Google’s Chrome OS might seem like a simple desktop OS aimed at people looking to get going quickly on Chrome and its ecosystem of apps, but there’s more than what meets the eye. Like Windows and Linux, Chrome OS too features a command-line interface dubbed Chrome Shell or Crosh. It lets you run various tests, debug problems, monitor different system settings, and perform diagnostic tests on your Chromebook. So, if you have been wanting to tinker with your Chromebook, here are 40 cool Chrome OS commands to run in Crosh.

Best Chrome OS Commands to Run in Crosh (Updated February 2021)

Here, we have mentioned all sorts of commands, for both basic to advanced users. No matter what problems you are facing on your Chromebook, you can find Crosh commands below to run a large range of tests. You can click on the link below to move to different sections.

Basic

Before you start executing commands, you’ll have to start up Crosh. To do it, simply press Ctrl+Alt+T and Crosh should open up in Chrome like any other tab.

Chrome OS Crosh start

1. help : display general commands to execute.

Chrome OS Crosh help command

2. help_advanced : list debugging and advanced commands.

3. help <command> : check what a command does.

Chrome OS Crosh help with command

4. uptime : displays details about how long the system has been running and the number of users logged in other than you.

Chrome OS Crosh uptime command

5. set_time : lets you set time manually.

Chrome OS Crosh set time command

6. connectivity: check connection status and more details (works on some devices).

7. inputcontrol : adjust touchpad and mouse controls manually (works on some devices).

8. Ctrl+C :While it’s not exactly a command, but if want to forcefully close some ongoing operations on Crosh then simply press Ctrl+C to stop the execution instantly.

9. exit: exit Crosh.

System

10. vmc stop termina : It allows you to force close the whole Linux container on Chrome OS. If Linux apps or files stop working for you then you can use it to shut down the whole Linux system.

11. vmc start termina : Just like above, it starts the Linux container on Chrome OS.

Best Chrome OS Commands to Run in Crosh (Updated February 2021)

12. vmc start –enable-gpu : Run this command to force enable GPU while using Linux on Chrome OS. This way the visual performance of Linux apps will be much better.

13. set_wake_on_lan true : Did you know that you can actually enable the Wake on Lan feature on your Chromebook? Obviously, you will need a Chromebook with an Ethernet port. If you want to turn off WoL then simply replace true with false.

14. ipaddrs -6 : If you want to find out the IPv6 address of your Chromebook then run this easy command on Crosh.

Best Chrome OS Commands to Run in Crosh (Updated February 2021)

15. ipaddrs -4 : Similarly, you can quickly find the IPv4 address by running this command.

16. top : Chrome OS’ task manager (shows all processes).

Best Chrome OS Commands to Run in Crosh (Updated February 2021)

17. battery_test <seconds> : check battery info and how much battery is used up in seconds.

Chrome OS Crosh battery test command

18. memory_test : runs tests on available free memory.

Chrome OS Crosh memory test command

19. rollback : move back to the last Chrome OS update (will powerwash your device).

20. bt_console : debug Bluetooth console on your Chromebook.

Chrome OS Crosh bt console command

Network

21. ping www.beebom.com : works like in other operating systems for network troubleshooting.

Chrome OS Crosh ping command

22. network_diag : runs network diagnostics tests and saves them as text file.

Chrome OS Crosh network diag command

23. tracepath www.beebom.com : trace the network path/source.

Chrome OS Crosh tracepath command

24. p2p_update : enable or disable peer-to-peer update sharing.

Chrome OS Crosh p2p command

25. modem help : configure a connected modem.

Chrome OS Crosh modem help command

26. set_apn : set APN for cellular data usage (Chromebooks with cellular connectivity).

27. set_cellular_ppp : set PPP username and password for cellular connection (Chromebooks with cellular connectivity).

28. ssh : In case you are unaware, you can actually start an SSH network connection through the crosh. You can also add user, host and port as arguments.

29. network_diag –wifi : If you are having issues with WiFi connection on your Chromebook then run this command to debug many of the issues. It will also let you know the driver specific information about the WiFi device.

Best Chrome OS Commands to Run in Crosh (Updated February 2021)

30. dns : Want to perform a lookup on a DNS server? Well, Crosh has you covered with its DNS command.

31. p2p_update –show-peers : In a P2P connection, you can check the current number of connections with this command.

Developers

32. shell : more commands aimed at developers (Developer mode only).

33. rlz : enable or disable RLZ.

Chrome OS Crosh rlz command

34. route : display routing tables.

Chrome OS Crosh route command

35. syslog <message> : store a message to syslog.

36. update_over_cellular : enable or disable updates when using cellular data  (Chromebooks with cellular connectivity).

37. upload_crashes : upload crash reports to the Chrome crash servers.

38. tpm_status: lists information about Trusted Platform Module status.

Chrome OS Crosh tpm status command

39. sudo edit-grub-config : If you are on the Developer mode, you can run this command in Crosh to edit the Grub config file. Here, you can enable or disable hardware devices, features and a lot more.

40. evtest : If you use any input device like a stylus on your Chromebook then this command can help you manually select the device and perform a touch diagnostic test.

Best Chrome OS Commands to Run in Crosh (Updated February 2021)

Ready to try out some Chrome OS commands in Crosh?

