How to run Python on school Chromebooks without Linux

To run Python on a school Chromebook without turning on Linux, give each student a CS Room workspace. It's a free online IDE with the whole classroom built in: students write and run Python 3.12 in a browser tab, and you hand out assignments, autograde them, and track scores in a gradebook. Nothing is installed on the Chromebook, and it's free, from the nonprofit Birdflop.

Why Python is hard on school Chromebooks

Python doesn't install on ChromeOS directly, and Google notes that on a school Chromebook you might not be able to use Linux. Online compilers run a single script, Colab is notebooks only and often off for students under 18, and Trinket has shut down.

A free Python IDE for Chromebooks

• A real terminal where input() waits for typing, and files that persist.
• pip install packages that stay installed.
• Turtle and tkinter programs in a pop-up window. Allow pop-ups for csroom.org if Chrome blocks it.
• Jupyter notebooks, and Flask sites at a public URL.
• Assignments, autograding, due dates, a gradebook, and live editing in any student's workspace.

Set up a Python class

1. Request a teacher account. We set teachers up within a day or two.
2. Create a class, turn on its class link, and use Limit emails to keep it to your school's domain.
3. Students open the link, sign in with Google or email, and click Join class.
4. On the Welcome to CS Room lesson, click Import, choose the class, and Publish it.

See Writing assignment tests to grade with input/output cases or pytest.

If it doesn't load at school

Ask IT to allow *.csroom.org, including WebSocket connections, and to exempt it from SSL inspection.

Request a free teacher account to start a class.