PCB design on a Chromebook

The short version

Chromebooks cannot install desktop EDA. KiCad, Eagle and Altium are Windows/macOS/Linux applications with no ChromeOS version. There is a Linux-container workaround for KiCad on some models, but it is slow, fiddly and heavy — the opposite of why you bought a Chromebook. The clean answer is a tool that runs in Chrome itself.

Straight answers

Can you run KiCad on a Chromebook?

Not as a normal app. ChromeOS cannot install the Windows or macOS build of KiCad. There is a route through the built-in Linux container (Crostini) on supported Chromebooks, but it is slow to set up, heavy on a low-end device, and rough on touch — not what most people want. There is no ChromeOS app for KiCad.

What about Eagle, Altium or other desktop tools?

Same answer, and usually worse. These are desktop applications with no ChromeOS version. On a Chromebook, desktop EDA is effectively off the table.

Is the Linux (Crostini) container worth it?

For a technical user with a powerful Chromebook who really wants KiCad specifically, maybe. For everyone else — a school Chromebook, a low-cost device, anyone who just wants to design a board — it is more friction than it is worth. A browser-based tool needs none of that.

So what actually works on a Chromebook?

A PCB tool that runs entirely in Chrome. No install, no Linux container, no developer mode. It opens like any web page and gives you real design — placement, routing, design-rule checks and fabrication export — on the hardware you already have.

Why a browser tool is the right fit for ChromeOS

Nothing to install — it is just a web page

No app store, no Crostini, no developer mode, no sideloading. Open Chrome and start. This is the whole reason it works where desktop EDA cannot.

Real design, not a viewer

Place components, route copper across layers, run a design-rule check, and export Gerber, drill, pick-and-place and BOM — the files a fab accepts — all from ChromeOS.

Light on the hardware

Chromebooks are often modest machines. A browser-based tool does not ask you to compile or run a heavyweight desktop app, so it stays usable on the device you have.

Great for classrooms and students

School and student Chromebooks are locked down and cannot install software. A tool that lives in the browser sidesteps that entirely — useful for anyone teaching or learning electronics on managed devices.

Doing it on your Chromebook

1. Open PCBEditor in Chrome — no install, no Linux container, no developer mode.
2. Describe the board in plain text, or start one by hand.
3. Let it place and route, or adjust the layout yourself.
4. Run the design-rule check and review the unrouted list.
5. Export Gerber, drill, pick-and-place and BOM to send to a fab.