Crostini with Ansible: Powering up ChromeOS

As the adoption of Chromebooks in enterprise security continues to rise, so does the demand for robust productivity solutions tailored for these devices. In the earlier post, we explored the fundamental security advantages of Chromebooks and touched upon the potential of using them as enterprise computers. Now, we delve into the realm of power users and address a key management challenge inherent to ChromeOS’s Linux container and how you can manage Crostini with Ansible.

Power users are always seeking ways to optimize their workflows, often stretching their tools to the maximum potential. With ChromeOS, this involves harnessing the power of custom extensions, Android apps, and Linux apps. However, given the distinct architecture of ChromeOS, configuring the Linux setup after each inevitable powerwash could be a time-consuming task.

To address this, I devised a solution in the form of an Ansible playbook designed to configure my Crostini Linux container. This playbook not only sets up the shell and installs the necessary applications and libraries but also configures Powerline and Vim color schemes to personalize the environment to my liking.

The creation of this playbook was driven by a key need – centralized management of the VM. While Crostini offers flexibility and power, it lacks a central control point, especially for security purposes. My Ansible playbook resolves this by providing a lightweight configuration package that end-users would willingly run. Simultaneously, it allows persistent control over these VMs for security reasons.

Here’s the link to my GitHub where you can access the playbook and use it as a starting point for creating your customized setup.

While ChromeOS presents its own set of challenges, the opportunities it offers for customization and control, particularly with solutions like the Ansible playbook, are immense. Power users and security teams can now manage their Chromebooks more effectively, unlocking the full potential of this platform for enterprise use.

If you’ve experimented with similar solutions or have suggestions for enhancing this playbook, feel free to share in the comments below!