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.

  • Avid Amoeba
    22•1 month 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•1 month 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•1 month 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•1 month 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•1 month ago

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

        • Fonzie!
          1•1 month 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•1 month 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•1 month ago

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

              • @[email protected]English
                1•1 month 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.