This is what I see after typing the letter “Y” to proceed: It should be since Nala uses apt on the back-end. You can’t see the part where I’m asked if I want to install Node but it’s the same prompt that apt provides. Instead of line after line of information, Nala cleans up the interface in an intuitive way.Īnd it gets better. Here I’m running the Nala installation command for the same Node package. But, that doesn’t mean it provides the best experience and information. If you’ve ever installed a Linux app, this should be very familiar. I type the letter Y and all of the packages for Node are downloaded and installed in Linux on my Chromebook. I first run the apt command and see what packages will be installed. Here’s what running the sudo apt install nodejs package looks like using apt. App installation comparison between apt and Nala And I’ll use Nala in the other to install the exact same Linux packages on my Chromebook. I’m going to use apt in one to install Node and the Node Package Manager as an example. To illustrate the differences, here are two Linux instances running on the same Chromebook. Moving forward, you’ll use Nala in its place. Once the installation is complete, I suspect that will be the very last time you ever run the apt command. It’s a version that will work with the Debian version of Linux on a Chromebook. Sudo apt update & sudo apt install nala-legacyĭon’t be worried about the inclusion of the word “legacy” in that command. The instructions are here and I did the steps under the “Install the repository and key” section, followed by running this command in Linux on my Chromebook: Installation of Nala using Linux on Chromebooks is fairly simple. You can even revert actions from history. Not only that, but it can download Linux packages quicker than apt and it provides a history of updates and installations. However, it makes the installation of Linux apps nicer to look at, provides more useful information, and adds more features. Normally, when someone refers to “a front-end”, people think of graphical user interfaces or GUIs. How to install Nala for Linux on a Chromebook I now use Nala for Linux, which is a front-end for the apt package manager command.

I’ll bet only a few, if any, of them have stopped using apt, or the Advanced Package Tool, command to install Linux apps. I noticed a fair number of commenters on my last post, “Why I use a Chromebook”, use the Linux on a Chromebook feature.

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