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INSTALLATION GUIDE VISUAL
STUDIO CODE ON CHROMEBOOKS
USING LINUX
Technology/Software used in
Description
New for the 24-25 school year, schools can use Linux on Chromebooks to install Visual Studio Code for
Computer Science Principles and Computer Science A. Provided are instructions on how to install on a
single machine with Admin Rights to make changes. At this time, we do not have instructions on mass
installation or details on how to deploy from Google Admin. Please be mindful of your own security
systems, policies and procedures if you choose to use Visual Studio Code for Chromebook, rather than a
Windows or Mac Environment.
Requirements
• A Chromebook that has not reached End of Life updates
o Auto Update Policy
o Check your Chromebook’s update schedule
• At least 12GB available disk storage
• Chrome OS 64-bit
Install Linux and Visual Studio Code
1. When booting the Chromebook (for the first time or if asked to update),
update the Chromebook to the latest version. This may require you to
restart the Chromebook.
Note: Google’s Chromebook policy is to automatically check for updates.
2. Open Settings, search for “linux”. If "Linux development environment” is
installed, Select Remove.
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3. In Settings, search for “chrome os”. Select Check for Updates and
update. This will likely cause the Chromebook to restart.
4. In Settings, search again for “linux” and Set up and Install the Linux
development environment. The minimum size for the environment is 10GB.
5. When Linux successfully installs, a terminal window will appear. Note: If the
terminal shows a list of options, select penguin.
6. Recommended: Right-click on the terminal icon in the shelf and Pin to
Shelf.
7. In the terminal, enter the following commands to update Linux packages:
sudo apt update
sudo apt –y install gnome-keyring
8. Determine the type of CPU on your Chromebook:
dpkg --print-architecture
9. On the VS Code Downloads page, select the installation file for your
architecture.
• For amd64, select Debian Ubuntu .deb x64.
• For arm64, select select Debian Ubuntu .deb Arm64.
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After selecting the installation file, the download will automatically begin and the browser
will automatically navigate to a new page “Getting Started with Visual Studio Code.”
10. Open your
Downloads
folder and double click the
.deb
file and Install VS
Code. When complete, the VS Code icon will appear in the Shelf and
Launcher.
11. Recommended: Right-click on the VS Code icon in the shelf and Pin to
shelf.
For more details, please visit Learning with VS Code on Chromebooks.
Install JDK and the Extension Pack for Java
12. In a Linux/Penguin terminal, enter the following command.
sudo apt -y install default-jdk
13. Start VS Code and select the Extension option in the left menu.
14. Search for “Extension Pack for Java” by Microsoft and select Install. Be
sure to Install the JDK for the extension.
Once installed, the exentiosn panel should show something similar to:
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15. Follow the onscreen instructions if you are asked to restart VS Code.
Test Java
16. In VS Code, open a new file File > New Text File and copy and paste the
following program.
class Tester
static void main(String[] args)
{
System.out.println("HELLO WORLD!");
}
17. Save the program as
Tester.java
in the default folder.
18. Right-click in the Editor window and select Run Java. You should see
output that includes the text “HELLO WORLD” in the Terminal.
ckinnard@penguin:~$ /usr/bin/env /usr/lib/jvm/java-17-openjdk-amd64/bin/java -
XX:+ShowCodeDetailsInExceptionMessages -cp
/home/ckinnard/.config/Code/User/workspaceStorage/22abbc0c8a5958ca20cfe538775ce19
0/redhat.java/jdt_ws/jdt.ls-java-project/bin Tester
HELLO WORLD
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Install Python and Python Libraires
19. In a Linux/Penguin terminal, enter the following commands.
sudo apt -y install python3-pip python3-dev python3-venv
sudo apt -y install build-essential libssl-dev libffi-dev
sudo apt -y install python3-pygame python3-matplotlib python3-pandas
20. Start VS Code and select the Extension option in the left menu.
21. Search for “Python” distributed by Microsoft and select Install.
Once installed, the exentiosn panel should show something similar to:
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Test Python
22. In VS Code, open a new file File > New Text File and copy and paste the
following program.
HELLO WORLD")
23. Save the program as
TesterPy.py
in the default folder.
24. Right-click in the window and Run Python > Run Python File in
Terminal. You should see “HELLO WORLD” in the output in the Terminal.
Throughout the School Year
Python packages mss, pillow, and godirect must be installed on a per-user basis; students
will install these themselves.
When students download files to use in VS Code, they must move them to
Linux Files
.
If students are in VS Code and are prompted to upgrade the version of JDK, advise them
to answer “yes.”
