18 terminal commands on Chromebook you should know

Do you know that Chromebooks have an integrated terminal? Chrome OS Developer Shell or Crosh for short allows you to access the command line interface, which can be used for debugging, test runs, etc.

Today, TipsMake.com will join readers to review some terminal commands on Chromebooks that every user should know to improve productivity and troubleshoot.

The terminal commands needed for Chromebooks

The following are the most useful terminal commands for Chromebook users. Details for each command will be in the following section:

1. Open Crosh: Ctrl + Alt + T
2. Ping: ping [domain]
3. Check memory: memory_test
4. Change mouse settings: xset m
5. Change keyboard settings: inputcontrol
6. Configure modem: help modem
7. Rollback (backward manipulation of the database to the old state) Chrome OS: rollback
8. Stop a process in Crosh: Ctrl + C
9. Open Task Manager: top
10. Battery Manager: pin_test [seconds]
11. Developer Mode commands: shell, systrace, pack_capture
12. Information about user and uptime (uptime): uptime
13. Set time: set_time
14. Network diagnostics: network_diag
15. Record audio: record [seconds]
16. Network monitoring: tracepath
17. Help: help, help_advanced
18. Exit Crosh: exit

1. Open Crosh

Launching the application is the first thing to do. You will not find the Chrome OS Developer Shell in the list of common applications in the Chromebook application tray, need to press Ctrl + Alt + T to open the terminal window and start.

Note : There is no need to activate Chromebook Developer Mode to access Crosh.

2. Run the Ping test

18 terminal commands on Chromebook you should know Picture 1

Enter ping [domain] to run ping tests on Chromebooks.

If you're not sure, ping tests are an essential tool for diagnosing network problems, showing how fast traffic moves between your computer and web server.

3. Check memory

Although Chromebook memory information can be viewed using third-party plugins, this information may not be enough for some users. If you want more detailed information, use Crosh. Just type memory_test and press Enter.

4. Change mouse speed

You can manage the mouse's basic speed using the Settings menu on Chrome OS. Go to Settings> Device> Mouse and Touchpad> Mouse> Mouse Speed to make changes.

However, if you want more detailed control, go to Crosh. If you enter xset m , you can change the mouse speed when it starts to move.

5. Change the Repeat Rate of the keyboard

In the same way, you can also change the speed of a repeating letter on the screen when holding a single button on the keyboard. Enter xset r and follow the on-screen instructions to get started.

Note: The xset commands may not work on new machines. If the xset command does not work in your case, try inputcontrol instead.

6. Configure modem

Another important part while troubleshooting the network is to make sure that the modem is configured correctly.

If you enter the help modem in the Chromebook's terminal, you will have access to a variety of options, including settings to activate the modem, connect the modem, change the modem's firmware, reset the modem's original settings and more. That's it.

7. Reinstall the previous version of Chrome OS

If the recent Chrome OS update has caused problems for your computer, you can easily undo the changes and return to the previous version of the operating system.

The command to use is rollback.

8. Stop all processes in Crosh

If you want to pause any process running in any background (such as ping checking) in Crosh, just press Ctrl + C.

9. Better task manager

18 terminal commands on Chromebook you should know Picture 2

Very few people know that Chrome OS (and Chrome browser on other operating systems) has its own task manager. It shows which processes are consuming CPU and memory. You can find this task manager by opening Chrome and going to More (three vertical dots) > More Tools> Task Manager .

In addition, Chrome OS has a side task manager hidden in Crosh. You can use it to find out about low-level processes that are not displayed in the main task management application.

Please enter the top to get started.

10. Manage battery

18 terminal commands on Chromebook you should know Picture 3

You can view battery data by looking at the bottom right corner of the Chromebook screen. However, if you want more information, enter pin_test [seconds] into Crosh (replace [seconds] with a number, eg pin_test 10 ).

Crosh will give you the exact amount of battery life used in a given time frame, as well as feedback on the remaining battery life and overall battery 'health'.

11. Developer Mode commands

Although you don't need to be a developer to use Crosh, if you enable Developer Mode, there will be three new commands:

1. shell: Open a full bash shell.
2. systrace: Start tracking system.
3. pack_capture: Capture and log data packets.

12. Information about users and Uptime

When was the last time you turned off your Chromebook? The answer may be a few days or even weeks ago.

To see how long the computer has been running since the last shutdown, enter uptime. The result will also provide information about the user currently logged in.

13. Change time

Do you have any problems with the time displayed on the machine? Perhaps you live in the contiguous zone of time zones or have an internet connection with frequently changing IP addresses.

Enter set_time in Crosh and you can override the time setting on the operating system's graphical interface.

14. Other network diagnostics

18 terminal commands on Chromebook you should know Picture 4

If you have run a ping test and tried to configure the modem but still have problems, you can enter network_diag to run more tests on your network.

The output is saved as a TXT file in the Files application of Chromebook.

15. Recording

Chromebooks do not come with the original recording tool. Of course, there are many applications in Chrome Web Store that provide this functionality, but they are not necessary.

In Crosh, enter the sound record [seconds] (again, replace [seconds] with a number) to record audio through the microphone on the Chromebook.

Enter sound_play to listen to what you have recorded or find new audio files created in the Files application .

16. Follow the network

The last Crosh command on the list today is about network, tracepath, which allows routing packets on the computer over the network.

17. Help

18 terminal commands on Chromebook you should know Picture 5

If the article does not include the command you need, enter help or help_advanced to see a full list of all available Crosh commands.

18. Exit Crosh

When you are done exploring, type exit and Crosh will exit. Just as simple as that.

Create backup before starting

It should be noted that if you change the settings in Chrome OS Developer Shell without being sure what you are doing, you can make the system unusable.

Fortunately, Chromebooks are easy to recover, but you will lose all locally saved data. So make sure you have created a backup before trying the above commands.

If the Crosh commands that the article discussed exceed your technical qualification, don't worry. Readers can refer to other articles such as the new Chromebook Setup Guide or 10 tips and tools for new Chromebook users.

Good luck!