Minecraft is undoubtedly one of the most popular games in the world. After its release, Minecraft created a new kind of gaming genre called sandbox games where players could create, modify, or destroy their environment. Eventually, the game got developed for a multitude of platforms including Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS and more. However, even after these many years, the game has not been developed for Chrome OS. But there is nothing to worry as Chrome OS has got the Linux support. Now you can install and play Minecraft and many other Linux games on your Chromebook without much friction. So, let’s go ahead and find out the steps for Minecraft installation on Chromebook using Linux.

Install and Play Minecraft on Chromebook in 2020

Before we begin, there are a few things that I want to clarify. You can run Minecraft on Chromebook without moving to the Developer Mode and installing Crouton. In the past few months, Google has improved Linux on Chrome OS significantly and brought many of the features to the stable channel. For example, Google has brought GPU acceleration to the stable channel so go ahead and enable it right now. It makes the gameplay a lot smoother and the difference is simply day and night.

Apart from that, the mouse-capture bug on Minecraft is almost gone on the Chromebook. Now the game is much more responsive and you can increase the mouse sensitivity as per your preference as well. With all that said, let’s go ahead and learn how to install and play Minecraft on Chromebook.

1. Before moving ahead, make sure you have set up Linux on your Chromebook.

enable linux

2. Next, download the Minecraft.deb file (Debian/Ubuntu) from the official website. After that, move the file to the Linux section inside the Files app.

Install and Play Minecraft on Chromebook 3

3. Now, double-click on the downloaded file and click on the “Install” button. Within a few minutes, Minecraft will be installed on your Chromebook.

Install and Play Minecraft on Chromebook 3

4. To access Minecraft, open the App Drawer and navigate to the Linux Folder. Here, you will find “Minecraft Launcher”. Open it and voila, there you have it. Minecraft works out of the box on Chrome OS without any tinkering.

Install and Play Minecraft on Chromebook 3

5. Now log in with your Minecraft account and it will download the latest release and install the update itself. The app will close automatically after the installation so open it again from the app drawer.

Install and Play Minecraft on Chromebook 1

6. The game runs fine with WASD keys control, but the mouse sensitivity is slightly on the lower side. To fix it, click on Options -> Mouse Settings and change the sensitivity to “Hyperspeed”. Now, you can play the Minecraft on Chromebook smoothly and without any jitter.

Install and Play Minecraft on Chromebook 2

7. In case you face any installation error then open the Terminal app from the App Drawer. After that, run the below Linux commands one by one to install the Java Development Kit. Further, press “Y” to continue the installation. Finally, install the Minecraft.deb file normally from the Files app. 

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade
sudo apt-get install default-jdk

Install and Play Minecraft on Chromebook

Enjoy Minecraft on Chromebook Without a Hitch

So that was our guide on how to install and play the popular Minecraft game on Chromebook. With the improved Linux (Beta), things seem to be much better now for Linux apps and Chrome OS games as a whole. And the best part is that you don’t need to make any changes to your Chromebook. Everything including the packages and dependencies are built into the Linux system. On top of that, the GPU acceleration brings a considerable difference in the gameplay. Anyway, that is all from us. If you were able to play Minecraft on your Chromebook, do comment down below and let us know your gaming experience.

141 COMMENTS

  6. hold up i don’t have a (Linux)teb in settings so how would i do it without Linux here is a question is Linux neccasary

  17. After I add Minecraft.deb file to the Linux file and i rty to install minecraft it says that i can’t install it

  18. I got everything to work, except for one big problem. it only lets me open up the java demo. I purchased the game from for xbox, and again purchased it from Microsoft for my desktop computer. but now i’m realizing the only thing you can do on Chromebook is download Mojang’s java demo version or… again… purchases their java version. I don’t want to buy the same game a third time!

    Isn’t there a simpler way to get the same game I already purchased across these devices?

