Client: Keybase Chat on ChromeOS (no nacl 'app')

Created on 5 Feb 2018 · 5Comments · Source: keybase/client

Chromebooks outsell Macs. If keybase hopes to penetrate into the world of "normal" people it needs a way to do secure chat on ChromeOS. The Chrome keybase app requires an underlying keybase binary, which is only available on Linux/Mac/Windows and mobile. Would it be possible to have the chromeos app support a native client keybase binary?

Source

sourcequench

👍8

Most helpful comment

Note that current-model Chromebooks also have an Android (7.1.1) runtime, but the Android app currently is listed as unavailable for that platform; likely demanding a feature or permission not supported by CrOS. Fixing this would be a very fast way to provide a Keybase GUI for CrOS (not just chat, but full-featured).

tvierling on 9 Dec 2019

👍3

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@sourcequench with the eventual inclusion of the LinuxVM functionality on more Chromebooks it should be possible to use Keybase from within this VM.

See also https://schollz.github.io/installing-keybase-on-chromebook/ if you are adventurous and running in Developer Mode with a full shell available to install Go and compile Keybase.

espoelstra on 6 Feb 2019

Eventually most newer Chromebooks may support Linux apps via crosvm and the Terminal app (currently only in preview on Pixelbooks I believe). It is possible to install Keybase and login via the CLI, and while many Linux apps with a general X11 implementation for the GUI do work, it appears that the default shortcut for Keybase has some minor issues. If you use the default shortcut to launch the GUI it simply spins and never opens, if you start the service via run_keybase in the Terminal and edit the keybase.desktop to launch /opt/keybase/Keybase instead, then you can use the application pretty much as normal.

espoelstra on 6 Feb 2019

tvierling on 9 Dec 2019

👍3

Along the lines of what @tvierling is saying, it seems likely requiring the camera may cause this to not work on many Chromebooks. https://developer.android.com/topic/arc/manifest#implied-features . I'm experiencing the same issue with it not being listed in the Play Store for my Asus Flipbook C101P.

ekovac on 24 Dec 2019

On ChromeOS v80 in the Linux environment you can install golang1.11 then build golang1.14.1 then build keybase (a little easier than before basically). Having the Android app would be cool though.