How do I remove crouton chroot?

Removing a crouton chroot can be done in just a few simple steps. Crouton is a powerful tool that allows you to run Linux distributions on your Chromebook alongside Chrome OS, offering the best of both worlds. However, sometimes you may wish to remove the chroot and free up disk space on your Chromebook. Here is a straightforward guide on how to completely remove a crouton chroot.

Table of Contents

What is Crouton?

Crouton is an open source project that allows you to run Linux distributions on a Chromebook. It works by leveraging Chrome OS’s Linux kernel to run Linux in a chroot environment. This chroot essentially acts as a separate Linux computer running alongside Chrome OS. Some key things to know about crouton:

Does not disable or replace Chrome OS – Crouton chroots run simultaneously with Chrome OS, allowing you to switch between them.
Uses Chrome OS’s Linux kernel – Does not require replacing or modifying the existing Chrome OS kernel.
Chroots are stored in chroot “containers” – Allows for easy addition, management and deletion of chroots.

Supports many Linux distros – Ubuntu, Kali Linux, Debian, Mint and more.
Powerful tool but requires dev mode – Provides Linux environment but needs dev mode enabled.

Reasons to Remove a Crouton Chroot

There are a few main reasons you may want to remove a crouton chroot environment:

Free up disk space – Chroots can take up significant storage space on your Chromebook.
Remove unused chroots – If you no longer need a particular Linux distro chroot.
Switch distros – Want to replace an existing distro with a different chroot.

Troubleshoot issues – Sometimes removing and recreating the chroot fixes problems.
Start fresh – Wipe everything and rebuild your crouton chroots from scratch.

Removing chroots is a simple process, especially when compared to fully uninstalling crouton itself. Let’s look at how to easily delete a crouton chroot.

Deleting a Crouton Chroot

With your Chromebook in Developer Mode, follow these steps to completely remove a chroot:

Open the crosh shell – Press Ctrl+Alt+T to open a crosh shell in Chrome OS.
List your chroots – Type sudo crouton -u -n xenial to list all chroots.

Delete the chroot – Run sudo delete-chroot xenial to delete your chosen chroot.
Check it was removed – List chroots again to confirm the chroot is gone.
Exit the shell – When done, type exit to close the crosh shell.

The specific chroot name will vary depending on the distro, for example you may have chroots called “xenial”, “trusty” or “stretch”. Be sure to substitute the correct name when deleting.

Alternative: Uninstall Crouton Completely

Rather than just deleting a chroot or two, you can fully uninstall crouton altogether. This removes ALL chroots and crouton software from your Chromebook. To uninstall crouton completely:

Open a crosh shell and type sudo sh ~/Downloads/crouton/uninstall

Follow the on-screen confirmation prompts to remove crouton.
Powerwash your Chromebook to finish removing ancillary files.

This will wipe crouton entirely from your Chromebook. Keep in mind it disables Developer Mode too. You can always reinstall crouton later if desired.

Important Notes

When removing chroots, keep these points in mind:

Requires Developer Mode – Enabling dev mode is essential first.
Delete chroots only – Does not impact Chrome OS or other chroots.

Check list after deleting – Confirm the chroot was removed.
Back up first – Your chroot data will be lost when deleted.
Other chroots unaffected – Only the specified chroot will be removed.

As long as dev mode is enabled, deleting a crouton chroot is quick and painless. This allows you to easily remove unneeded chroots to save disk space.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Developer Mode required to delete a chroot?

Yes, you need to enable Developer Mode on your Chromebook first before you can access crosh shell commands to manage and delete chroots.

Will deleting a chroot disable crouton entirely?

No, deleting an individual chroot does not disable or remove the main crouton system. Any other existing chroots will remain intact.

Can I restore a chroot after deleting it?

Unfortunately no, once you delete a chroot the data is permanently lost. You would need to reinstall that distro’s chroot from scratch.

Is it better to just uninstall crouton completely?

It depends on your needs. If you wish to remove all traces of crouton, full uninstallation is best. If you just want to delete some chroots but keep others, stick to deleting individual chroots.

What command actually deletes the chroot?

The main command is sudo delete-chroot xenial (or the chroot name). This will remove the entire chroot environment.

Conclusion

Removing unnecessary crouton chroots is a straightforward process that can save considerable disk space. With just a few crosh shell commands, you can list, select and permanently delete chroots. Just be sure to enable Developer Mode first.

Keep in mind deleting a chroot means losing that data for good. Back up anything important first. Also know that other chroots or the base crouton system are unaffected. When finished, you’ll have a leaner, meaner Chromebook ready for fresh Linux chroot installations.