ChromeOS Linux File Management

ChromeOS intentionally does not trust the security of the Linux container with access to the files on your device or files on external storage. To share files with your Linux container, you will need to perform an extra step to explicitly tell ChromeOS to share a file or folder with your Linux container. This chapter will provide an overview of file sharing between Linux and your ChromeOS Device.

Creating a New Share

Sharing files with your Linux Container is easily done through the ChromeOS File Manager by simply right-clicking on any file or folder and selecting "Share with Linux". You may share files on your device, external storage, expandable storage or even on SMB storage.

Accessing Your Shared Files On Linux

You can access the shared files by navigating to /mnt/chromeos/path-to-file to access any file stored on your device's disk.

Tip : If you run "ls -la /mnt/chromeos/ ", you can see the paths to external storage drives and network shares.

Important note regarding shared files : Shares with your Linux Container are mounted as a p9 file system, which introduces some limitations. p9 file systems ignore extended file attributes, which means you cannot set executable permissions or other similar attributes on files within the share.

Removing Linux File Shares

Linux File Shares are generally set up in a way that they can be remounted to your Linux container after a restart. You can remove Linux File Shares via the Linux Settings Application. You do not need to stop or restart your container for this change to take effect.

1. Open the ChromeOS Settings
2. Select "Advanced"
3. Select "Developers"
4. Select "Linux Developer Environment"
5. Select "Manage shared folders"
6. Select the "x" next to any share that you wish to remove.