Using a chromebook laptop my niece got for me. I have much experience using the unix shell and prefer that to the windows interface. However, when I start up crosh, even basic commands like cd or ls provoke a "command not found" message. How can I get the shell interface to work? Would enabling developer mode do it? Thank you very much for any help you can offer.

The terminal in ChromeOS is of limited use. The OS is not designed to be used via the command line. However, newer chromebooks can run Linux apps directly. On my Pixelbook I have Linux set up, and run an app named (!) terminl, which works just as does any terminal in Linux. If the chromebook is a new model, it can run Linux, but you have to set it up. It's in the settings. https://support.google.com/chromeboo.../9145439?hl=en
One of the shortcomings of ChromeOS is the lack of an email client, so I run Thunderbird under Linux, works fine. I also use Firefox. Setting up the filesystem to connect the Linux side with the ChromeOS side takes a little bit of effort, but it's not difficult. Google provides excellent support for its products, you just have to make the effort to find the instructions. If you get stuck, you can access chat support and get help.

Chromebook laptop are made primarily for internet browsing.

Dear OP, it's a very bad idea to make your email address public like that.
You should report your own post and ask an admin to change your username or delete your account (and start a new one, since you have only 1 post anyhow).

Sgosnell, thanks for the complete and helpful reply. I should have included in my original question that my laptop is an ASUS C302C, which is not in the list of laptops which have Linux (Beta).

Try here: Crouton chromebook home. There are many tutorials on the web for installing crouton, but IMO the original source is best. I've run Debian from an SD card on old chromebooks, and it works well.

Looking at crouton, but seriously considering just replacing ChromeOS with Ubuntu. The only motivation for a dual-boot system that I see is that, in the past, I've backed Linux into a corner, from which it's taken me up to a week to figure out how to get it out. Am I missing something?

You can use the https://chrx.org/ script to install a Linux distro in a dual boot format.
I do not see any info about the C302C being supported, but the C302 is, so you should double check the model number and verify that it will work.

Any chromebook from 2018 or later will run Linux. All you need to do is enable it in the settings, and then you have Debian Stable installed. You can install any packages in the Stable repositories. You need to edit the sources.list file to add the contrib and non-free repositories to get useful packages like Firefox-esr and Thunderbird. The C302C is fully supported by Mr Chromebox for installing Linux if that's your preference. If you do decide to go full Linux, this is the place to go, without doubt. Mr Chromebox. Follow the instructions carefully. I've considered replacing ChromeOS on my Pixelbook with Linux, but I don't see the upside. With the stock ChromeOS, I can run ChromeOS, Android, and Linux seamlessly on one device. I have an older Acer chromebook that I've fully converted to Linux, and it runs fine, but the Pixelbook is more versatile. I don't really need another Linux machine, I have enough already. YMMV.

I'm confused.
Does this mean
or
???

Chromebooks made after 2018 should be able to run Linux within ChromeOS, but not all of them can run it directly outside of ChromeOS.

If you can't decipher "later", then I'm afraid I can't help you.

How sad.
Maybe somebody can explain this to me (a non-native English speaker):
A sentence like "Any chromebook from 2018 or later will run Linux." is ambiguous to me - "later" could mean "before that", maybe as in "the late Mr Miller", and therefore older, but it could also mean "after that on a linear timeline", therefore younger.
Does this not cause confusion sometimes for native speakers of English?

In this context it means the latter of your assessments, "after that on a linear timeline", and I don't think it causes any confusion for native speakers as I have never even considered this until you asked.

It is also worth noting that the people with titles like "Guru" or "Senior Member" is not any indication that they are civil or polite.

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Thanks uteck, esp. for confirming that it's NOT ambiguous.