  20. I got so close but after the final command it says I need to free up some space when I have almost empty space. Oh well

  22. every time i go to the terminal and try it, it says “Wrong architecture ‘amd64’ — Run dpkg –add-architecture to add it and update afterwards” what do i do for this?

  23. My Chromebook is cheap, but it’s also very new; I still think I’m out of luck. I followed the steps, and even successfully tried step 7 to try and get it to work, but to no success.
    Even after trying step 7, in step 2 there is no apps under Linux. I can move Minecraft.deb to Linux, but not in apps because it doesn’t exist for me. When I move it to Linux, I get the 3 data/debian/control files like someone else also reported. I tried running the Deb file directly in the terminal like you suggested, but also got a bunch of the “Depends… it is not installable” error messages.
    I’m guessing there is nothing left to try here and I’m just out of luck?

  26. Downloaded the Minecraft.deb for the chromebook operating in Linux but having trouble logging into Xbox Live and have them communicate so my kids can access their friends realms.

  28. When I download minecraft.deb, move it to Linux files, and double click it i do not get the “install” screen, but instead it opens a folder that contains the files data.tar.xz, debian-binary, and control.tar.gz

    • In that case, you can run the Deb file through the Linux Terminal. Open the Terminal and run sudo apt-get install ./Minecraft.deb

      Make sure the name is correct as it’s case sensitive.

  29. i got it downloaded and it works but i can’t turn around 360o. when my curser gets to the edge of my screen my player stops moving. can anyone help?

  30. it doesn’t work for me, it says all these things are not install-able. i tried every step, it just doesn’t seem to work

  32. It worked for me on our 2 Chromebooks, but I haven’t been able to get Open to LAN for Multiplayer to work.
    Has anyone got Open to LAN + Multiplayer working?
    Any tips?

    • It’s the actual Minecraft Java designed for Linux which runs quite well on Chromebooks. Do note that if you have an Intel-powered Chromebook then Minecraft will run without any issues.

  36. Just an addition that may help some: I’ve been getting the same errors when loading Minecraft with the linux beta on a Lenovo Chrombook. From what I can find out, it also depends on your processor, if your chromebook is ARM based, then it’s significantly more difficult to load. So if you’re getting errors, it may be because of this. (I have yet to find how to get ARM processors working with Minecraft

  39. when do i tye the code in cause i can’t downlaod minecraft all it says is error and this is a part of the erro message
    Depends: libxrender1 but it is not installable
    Depends: libxss1 but it is not installable
    Depends: libxtst6 but it is not installable
    Depends: libx11-xcb1 but it is not installable
    Depends: libxcb1 but it is not installable
    Depends: libbz2-1.0 but it is not installable
    Depends: libcurl3 but it is not installable or
    libcurl4 but it is not installable
    Depends: libuuid1 but it is not installable

    please help.

  42. I turned on Linux, downloaded it, downloaded the Minecraft.deb, installed with Linux, and it says an error occurred during the installation. I went to the terminal and ran the commands, yet it does NOT work. Help me, please.

  43. mine says
    “The following packages have unmet dependencies:
    minecraft-launcher: Depends: default-jre but it is not installable
    Depends: libasound2 (>= 1.0.23) but it is not installable
    Depends: libatk1.0-0 (>= 1.12.4) but it is not installable
    Depends: libc6 (>= 2.11) but it is not installable
    Depends: libcairo2 (>= 1.6.0) but it is not installable”
    and so on with similar errors

  45. I can’t find the Linux files on my Chromebook settings.

    Please help me I checked everywhere ????????????

  48. Installing jdk didn’t work to fix install at first so removed and reinstalled linux after system updates, which then let me move to linux folder and run install, and now coming up with “default-jre is not installable” – help? 🙁

  49. I installed it and it plays fine. However, I cannot get rid of the bar at the top with the minimise/close buttons which means I cannot look all the way up and I cannot look 360 degrees, it gets stopped and I can’t turn anymore. Does anybody else have this problem/ know how to fix it? Minecraft is in full screen and this still happens

    • You can go into the options in Minecraft, go to video and select ‘Fullscreen: OFF’ to turn it on. For the 360 degree problem, I just open my inventory and put my mouse back in the middle.

