In this video, we’ll show you how to update a Linux app on your Google Chromebook. Since we used Linux Development Environment and Flatpak to install Linux apps, we’ll need to use some terminal commands to update them.
Notes: Here’s a quick rundown: Linux Development Environment is basically a virtual machine running Linux inside ChromeOS. By default, Linux and ChromeOS are kept separate. Flatpak is a software distribution framework that lets developers package and share their apps across different Linux distributions. To update apps installed with Flatpak, we’ll need to use the Linux terminal.
If you’re using a school or work Chromebook, your IT department might have turned off access to the Linux Development Environment. Before you try to use LDE, please reach out to your system administrator or tech support.
- Open the Linux Development Environment menu
- From within the menu select Penguin to open a Linux Terminal windows
- First type:
flatpak list
Note: This command will list any Linux applications installed into LDE. Using this list you need to note the Application ID of the app you are looking to update.
sudo flatpak update [Application ID]
Note: We need to use the sudo command in Linux, in order to gain temporary administrative privileges, that will allow us to perform tasks that require higher permissions. However it is important to exercise caution when using sudo because it grants elevated access to your system.
- You can now close the terminal window or update another application
- When prompted confirm that you wish to continue with the updating of your application
- Wait until you receive conformation that your updates have been completed
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