It's long been possible to run Linux on a Chromebook. That's no surprise. After all, Chrome OS is a Linux variant[1]. But, doing it by using either Crouton[2] in a chroot[3] container or Gallium OS[4], a Xubuntu[5] Chromebook-specific Linux variant, wasn't easy. Then, Google announced it was bringing a completely integrated Linux desktop to the Chromebook[6].
Today, with a properly-equipped Chromebook and the bravery to run canary code, you can run Debian Linux[7] on your Chromebook. Here's how to do it.
This new Chromebook Linux feature is Crostini[8], the umbrella technology for getting Linux running with Chrome OS. Crostini gets enough Linux running to run KVM[9], Linux's built-in virtual machine (VM). On top of this, Crostini starts and runs LXC containers. You won't see it, unless you look closely, but it's in those containers that your Debian Linux instances are running.
Eventually, anyone with a newer Chromebook will be able to run Linux. Specifically, if your Chromebook's operating system is based on the Linux 4.4 kernel, you'll be supported. But we're not there yet. It's also possible that older Chromebooks, running Linux 4.14, will be retrofitted with Crostini[10] support.
Officially, you need a Pixelbook[11], Google's top-of-the-line Chromebook, to run Linux. But, users have found a dozen other models can run Crostini[12] with half-a-dozen others expected to be supported soon. Chromebooks that can already use Crostini include newer Intel-powered Chromebooks from Acer, Asus, HP, Lenovo, and Samsung. Dell models will start getting supported later this year.
I used my best-of-breed Pixelbook[13] with its 1.3GHz quad-core Intel Core