Google is developing a Terminal app for Android that'll let you run Linux apps. It'll download and run Debian in a VM for you.

Google is developing a Terminal app for Android that’ll let you run Linux apps. It’ll download and run Debian in a VM for you.

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Engineers at Google started work on a new Terminal app for Android a couple of weeks ago. This Terminal app is part of the Android Virtualization Framework (AVF) and contains a WebView that connects to a Linux virtual machine via a local IP address, allowing you to run Linux commands from the Android host. Initially, you had to manually enable this Terminal app using a shell command and then configure the Linux VM yourself. However, in recent days, Google began work on integrating the Terminal app into Android as well as turning it into an all-in-one app for running a Linux distro in a VM.

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Google is still working on improving the Terminal app as well as AVF before shipping this feature. AVF already supports graphics and some input options, but it’s preparing to add support for backing up and restoring snapshots, nested virtualization, and devices with an x86_64 architecture. It’s also preparing to add some settings pages to the Terminal app, which is pretty barebones right now apart from a menu to copy the IP address and stop the existing VM instance. The settings pages will let you resize the disk, configure port forwarding, and potentially recover partitions.

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If you’re wondering why you’d want to run Linux apps on Android, then this feature is probably not for you. Google added Linux support to Chrome OS so developers with Chromebooks can run Linux apps that are useful for development. For example, Linux support on Chrome OS allows developers to run the Linux version of Android Studio, the recommended IDE for Android app development, on Chromebooks. It also lets them run Linux command line tools safely and securely in a container.

    • TurboWafflz
      183•2 months ago

      Yeah but I bet google’s one will have lots of cool features like being harder to use and not supporting becoming root and requiring google play services for no discernable reason

    • @[email protected]English
      72•2 months ago

      Termux recently got moved off of the play store (kinda), and is now only available on f-droid/github, because Google was further locking down what they allowed on their store.

      And in addition to that, they recently added a restriction in later versions of Android: “Child process limit”. Although this limit used to not there, when enabled, it prevents users from truly running arbitrary linux programs, like via termux.

      Although the child process limit can still be disabled in developer options, it doesn’t bode well for how flexible base android in the future will be, since many times corpos like Google move stuff into the “secret” options before eventually removing that dial all together.

      TLDR: Termux has been, and is a thing… for now.

      Also, I want to shout out winlator. It uses a linux proot, similator to termux, and has box64 and wine inside that proot that people can use to play games. I tested with Gungeon, and it even has controller support and performance, which is really impressive.

      • @[email protected]English
        1•2 months ago

        I used Winlator at the start of the year just to test out some little itch.io games and it was pretty basic, huge to hear how far it’s come already!

      • SemperverusEnglish
        1•2 months ago

        winlator can run windows apps on android

        Hey that sounds neat!

        uses ubuntu as a base

        Oh no…

        MIT license

        oh no

        Have to install from github/no F-Droid build

        oh no

        • @[email protected]English
          5•2 months ago

          Winlator is really just termux + proot + box64 + wine wrapped in a neat UI (+ controller support). You can, and people have set this up manually before winlator came along. You’ll either need termux-x11 or vnc for the GUI.

          Mobox is a similar project that does this automatically via a script… but I don’t see a license in their github repo, plus they require the proprietary input bridge for touch controls.

    • Avid Amoeba
      22•2 months ago

      Termux doesn’t run arbitrary software. There’s a pretty large set that does but plenty doesn’t. A VM would resolve that.

      • @[email protected]
        8•2 months ago

        Through termux you can already install a full linux distro on android. It is a little slow, but full desktop environment. Not bad if you have a phone that supports display output

          • @[email protected]
            1•2 months ago

            I didn’t think to check how it worked, other than the graphics part is accessed via a VNC app. If you have a spare phone check out Anlinux on PlayStore or F-Droid

            Anlinux

            This application will allow you to run Linux on Android, by using https://f-droid.org/packages/com.termux and PRoot technology, you can even run SSH and Xfce4 Desktop Environment!!!

            Features:

            • NO ROOT ACCESS REQUIRED!!!
            • Lots of Linux distros supported:
            1. Ubuntu
            2. Debian
            3. Kali
            4. Parrot Security OS
            5. Fedora
            6. CentOS
            7. openSUSE Leap
            8. openSUSE Tumberweed
            9. Arch Linux
            10. Black Arch
            • Xfce4, Mate, LXQt, LXDE Desktop Environment Supported
            • Install multiple distros without conflict
            • Provide uninstallation script to fully uninstall distro
      • @[email protected]
        3•2 months ago

        So is termux a containerized Linux? (I haven’t looked into it yet, just on my list). I had assumed it was a VM, guess I was incorrect.

        • @[email protected]English
          20•2 months ago

          My sense was that it’s kinda like cygwin. Just natively compiled apps and a filesystem layout.

          • Avid Amoeba
            6•2 months ago

            This is correct. There’s no containerization like LXC/Docker.

          • Fonzie!
            1•2 months ago

            Not even that, Android is enough of a Linux system they really just needed a repo of natively compiled apps.

            • @[email protected]English
              1•2 months ago

              …and a filesystem layout. They don’t install things to the “root” linux so they have their own /var, /bin, /usr, etc.

              • Fonzie!
                1•2 months ago

                I could remember wrong, but doesn’t it just use symlinks?

                • @[email protected]English
                  1•2 months ago

                  I doubt it - it runs in an android sandbox. Why would they even bother? it’s easier to just create a filesystem “chroot” and use that. That way you get full read/write and control of versions.

      • @[email protected]
        2•2 months ago

        Ehh it kinda does considering you can get a pretty full compiler tool chain running via termux.

    • Quack Doc
      14•2 months ago

      Termux has been a thing for years.

      Termux is not a full linux environment, you need proot (slow) or chroot (insecure) to get a full environment.

      • @[email protected]English
        1•2 months ago

        Not arguing, just curious: what makes chroot insecure? I’ve used it for installing Gentoo, but I don’t really understand what it’s doing under the hood.

        • Quack Doc
          2•2 months ago

          Chroot = change root, and needs root to do so. Doing anything as root is insecure. escaping a chroot really isn’t all that hard. The second you elevate privledges, you need extra steps to to become secure. Chroot almost never involves any of these steps (though there is some selinux stuff you could do.)

          This is an old example, but still a valid one https://github.com/earthquake/chw00t

    • Possibly linuxEnglish
      3•2 months ago

      Termux is just proot

      Termux is just a shell running in the context of an app