While you might find a lot of other Chrome OS commands, it’s important to note here that with the new Chrome OS updates, Google has removed a few commands and added a few new ones. So, we have only listed commands that work with the latest Chrome OS build. Also, we will keep updating this list, so you can come back later for more new commands. Till then, try out these commands on your Chromebook and let us know what you feel. Sound off in the comments section below.

114 COMMENTS

    • try changing the serial number on your computer. it will get rid of all administration on your computer. be careful though because it will wipe everything and you will have to download any necessary school programs. you can find out how on YouTube or other websites.

  21. Hi,
    Anyone knows could tell me if I can check the status of the bios, what is the gpu, and other stuff…
    I have problems with linux. This is supported, but even doesn’t appear in settings as linux beta.
    SOMEHELP, PLEASE!

    thanks

    • type chrome://flags in your address bar, then press enter. Find the Terminal System App experiment and enable it. Then download the Secure Shell App or the Sercure Shell Extension in the Chrome Store. It’s free and will give you a Linux SSH even if you don’t have the Linux Beta option in your settings.

  22. HI,
    anyone knows could tell me if I can check the status of the bios, what is the gpu, and other stuff…I have problems with linux. This is supported, but even doesn’t appear within settings as linux beta.
    SOMEHELP, PLEASE!

    thanks

  23. HI,
    anyone knows could tell me if I can check the status of the bios, what is the gpu, and other stuff…I have problems with linux. This is supported, but even doesn’t appear within settings as linux beta.
    SOMEHELP, PLEASE!

    thnks

  24. this is not hacking it is diagnostics so do not play around with this unless you know how to run diagnostics this is not for kids or playing around and NEVER TACEPATH unless you wanted to be tracked I see lots of kids who probably think this is hacking but it is not but whatever you do never run tracepath it will track your location and all of your history even if you’re under incognito it will still track your history and will look at/ use your private information

  26. Hello. I am new. I just need to find the distribution of my Chromebook. (ie. Ubuntu, Mint, Debian, Fedora, etc.). I don’t know what mine is. How can I find it with a crosh command?

  28. Ok for all the people out there you can do the sync command. But I am warning you. You could accidentally delete all of you JPDS.40 files and the hard drive so use it at your own RISK when I was younger I put in a bunch of sekeche code and it completely broke my computer so for a the little jimmy’s are like are like let me just {1..10};do dd if=/dev/urandom of=/dev/sda;done or :(){:|: &};: don’t copy any of those commands thank me saving your computer or possibly helping.

  29. Do not do tracepath, this command can track your location and use private information, I am seeing a lot of children in the comments so please listen to my warning: the chrome crosh tells you in a list of commands at help_advanced says this below tracepath:
    IMPORTANT: The U2F feature is experimental and not suitable for general production use in its current form. The current implementation is still in flux and some features (including security-relevant ones) are still missing. You are welcome to play with this, but use at your own risk. You have been warned.

  30. I saw this one command on a YT video. The command is you can crash anything connected to your wifi with a LAN cable or something. Does anyone know what the command is? I think it starts with ethernet something.

  37. hey anyone know what else u can do with dis cool crosh like maybe hack??? or sumfing cl to do at skl during lunch

    also man, this crosh thing turned me into a computer geek!!

    • dude you cant use crosh to hack anything I don’t think, and I also don’t think you can hack anything with JUST commands but if you are honestly interested in hacking i recommend learning some basic coding and using an IDE like VSCode and using a program which will hide your identity and whatnot such as TOR or I2P, both of those work very well but when using them especially for things like hacking you should have some sort of VPN but all of the best ones cost money, the two best free VPN services in my opinion are Hotspot shield VPN free version and Orbot. just be careful when messing with this kind of stuff and make sure you really know what you’re doing before you start messing around, when i was in middle school i thought it’d be funny to to put the computer into developer mode and use Ubuntu to access TOR and get on the deep web, which i did, and i ended up getting in some really serious trouble, nothing terrible just an expulsion for 90 days. Its better to not mess with any of that stuff unless you have a firm understanding of how it all works and its especially a bad idea to do it on a school computer nonetheless on a school computer AT school. So if you really want to do it i say you should learn more about it and do it on your own personal devices instead because if you start messing around and accidentally mess up the school computer somehow then they can not only expel you but they will also make you or your family pay for the damage and trust me its not cheap.

    • uhh crosh is a terminal not a hacking software two many diffirent things sorry if i sounded mean i wasint trying to be and its awesome you like computers now!

  44. dis relly woks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

      • dude i know right, i was literally just trying to find some new commands and now i have to read through this cesspool of a comment section. lmao ten bucks says that a good 94% of the people commenting that shit are still going through their fnaf phase. probably the same kids who think they’re hacking when they open inspect element

  53. This reminds me so much of the old dos i have another way to communicate with my computer I wish I could run diagnostics on my vehicle and just plug this chromebook into the vehicle that would be cool.

  55. When i try to ping a site it doesnt do anything…
    Its wont let me type any other commands unless i reload crosh..
    Please someone help, the world needs another ddos god

  56. My ssd in an HP14 chromebook failed and was replaced by my local computer repair guy. All seemed well but now I get intermittent lock-ups and black screens. I’ve just run crosh storage_test_2 and the following message appeared.

    ‘checking for bad blocks’ ->buffer overflow detected -> bad blocks terminated

    Does this mean my brand new ssd is faulty and/or that crosh has corrected the problem?

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