How to Install the Arduino IDE on a Chromebook

You will need to make sure that your Chromebook has the Linux Beta available.

If your Chromebook is managed by your organization, you may need administrator or IT permissions to complete the setup.

Installation & Setup Video

Installation & Setup Steps

Follow these steps to add the Arduino IDE to a Chromebook:

  1. Open Settings > Linux (Beta) and toggle it ON

  2. The Linux virtual machine will install (Move to step 3 while it’s installing.)

  3. Download the Arduino IDE, Linux or Linux ARM based on your processor. The download page is here.

  4. Open a Terminal

  5. Update Linux with the following code:

sudo apt upgrade
  1. Install XZ-Utils to unzip the software
sudo apt-get install xz-utils
  1. Move over the downloaded Arduino IDE Files. Go to Files > Downloads > arduino-1.x.x-y.tar.xz Drag and drop into “Linux files” folder.
  2. Confirm the file is in the Linux files by listing out all files
ls

You should see the “tar.xz” file listed out on the screen.

  1. Extract the Arduino IDE files to the /opt directory. Type in “arduino” and then press tab to complete the full file name.

Your file may not match the name below.

sudo tar -C /opt -xf arduino-1.8.13-linuxaarch64.tar.xz

Give this a few seconds to run.

  1. Navigate into the /opt directory.
cd /opt/
ls
  1. Open the arduino-1.x.x directory. Type in “arduino” and then press tab to complete the full file name.
cd arduino-1.8.13/
  1. Install the IDE using the install command, below. Make sure you are in the /opt/arduino-1.x.x folder first.
sudo ./install.sh

Let this run. It will print a bunch of messages to the screen. Do not worry about the printouts.

  1. In the same directory, run the Install command again, but not as “sudo"
./install.sh
  1. Verify that there’s a desktop folder. Navigate back to root and list out the contents.
cd ~
ls
cd Desktop
ls

You should see a desktop launcher in the /Desktop folder

  1. Plug in your Arduino Controller to the USB port

  2. Configure USB preferences. Go to Settings > Linux (Beta) > USB preferences > Toggle the device for the Arduino ON

  3. Open the Arduino IDE program - it will take a few seconds to load.

  4. Confirm that controller shows up. In the Arduino IDE, go to Tools > Port > Select the USB port that has the Arduino device.

It will be named /dev/ttyACMx (Arduino Uno)

  1. Choose the correct board. Go to Tools > Board > Arduino Uno

  2. Compile and upload to verify that you have full communication between Chromebook and Controller. Press the ✓ (top left) then the arrow. You should see “Done uploading” in the bottom left if everything is working properly.

Updated on 13 Dec 2021