Audacity is one of the most popular free and open-source audio editing tools available today. It’s widely used for podcast recording, voiceovers, music editing, noise removal, and basic audio cleanup. If you are using a Chromebook and wondering whether you can run Audacity, the answer is yes — with the help of Linux.
ChromeOS does not support traditional desktop apps like Audacity directly. However, thanks to the Linux Development Environment, you can install and use the full desktop version of Audacity on your Chromebook with surprisingly good performance.
In this detailed guide, we will walk you through everything step by step, from installation to basic usage.
Can You Install Audacity on a Chromebook?
Yes, you can install Audacity on a Chromebook, but only through Linux.
Important things to know upfront:
- Audacity does not have a ChromeOS or Android version
- Web-based alternatives are limited
- Linux allows you to run the full desktop Audacity app
- Performance depends on your Chromebook’s hardware
Most mid-range Chromebooks handle Audacity without issues.
How to Install Audacity on a Chromebook
Firstly, you have to enable Linux development environment support on your Chromebook. After that, you can install any Linux desktop application on your Chromebook.
We already have a detailed guide on; how to install a Linux development environment on your Chromebook. You can follow the linked guide. Once; you have enabled it, you can follow the following steps to install Audacity on your Chromebook:
1. Click on the App Launcher icon and look for the Linux apps folder.
2. Then open the Terminal to install Linux apps on your Chromebook.
3. If you did not get the terminal command, click on the penguin option. Now, it should open the terminal. Here you need to run the below terminal command:
sudo apt-get install audacity
4. After that, you will get a question; ‘Do you want to continue?’. Here, press the Y key to continue the installation process.
5. Now, wait for the installation to complete. Once; the app is successfully installed, you’ll see the commands ending with green-colored text.
6. After that, you are ready to use Audacity on your Chromebook.
How to Use Audacity on Chromebook
Once; you have installed Audacity on your Chromebook, you have to set up a Linux environment for Audacity. Because Audacity requires microphone permission, to do so, you can follow the below steps:
1. Open the Settings apps on your Chromebook.
2. Here, click on the About ChromeOS option and look for the Developers option.
3. Then, click on the Linux development environment option.
4. Here, you will find Linux development environment settings. Now, Turn On the toggle; allow Linux to access your microphone, as Audacity requires microphone permission.
5. You will get a popup window saying: ‘The change in microphone setting requires Linux to shut down. Shut down Linux to proceed.‘ Here, click on the Shut Down button.
6. After that, you are ready to use Audacity on your Chromebook. Click on the App Launcher icon and look for the Linux apps folder.
7. Then, click on the Audacity icon to open it and click on the record button to start recording your audio.
Wrapping Up
With that, we wrap up our detailed guide on how to install and use Audacity on a Chromebook. While ChromeOS doesn’t support desktop audio editors natively, Linux makes it possible to run Audacity smoothly and reliably.
If you’re serious about audio editing on a Chromebook, enabling Linux and installing Audacity is absolutely worth it. We hope this guide helped you set it up correctly and start editing audio without frustration.
