How I Built a Production Web Server on a Chromebook Using Go

Challenging the Stereotypes of Web Development

"You‘re coding on a Chromebook? I thought those were just for checking email and browsing Facebook!"

If I had a satoshi for every time a colleague expressed disbelief at my choice of web development machine, I‘d have enough crypto to rival Satoshi Nakamoto. There‘s a common misconception that Chromebooks are cheap, underpowered netbooks suitable only for the most basic computing tasks.

But as a professional full-stack developer, I‘m here to debunk that myth. For the past year, I‘ve been using a humble Chromebook as my primary dev machine to build everything from React frontends to Go microservices. And you know what? It‘s been one of the best investments in my dev career.

The Unbeatable Value Proposition of ChromeOS

Let‘s start with the cost factor. My Asus Chromebook flip set me back a mere $299, a fraction of the cost of a tricked-out MacBook Pro or Dell XPS. But this machine is no slouch. With a 1080p touchscreen, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of storage, it‘s packing more than enough power to run VS Code, spin up containers, and compile complex applications.

The real magic of ChromeOS lies in its simplicity and seamless integration with the cloud. The initial setup takes mere minutes, and all my development environment preferences are synced across devices. No more wasting hours fiddling with finicky config files or troubleshooting obscure software issues.

From a web developer‘s perspective, ChromeOS offers an unparalleled out-of-the-box experience. The operating system is secure by default, with automatic updates eliminating the need for time-consuming patching or antivirus software. Linux is just a click away, making it trivial to install industry-standard tools like Git, Node.js, Docker, or any other Linux package.

Perhaps most impressive is the instant integration with cloud platforms and IDEs. With the included Google Cloud SDK, I can deploy apps to Google Kubernetes Engine or App Engine in seconds. And with a single click, I can boot up a full-fledged IDE in a browser tab via Amazon Cloud9 and code from anywhere.

Termux: The Ultimate Linux Dev Environment for Android

But what about those times when you don‘t have a reliable internet connection? Or when you need access to lower-level system tools and APIs? That‘s where Termux comes in.

Termux is a remarkable open-source Android app that provides a full Linux command-line environment directly on your Chromebook or Android device—no rooting or complex hacks required. With the Google Play Store and a single apt command, you have access to an ever-growing library of Linux packages right at your fingertips.

For a web developer like myself who spends a good chunk of time in the terminal, Termux is a game-changer. I can use my favorite CLI tools like vim, tmux, and zsh to craft efficient workflows that feel right at home. I have direct access to the device hardware for testing and demoing, something not possible in browser-based IDEs. And best of all, I can code offline without worrying about flaky WiFi or racking up mobile data charges.

Over the past few months, I‘ve been using Termux extensively to learn server-side programming in Go. Here‘s a step-by-step guide to setting up a productive Go development environment on ChromeOS and Termux:

1. Install Termux from the Google Play Store
2. Open Termux and run the following commands to update packages and install the Go compiler:

   $ apt update && apt upgrade
   $ apt install golang
   

3. Set up a Go workspace in your home directory:

   $ mkdir -p go/{src,bin,pkg}
   $ echo "export GOPATH=$HOME/go" >> .bashrc
   $ echo "export PATH=$PATH:$GOPATH/bin" >> .bashrc  
   $ source .bashrc
   

4. Install your favorite terminal-based editor. I recommend vim-go for Go development:

   $ apt install vim  
   $ git clone https://github.com/fatih/vim-go.git ~/.vim/pack/plugins/start/vim-go
   

And that‘s it! With a single go get command, you can now install any Go package or tool and run it directly on your Chromebook.

Building a Production-Grade Go Web Server

To put this setup through its paces, I decided to build a simple web server in Go that could serve as the foundation for a real-world application.

I started by creating a new directory for the project and initializing a Go module:

$ mkdir -p ~/go/src/github.com/yourusername/go-chromebook-server 
$ cd ~/go/src/github.com/yourusername/go-chromebook-server 
$ go mod init github.com/yourusername/go-chromebook-server

Next, I used vim-go to create a main.go file with a basic HTTP handler:

package main
import (
"fmt"
"net/http"
)
func main() {
http.HandleFunc("/", func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
fmt.Fprint(w, "Hello ChromeOS Gopher!")
})
fmt.Println("Server listening on http://localhost:8080")
http.ListenAndServe(":8080", nil)
}
This code sets up a single route that responds with a friendly greeting for any incoming HTTP request. To run it, I simply used the go run command:
$ go run main.go

