Chromebook sales have exploded in recent years with more than 40 million Chromebooks expected to be shipped in 2022.
They are popular among students and professionals alike because of their low price, fast performance, and user-friendly design.
But one common question about Chromebooks is their ability to run a development environment for coding.
Can You Code On A Chromebook?
Yes. A Chromebook provides you with a number of options for when you need to code. If you have a newer Chromebook, you can download and install many integrated development environments (IDEs) from the Google Play Store that will allow you to code in most of the popular web development and programming languages used.
You also have the option of downloading the Caret app from the Chrome Web Store and then running the code via an online IDE such as Replit.
You can also install Linux on your Chromebook and that will allow you to install more robust IDEs for coding like Visual Studio Code, IntelliSense, Pycharm, and Android Studios, which is officially supported by Google on Chromebooks.
Another popular method of coding on a Chromebook is through the use of progressive web applications like StackBlitz and Google Cloud Shell which will allow you to write, run and preview code directly from your web browser.
How To Code On A Chromebook
VS Code is one of the most popular editors for people getting started with programming on a Chromebook because it is lightweight and works well on even low-powered Chromebooks that are powered by ARM processors.
The only requirement is that your Chromebook is new enough to be able to enable Linux apps via Crostini.
VS Code has support for almost every major programming language including C and C++, C#, Java, PHP, Node.js, Python, etc.
And for Android development, supported Chromebooks, like the Lenovo Flex 5, can run the complete version of the Android Emulator, which will allow you to test apps on any Android version or device.
VS Code in combination with NodeJs, NMP, XAMPP, and other apps is also great for web development on a Chromebook.
Related Article: Are Chromebooks Better Than Laptops? (All You Need To Know)
What Type Of Chromebook Is Best For Coding?
The best Chromebooks for coding are the ones with more powerful Intel processors and plenty of RAM, so they can accommodate heavy resource use when many development tools are installed on them.
A Chromebook with an Intel Core i3, 8GB of RAM, and 64GB of internal storage would be a good starting point.
You’ll also want a large screen that’s at least a 1080p resolution so you can multitask and see the code clearly.
One Chromebook I would recommend is the Google Pixelbook Go.
It comes with an 8th gen Intel Core i5 processor with 16GB of RAM and 128GB of storage.
Another great option is the Asus Chromebook Flip C436.
It comes with a 10th gen Intel Core i3 processor with 8GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, and around 8-hours of battery life.
In conclusion, yes you can code on a Chromebook. You have plenty of options when it comes to finding your perfect development environment and the vast majority of popular coding languages are supported by most of the text editors and IDEs available.
You can also run powerful IDEs like Visual Studio Code, IntelliSense, Pycharm, Cloud9, and Android Studios if you find yourself needing something more than an online IDE or text editor.
