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Thonny Admin

We want to give our students a great experience using Thonny. Here are a few things to not about the screen image above.

  1. There is a Thonny icon directly on the desktop
  2. Thonny is configured to view both the files on the Raspberry Pi Pico (each lab has a file)
  3. Thonny can see the port /dev/ttyACM0 and can connect directly to the Pico

Getting to this stage is not difficult, but it does require going through several steps. Here is a quick summary of these steps:

  1. Install Linux (Crostini)
  2. Open the terminal and install pip
  3. Use pip to install Thonny
  4. Run Thonny from the command line or setup a desktop icon

Who Can Enable Linux (Crostini) on a Chromebook

✅ Allowed:

  1. The Chromebook’s Owner account (the first Google account used to set up the device)
  2. User accounts with Linux enabled by the owner or admin
  3. Managed devices (school/work) only if the admin has allowed Linux

❌ Not Allowed:

  1. Guest mode or Incognito users
  2. Child accounts (Family Link) by default
  3. Managed Chromebooks (e.g., issued by schools) where Linux is disabled via Google Admin Console

Secondary accounts on the Chromebook, unless Linux is enabled per user

Steps

Step 1: Install Linux

The only reliable way to run Thonny on a Chromebook to program a Raspberry Pi Pico is by using the Linux (Crostini) environment within ChromeOS.

Step 2: Install Pip and Tkinter (TK)

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sudo apt update
sudo apt install python3-venv python3-pip python3-tk -y

Note

tkinter, which is installed viapython-tk cannot be installed via pip. It must be installed with apt. The key point is that python3-tk must be installed using your system's package manager, not pip.

Step 3: Install a Virtual Env and Put Thonny in it

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python3 -m venv ~/thonny-venv
source ~/thonny-venv/bin/activate
pip install thonny

Step 4: Run Thonny from the Terminal

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~/thonny-venv/bin/thonny

Note: You can also create an alias to make this command earlier.

Faster Setup Process

Step 1: Enable Linux Development Environment

Go to the Setting up ChromeOS in Developer Mode

Note: Using apt install thonny can gives older versions, use the official installer:

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# Update system first
sudo apt update

# Install latest Thonny with Python bundle
bash <(wget -O - https://thonny.org/installer-for-linux)

This method installs the current version (3.3.10+) rather than the outdated Debian package version, avoiding compatibility issues.

Step 3: Configure USB Access

  1. Go to Settings → About ChromeOS → Developers → Linux development environment
  2. Click Manage USB devices
  3. Connect your USB device (Arduino, Raspberry Pi Pico, etc.)
  4. Enable the device in the list
  5. Add user to dialout group: sudo usermod -a -G dialout $USER
  6. Restart the Linux container (Settings → Developers → Linux → Advanced → Restart)

Step 4: Create Desktop Launcher

Make Thonny easily accessible:

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# Create desktop file for launcher
cat > ~/.local/share/applications/thonny.desktop << EOF
[Desktop Entry]
Name=Thonny
Comment=Python IDE for beginners
Exec=thonny %F
Icon=thonny
Terminal=false
Type=Application
Categories=Development;IDE;
MimeType=text/x-python;
EOF

# Make executable
chmod +x ~/.local/share/applications/thonny.desktop

Batch Script Approach

Create a setup script to automate the software installation:

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#!/bin/bash
# Save as setup_thonny.sh

echo "Setting up Thonny development environment..."

# Update system
sudo apt update

# Install Thonny
bash <(wget -O - https://thonny.org/installer-for-linux)

# Add user to dialout group
sudo usermod -a -G dialout $USER

# Create desktop launcher
cat > ~/.local/share/applications/thonny.desktop << EOF
[Desktop Entry]
Name=Thonny
Comment=Python IDE for beginners
Exec=thonny %F
Icon=thonny
Terminal=false
Type=Application
Categories=Development;IDE;
MimeType=text/x-python;
EOF

chmod +x ~/.local/share/applications/thonny.desktop

echo "Setup complete! Please restart Linux container and connect USB devices."
echo "Go to Settings > Developers > Linux > Manage USB devices to enable your hardware."

Run with: bash setup_thonny.sh

Step-by-Step: Create a Thonny Launcher on ChromeOS

1. Create a .desktop file

Run this command in your Linux terminal:

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nano ~/.local/share/applications/thonny.desktop

2. Paste the following contents (adjusting username if needed):

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[Desktop Entry]
Version=1.0
Type=Application
Name=Thonny
GenericName=Python IDE
Comment=Thonny IDE for MicroPython and Python development
Exec=env TK_USE_PLATFORM_MENUBAR=0 /home/urocdeveloper01/thonny-venv/bin/thonny
Icon=python3
Terminal=false
Categories=Development;Education;IDE;
StartupNotify=true

Replace /home/urocdeveloper01/ with the correct path if your username is different. You can check your username with whoami.

💾 3. Save and exit the editor:

  • Press Ctrl+O to save
  • Press Enter to confirm the file name
  • Press Ctrl+X to exit Nano

4. (Optional) Add a custom icon

If you want a real Thonny icon:

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mkdir -p ~/.local/share/icons
wget https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thonny#/media/File:Thonny_logo.png -O ~/.local/share/icons/thonny.png

Then change the Icon= line in the .desktop file:

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Icon=/home/urocdeveloper01/.local/share/icons/thonny.png

5. Refresh the launcher

Now restart your Linux container or run:

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update-desktop-database ~/.local/share/applications

Then:

  • Open your ChromeOS launcher
  • Scroll down to “Linux apps”
  • You should now see Thonny with a Python icon!

You can right-click it and pin it to the shelf for even faster access.