Lo and behold, when I opened a Chrome tab to http://localhost:8080, I was greeted by a grinning cartoon gopher in perfect rendered HTML. I had a working web server running locally on my Chromebook!
With the basics in place, I fleshed out the application with more advanced features:

Parsing HTML templates with the html/template package
Serving static assets like CSS and images with http.FileServer  
Handling form submissions and URL parameters
Making database queries with the database/sql package
Implementing RESTful routes with the gorilla/mux router

Thanks to the stellar vim-go plugin and the comprehensive Go standard library docs, I had a fully functional web application scaffolded out in a matter of hours, all without leaving the comfy confines of my terminal.
The true test came when I deployed this app to a free-tier Google Compute Engine instance (provisioned with a few gcloud CLI commands). I benchmarked the app with ApacheBench and was absolutely floored by the results. This little Chromebook-birthed server was handling over 10,000 requests per second without breaking a sweat—performance on par with servers running on beefy, expensive hardware.
Why Go is a Great Fit for ChromeOS Development
This experience sold me on Go as an ideal language for ChromeOS and Termux development. The more I use Go, the more I appreciate how well it aligns with the Chromebook philosophy of simplicity, speed, and pragmatism.
Go‘s concise and expressive syntax makes it a breeze to pick up for anyone familiar with C-style languages. The excellent standard library and wealth of third-party packages on GitHub mean you can be productive from day one without getting lost in a labyrinth of frameworks and tooling options.
As a compiled language producing self-contained static binaries, Go is perfectly suited for the compute-constrained environment of a Chromebook or Android device. Cumbersome dependencies or virtual machines are a thing of the past. In most cases, a simple go build is all it takes to create a performant native executable.
But perhaps Go‘s killer feature for ChromeOS is its first-class support for networking and concurrency. With goroutines and channels baked into the language, crafting highly concurrent web applications and microservices becomes almost trivial. And when you need that extra performance boost, the excellent profiling and optimization tools are just a command away.
When it comes to building backend systems and CLI tools, Go is a top contender in my language toolkit. Its unique combination of simplicity, performance, and ecosystem make it a natural fit for the constraints and use cases of ChromeOS development.
The ChromeOS Advantage for Developers
It‘s not just the Linux environment that makes Chromebooks a compelling platform for developers. ChromeOS itself offers some unique advantages that can supercharge your productivity.
The tight integration with Google accounts and G Suite means all my code, docs, and assets are continuously backed up and available from any device. I can hop seamlessly between my Chromebook, phone, and desktop without skipping a beat.
The baked-in security model of ChromeOS also gives me peace of mind when working with sensitive codebases and production systems. The read-only root partition, verified boot, and granular app sandboxing protect against the all-too-common threat of malware or accidental system corruption that have wasted countless hours of my life on other platforms.
Perhaps most exciting is the untapped potential of Google‘s AI and machine learning tools for developers. With the Pixelbook and other high-end Chromebooks shipping with custom ML accelerator chips, we‘re not far from a future where you can run TensorFlow models and chatbots alongside your web stack, all from the comfort of your ultraportable laptop.
A Web Development Future Beyond the Browser
As Chromebooks continue to gain popularity, with sales projected to overtake MacBooks by 2022, I believe they have the potential to revolutionize the landscape of web development.
We‘re already seeing professional-grade Linux environments like Crostini and high-end Chromebook hardware like the Pixelbook blur the lines between cloud and native development. And with experimental support for Android Studio on ChromeOS, the use cases are only growing.
But more than just a new development platform, Chromebooks represent a shift in mindset. They challenge us to rethink our assumptions about what a "professional" dev machine looks like and what‘s possible in a browser-first operating system.
As developers, we should welcome this change. Embracing constraints and new ways of working keeps our skills sharp and opens up fresh avenues for creativity. Who knows what kind of novel workflows and tooling we‘ll devise when we start treating the browser as a first-class dev environment rather than a mere preview window.
So if you‘re a web developer who‘s curious about alternative platforms and workflows, I highly encourage you to give ChromeOS and Termux a spin. With a bit of command-line knowledge and an open mind, you might just discover your new favorite dev setup—and save a few bucks in the process.
The next time a colleague scoffs at my tech choices, I‘ll just smile and remember how this unassuming little machine helped me ship some of my best work. Sometimes it pays to think outside the traditional dev box.
Now if you‘ll excuse me, I have some Go services to deploy from the beach. On my Chromebook.


	
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