:
- /usr/lib/notification-daemon/notification-daemon
- xscreensaver -no-splash
- eval `ssh-agent` ; ssh-add
- xmodmap ~/.Xmodmap
- .fehbg (load background image)
- .xsession-errors file, put this in .xinitrc file:
- /bin/mv -f $HOME/.xsession-errors $HOME/.xsession-errors.old
- exec /usr/bin/fvwm 2> $HOME/.xsession-errors
Issues - keymapping:
- Volume & Screen Brightness keys don't work.
- Keyboard info on the crouton wiki
- sudo sh ~/Downloads/crouton -r xenial -t keyboard -u
- Search key + volume keys to change the volume
- Search key + brightness keys to change the brightness
- Doesn't work on all ChromeBooks and desktops/window managers.
- Crouton installs "brightness" & "volume" scripts:
- brightness up|down
- volume up|down|mute|0-100
- volume -h
Issues - keymapping:
- ChromeBook Search key needs to be mapped to Caps Lock:
- xmodmap -e "keycode 133 = Caps_Lock"
- No F11 key:
- No Chrome Browser full screen mode.
- No way to exit from Firefox full screen mode.
- Map F4 key to be F11:
- xmodmap -e "keycode 70 = F11 F11"
- No Insert, Delete, Page Up, Page Down, Home, End, or Print Scrn keys.
- Find keycodes with "xev | grep keycode" and re-map keys as desired.
ChromeBook Keyboard Mapping:
- re-map F4, F6-F10, & Search keys in $HOME/.Xmodmap file:
- keycode 70 = F11 F11
- keycode 72 = End End
- keycode 73 = Home Home
- keycode 74 = Insert Insert
- keycode 75 = Next Next (Page Down)
- keycode 76 = Prior Prior (Page Up)
- keycode 133 = Caps_Lock
- pointer = 1 3 2 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 (swap buttons 2 & 3)
Keyboard Label:
fvwm key bindings:
Key End A M Exec /usr/local/bin/brightness down Key Home A M Exec /usr/local/bin/brightness up Key Next A M Exec /usr/local/bin/volume down Key Prior A M Exec /usr/local/bin/volume up Key Next A CM Exec amixer sset Master mute Key Prior A CM Exec amixer sset Master unmute Key Insert A M Exec xfce4-screenshooter --window --delay=2 Key Insert A MC Exec xfce4-screenshooter --region Key Insert A MS Exec xfce4-screenshooter --fullscreen
Chrome Browser Extensions:
- Crouton Integration Chrome extension
- For running crouton inside a Chrome OS window.
- Crosh Window Chrome extension
- Puts crouton icon on Chrome Browser.
- Keep Awake Chrome extension
- Prevents Chrome from going into suspend mode.