177
Android's Linux Terminal app adds tabs so you can multitask more easily
(www.androidauthority.com)
ITT: nobody understands the difference between this and Termux
this post was submitted on 16 Mar 2025
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Android
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I also don't really see a point to it
That's fine, but there is a big difference between the two. Termux is a terminal emulator for the host operating system, while this is a VM running a completely separate guest operating system - Debian 12, in this case. ARM version, but still Debian.
Oh dang, I gotta get on the new android!
RDPing from Android into the VM after installing a desktop environment:
How's it run? Have you done any performance tests?
No benchmarks. It works, not very fast in the guy but usable.
Docker works as expected:
I really hope linux apps don't start getting dependent on google libraries
What do we think is Google's motivation for adding this?
Supposedly Google would have better time taking care of just one consumer OS instead of two, so Android is getting some PC features so that it will be able to replace ChromeOS in the future.
Shoulda done that a long time ago. Do we think it will be released with accompanying hardware? Something similar to a NexDock or Razer's Linda hardware?
It's part of AOSP so whoever ships Android probably could expose it to the user.
So I tried this just now, and it works. It looks pretty good at first glance. Proper Debian VM, can listen on ports, can access files under Downloads. It just takes 10-20 seconds to start and a few to stop.
would you switch over from termux for this? for performance or something else?
For things that don't work on Termux. The only advantage of Termux is that it starts way faster and it consumes significantly less resources. Other than that, the VM would be superior. So if I had to connect via SSH to a machine, I'd probably use Termux.
It's a debian VM, much better than messing with the android system. All I want now is bridged mode for the network adapters
It appears to be running behind NAT but it's already have an easy port forwarding feature where I was able to connect to a server running on the VM by connecting to localhost in Termux.
Can you forward ports below 1024? I don't get the notification when it's these ports that require sudo.
I didn't try because I assume I can't. π Cause that would require root on Android, or special capability.
E: Yeah it doesn't seem to work.
I have sudo on the VM doens't make sense to me that i would need root on the Host
Right but think about it. Any ports open on the host are opened by processes running on the host. If a process on the host wants to open 443, the host OS would ask for root. Now think about the VM from the point of view of the host. It's just another running process. If it tries to open 443 - it's gotta have root or it will fail. It doesn't matter what permissions the process inside the VM has. In fact the host doesn't even know about that process. To the host, the VM process wants to open protected port.
can access files under Downloads
Wait, you can access local files on your phone's storage in the VM now? Is that a new addition? On the Android 15 version of this, you don't have any local access at all.
I'm on the standard Android 15 on 8 Pro. The shared storage is mounted at /mnt/shared
This is like giving a bandaid to someone who just broke their fucking femur. I want actual linux and open source on my phone not a container that runs debian.
It's a real VM, not a container. Chances are you can run containers on top of the VM. Haven't tried.
Just tried, and yes you can.
Isn't Android open source? I like Linux, but I alternate being amazed by Linux and frustrated by how buggy the experience is. Everything on my Android phone / tablet just works effortlessly. But with Linux, it is a crap shoot. My Linux audio drivers kept popping my speakers and it took me hours to figure out the bug. Then when I run wine for a game it randomly thinks it doesn't have enough storage space. Or how Chrome was having memory leaks. Or all the times I have had to use special bash commands or directly edit configuration files
AOSP is
Lineage OS is
Google Android is mostly proprietary. The reason is they need to gather all the data they can for marketing.
Android does the bare minimum to be called source available which isnt the same as open source and also its only the core of android that is. Its literally like taking linux, slapping on a bunch of propeitery stuff onto it and then telling people that you cant contribute to it and youre only gonna use an old, highly modified version of linux actually. Also the whole application ecosystem that you have on it needs your stupid spyware to run properly. As for linux i dont think desktop linux is buggy. Its way more usable than windows for example which literally falls to pieces if you look wrong at it. I have 3 old classmates who switched because windows just kept breaking. Your problems with audio means you probably used a non standard setup which i admit can cause breakages theres no doubt in that. And finally chrome having a memory leak; how is that related to linux?
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