Terminal on Chromebook — VS Code (Linux) and Crostini

What new CS1 students should use first: VS Code in the Linux container (Crostini) and the Terminal app

Start Here — VS Code’s integrated terminal (recommended when using the Linux container)

  1. Chromebook typical setup for CS work
    • Enable Linux (Beta) / Crostini from ChromeOS Settings → Developers → Linux development environment. This gives you a normal Debian/Ubuntu-like container where you can install VS Code, the JDK, and run the Gradle wrapper.
  2. If you have VS Code installed inside the Linux container (recommended):
    • Toggle terminal (show/hide): Ctrl + ` (backtick)
    • New terminal instance: Ctrl + Shift + `
    • Command Palette: Ctrl + Shift + P → run View: Toggle Terminal
  3. Why VS Code first?
    • VS Code’s integrated terminal opens at your project folder, links to errors in the editor, and is the simplest place for beginners to run the Gradle wrapper (Gradle 9.2.0 via the project wrapper) and Git commands while editing.

  4. Quick verification

    1. Open the integrated terminal (Ctrl + `).
    2. Run:
    echo hello

    You should see hello printed back.

  5. If you don’t use the Linux container (not recommended for this course)
    • You can use remote development (VS Code on another machine) or VS Code for the Web, but the course assumes a POSIX-like shell where you can run ./gradlew and install JDK 25. If you’re using a different setup, follow the Chromebook notes page linked below for alternatives.

Chromebook research notes and troubleshooting