    • There is a way to fix the issue with not being able to turn around after a certain point. I just did it today on omy son’s chromebrook. Open up your chrome browser then in the address bar go to: chrome://flags
      Next, enable this flag: exo-pointer-lock
      Once this is done, restart your computer and relaunch minecraft.
      Enjoy!

  51. i have the minecraft Deb in my linux files, but it won’t install, so i did the
    sudo apt-get update
    sudo apt-get upgrade
    sudo apt-get install default-jdk
    in linux launcher, and tried to install again but it wouldn’t work.
    PLZ HELP I WANNA PLAY MINECRAFT

  58. I did all the steps but an error happened so i typed in the commands and it still dosent work, the fie is in the linux terminal, whats going on?

  61. it says unable to locate package openjdk-8-jdk. Even after i did
    sudo apt-get update
    sudo apt-get upgrade
    sudo apt-get install default-jdk
    and overall it says error while installing please help

    • Move the downloaded file (Minecraft.deb) to the Linux section inside the Files app and then run the program. It will install thereafter without any issue.

      Only if you get any error then run sudo apt-get install default-jdk to install Java Development Kit. And don’t run the openjdk command as the package name has changed.

    • Try to resize the disk space of Linux partition on your Chromebook. Open Settings -> Linux (beta) -> Disk size. Keep in mind, you may have to move to the Linux Developer channel to be able to access this Settings page.

    • Move the downloaded file (Minecraft.deb) to the Linux section inside the Files app and then run the program. It will install thereafter without any issue.

    • Run the below commands one by one. Press “Y” to continue the installation.

      sudo apt-get update
      sudo apt-get upgrade
      sudo apt-get install default-jdk

  69. you still have to buy the full version like anybody else would have to, you don’t just get it for free so of course it’ll be on the demo mode until you buy it.

  70. It’s on demo mode noob!!!!!!!! In twenty four hours it will reset itself dummy! Check your facts! And it never worked for me either

    • Try installing the Java Development Kit. Run the below commands one by one and then press “Y” to continue the installation.

      sudo apt-get update
      sudo apt-get upgrade
      sudo apt-get install default-jdk

  72. I did the linux command and it worked until this:
    Reading package lists… Done
    Building dependency tree
    Reading state information… Done
    E: Unable to locate package openjdk-8-jdk

    • Run the below commands one by one. Press “Y” to continue the installation.

      sudo apt-get update
      sudo apt-get upgrade
      sudo apt-get install default-jdk

  73. I reset the linux thingy now but now every 15 minutes it would crash and every 2 minutes I would lag severely :C.

    • Open the App Drawer where you have all your Android and Web apps. There you will find a Linux folder (generally on the first page). Open it and click on “Minecraft Launcher”.

  75. I can’t seem to open the launcher back up. It says in the notifications that there is an app in the shelf but it doesn’t show. It only shows the terminal. It successfully downloaded and I tried the code on top. It doesn’t work. If anyone knows, what is the code thingy?

    • Open the App Drawer where you have all your Android and Web apps. There you will find a Linux folder (generally on the first page). Open it and click on “Minecraft Launcher”.

  76. its working well, but my mouse is still working as a mouse in the background, so when i look far enough left or right it pops up the other ui for the chroe book. Like if i look up itll pop up the minimize and exit button

    • Move the downloaded file (Minecraft.deb) to the Linux section inside the Files app and then run the program. It will install thereafter without any issue.

      And for commands, open the Terminal app from the App Drawer.

  79. I have the game download and install, I’ve bought my account and signed in, however when I press play my game crashes everytime before it loads

    • Move the downloaded file (Minecraft.deb) to the Linux section inside the Files app and then run the program. It will install thereafter without any issue.

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