ChromeOS Linux (Crostini)
Shares rank 17 of 19 virtual machine tools by recommenders
Recommended for running a full Linux desktop with working window management and virtual desktops on a Chromebook, set up from the settings menu. One critic finds graphical apps unpleasant to use there.
Recommended for running a full Linux desktop with working window management and virtual desktops on a Chromebook, set up from the settings menu. One critic finds graphical apps unpleasant to use there.
6 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 5
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 83%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 5 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Solid desktop integration and window management
“The desktop environment has decent window management and support for virtual desktops which I use heavily.”
Comment from 4 Mar 2026 in “Apple Introduces MacBook Neo” “The integration is very well done, and its evident you've never used it”
Comment from 14 Mar 2026 in “Parallels Confirms MacBook Neo Can Run Windows in a Virtual Machine” Daily work setup for Chromebook users
“ChromeOS with the Linux VM is a surprisingly nice setup”
Comment from 15 Nov 2025 in “Linux on the Fujitsu Lifebook U729” “That's where I spend all my Chromebook work time”
Comment from 7 May 2026 in “I switched from Mac to a Lenovo Chromebook, and you can too”
Other virtual machine tools people recommend
The four most recommended other virtual machine tools, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QEMU | 114 | 42 | 73% | 12 | 16 yrs4 owners | Approved |
| UTM | 49 | 11 | 82% | 12 | 1 yr3 owners | Approved |
| VirtualBox | 34 | 33 | 51% | 12 | 18 yrs3 owners | — |
| Lima | 31 | 3 | 91% | 11 | — | Approved |
| ChromeOS Linux (Crostini)This page | 5 | 1 | 83% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
6 of the 7 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“That's where I spend all my Chromebook work time”
“You can install the Linux Dev VM with 5 clicks in the settings.”
“The integration is very well done, and its evident you've never used it”
“The desktop environment has decent window management and support for virtual desktops which I use heavily.”
“Using applications with a GUI isn't a very enjoyable experience in that environment.”
“ChromeOS with the Linux VM is a surprisingly nice setup”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.