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How to Rip CDs on a Chromebook

Chromebooks are great at a lot of things. CD ripping has never been one of them. ChromeOS doesn’t include any disc ripping software, and the usual recommendation is “use a Windows or Mac computer instead.”

That’s no longer necessary. You can now rip CDs directly on your Chromebook using a USB CD drive and an Android app called Discs. Lossless FLAC, full metadata, album art, the same quality you’d get from a desktop ripper, without needing a desktop.

Here’s exactly how to set it up.

What You Need

  • A Chromebook with Android app support (most Chromebooks made after 2019)
  • An external USB CD/DVD drive
  • Discs, a CD ripping and music library app (free on the Play Store)

That’s the full list. No other software, no Linux setup, no terminal commands.

The One Extra Step: Sharing Your CD Drive with Android

Here’s the thing about Chromebooks: ChromeOS runs Android apps inside a container. That container doesn’t automatically see USB hardware. You need to tell ChromeOS to share your CD drive with the Android side.

And unlike other USB devices, ChromeOS does not show a notification when a CD drive is connected. So you have to set this up manually. It takes about 30 seconds, and you only need to do it once.

Step by step:

  1. Connect your USB CD drive to your Chromebook
  2. Open ChromeOS Settings
  3. Go to Apps → Manage Google Play Preferences
  4. Select Manage USB Devices
  5. Enable your CD drive in the list

Once you’ve done this, Discs will detect the drive. The app also includes a built-in help screen with these steps in case you need a reminder.

Ripping Your First CD

With the drive shared, the ripping process is the same as on a phone:

  1. Insert a CD into your drive
  2. Discs detects the disc and looks up the album. Title, artist, track names, and album art are pulled automatically
  3. Choose your format. FLAC (lossless, bit-perfect) or AAC (smaller files, still high quality)
  4. Tap rip. Discs reads each track, encodes it, tags it, and saves it to your Chromebook’s storage

A typical album takes a few minutes. You can use your Chromebook normally while it rips in the background.

Why Rip CDs on a Chromebook?

No second computer needed

If your Chromebook is your only computer, you’ve historically been stuck. Desktop ripping software like EAC, dBpoweramp, or XLD doesn’t run on ChromeOS. Linux app support (Crostini) technically makes some tools available, but setting up USB passthrough in a Linux container is finicky and not well-documented. Discs just works as an Android app.

Use the same app you already know

If you already use Discs on your phone, it’s the same app on your Chromebook. No separate software to learn, no different workflow.

Beyond Ripping: Managing Your Music on a Chromebook

Discs isn’t just a ripper. Once your music is in your library, you can:

  • Browse by album or artist with full album art
  • Play your library with gapless playback for live albums and concept records
  • Edit tags and album art directly in the app, even before ripping
  • Create and manage playlists

Syncing to a Media Player

If you have a dedicated music player (DAP), you can sync music to it directly from your Chromebook. Connect your player over USB and drag albums between your library and the player.

There’s one additional ChromeOS setup step for media players: since players use USB mass storage, you need to share the storage with Android.

  1. Connect your player
  2. Open ChromeOS Settings
  3. Go to Apps → Manage Google Play Preferences
  4. Select External Storage Preferences
  5. Enable the player’s storage

After that, Discs can see the player and you can sync in both directions.

What About Other Options for Chromebook CD Ripping?

There aren’t many.

  • Linux apps via Crostini. Tools like abcde or whipper can technically run in the Linux container, but USB passthrough for CD drives requires manual configuration, and it can break after ChromeOS updates. Not the most user-friendly option.
  • DISC LINK Platinum. An Android app that supports CD ripping, but it currently has a 2/5 rating on the Play Store and users report it no longer works reliably on modern Android versions. It also requires specific drive models.
  • Logitec CD Ripper. Another Android CD ripping app, but it has been announced as discontinued (shutting down September 2026) and also requires specific Logitec-branded drives.

Discs is actively maintained, works with standard USB CD drives, and runs on current ChromeOS and Android versions.

Format Options

Discs gives you three presets when ripping:

  • FLAC (lossless). A bit-perfect copy of the CD audio. Larger files (~300-500 MB per album), but zero quality loss. This is the default and the best choice if storage isn’t an issue.
  • AAC 256 kbps. High-quality compressed audio at roughly a quarter the file size. Great for casual listening.
  • AAC 128 kbps. The smallest files. Fine for background listening.

If you’re ripping to keep, go with FLAC. Storage is cheap, and you only rip each disc once.

Pricing

Discs is free to download. You can rip your first two albums at no cost to make sure your setup works. After that, a one-time $10 purchase unlocks unlimited CD ripping and media player sync. No subscription, no recurring fees.

Get Started

Install Discs from the Play Store, share your CD drive in ChromeOS settings, and start ripping.

Download Discs from the Play Store →