How to use Discord on a Chromebook
Discord is one of the biggest chat apps in the world. But, if you have a Chromebook, you may wonder how to get it on your system. Good news, thanks to both Android and Linux support on Chrome OS, you can. Here’s how to use Discord on a Chromebook.
How to install Discord on Chrome OS as an Android app
If your Chromebook supports Google Play, you will have an easy time installing Discord as an Android app. To set up Discord as an Android app, ensure your Chromebook is up to date. Then, open up the Google Play store on your Chromebook.
Once the Google Play store app is open, click on the search box and type “Discord.” When you type in “Discord,” you should start to see search results. Look through the search results for “Discord” and click on it with the mouse.
When you select “Discord,” Google Play will load up the Discord app page. On the Discord app page, find the green “Install” button, and select it with the mouse. When you select this button, Google Play will install the app on your Chromebook.
Once the Discord app is done installing, open up the Chrome OS app menu, and search for “Discord.” Then, launch it. After the app launches, look to the center of the title bar and change it from “Phone” to “Resizable.” After you change the Discord app to “Resizable,” you can maximize the app.
How to enable Linux containers on Chromebook
Running Linux apps on your Chromebook requires enabling the Linux container system on Chrome OS. Thankfully, it is straightforward to enable. To start, open up the settings area for Chrome OS.
Inside the settings area in Chrome OS, locate the “Advanced” section and click on the drop-down arrow. Then, click on the “Developers” section to access the “Developers” area of the Chrome OS settings.
Inside of the “Developers” area, locate the “Linux development environment” section, and select it. Then, click on the “Turn on” button to enable Linux containers on your Chromebook.
When you enable containers on Chrome OS, it will download a fresh installation of Debian Linux and a terminal app. When done, you’ll be able to use Linux apps on Chrome OS.
How to install Discord on Chrome OS as a Linux app
If the Android version of Discord isn’t enough for you, installing the Linux version on Chrome OS is also possible. There are two ways to install the Linux version of Discord: the Debian package and Flatpak.
The best way to get Discord working on Chrome OS as a Linux app is by downloading the official Deb package from the Discord website. Head to the official website, and find the “Download for Linux” button.
Once you’ve located the “Download for Linux” button, click on it to download the Discord DEB package. Then, open the Chrome OS Files app, and select the download folder.
Note: if you cannot find the “Download for Linux” button, click here to get a direct link to the Discord DEB package.
Inside the download folder, right-click on the Discord DEB package, and select the “Install with Linux” button. Selecting this button will install the Discord app on your Chromebook.
How to install Discord as a Flatpak on your Chromebook
Another way to get the Linux version of Discord working on Chrome OS is to install it as a Flatpak. To start the installation, open the Chrome OS app menu, and launch the terminal app.
Once the terminal app is open, find “Penguin” and select it. When you choose “Penguin,” you will gain command-line access to the Linux container. From here, enter the two commands below to get the Flatpak runtime working.
sudo apt install flatpak
flatpak --user remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo
With the Flatpak runtime working, you can easily install the Discord Linux app as a Flatpak on your Chromebook using the command below.
flatpak install flathub com.discordapp.Discord
After running the command above, Discord will be set up on your Chromebook. From here, you can launch Discord through the “Linux apps” sub-menu on Chrome OS.
How to set up Discord on your Chromebook
To set up Discord, launch the app. Once you launch it, you will see a login screen. Enter your email and password. Alternatively, take out your mobile device, launch the Discord app, and select your profile icon.
After selecting your profile icon in the mobile app, locate “scan QR code” and select it. Then, scan the QR code in the app on your Chromebook to get set up with your account in Discord.
