(This article is completely outdated and irrelevant now that YNAB is a web app but brought it back online for posterity)
As you may already know… I adore YNAB.
And I adore Google’s Chromebook – their cheap, fast, safe, and worry free computer that has become my main computer. The only time I EVER fire up my MacBook Pro is to run YNAB.
Until YNAB comes out with a web based or Chrome packaged app version, Chromebook users are out of luck… that is unless you own an Intel Chromebook such as the wonderful Toshiba Chromebook. This hack will unfortunately not work on the ARM Chromebooks such as the Samsung Chromebooks.
It involves a sort of hack and putting your Chromebook into developer mode. It will NOT void your warranty but it requires a little bit of work. And since it’s a Chromebook… it’ll only take 5 minutes to literally put everything back to normal if you decide not to do it anymore.
That really is the magic of a Chromebook.
Running slow? – do a complete factory reset powerwash and have everything back up to normal in less than 5 minutes with all of your data and settings intact.
System updates? They happen seemlessly in the background and make your system FASTER each time.
Truck run over your Chromebook? Open a new one and have everything back within seconds. Literally.
But I digress… here’s how to get YNAB onto your Chromebook:
- Put your Chrombook into developer mode and install Crouton (Linux) using these steps:How to Install Linux on a Chromebook and Unlock Its Full Potential
- Install WINE “sudo apt-get install wine” in terminal
- (optional but good) Install Firefox so you can install Chrome. (for some reason the default web browser in crouton doesn’t work with the Chrome download page.)
- Install & setup Dropbox
- Download YNAB Personal Budget Software - Finance Software for Windows & Mac | YNAB?
- Install YNAB using the script on this page:How to run YNAB 4 in Linux using WINE
(Originally posted on the old WordPress version of the site)
