Latest news with #LinuxTerminal
Android Authority
2 days ago
- Android Authority
Google's Linux Terminal plays a big part in turning Android into a true desktop OS
Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority TL;DR Google has revealed that it's developing a Linux Terminal app to transform Android into a platform for on-device app development and eventually gaming. The app runs a Debian Linux environment in a virtual machine on select Android devices. Recent Android builds can already run graphical Linux apps, paving the way for Android to become a true desktop computing platform. When Google released a Linux Terminal app earlier this year, it generated a lot of buzz among enthusiasts and developers. Despite the excitement, Google has been quiet about the release, even declining to mention it at its annual I/O developer conference. Recently, however, Google published documentation for the Terminal app, revealing its ambitious plans for the feature. With the Linux Terminal, Google aims to let developers build Android apps directly on Android devices. Eventually, the company plans to allow users to run full-fledged graphical Linux apps and games. The ultimate goal could be to transform Android into a first-class desktop platform that rivals macOS and Windows — and we couldn't be more excited. You're reading an Authority Insights story. Discover Authority Insights for more exclusive reports, app teardowns, leaks, and in-depth tech coverage you won't find anywhere else. These reports reflect developments at the time of writing. Some features or details uncovered in leaks may change before official release. The Linux Terminal app arrived in the second quarterly release of Android 15, which Google rolled out this past March. It uses the Android Virtualization Framework (AVF) to boot a Debian OS image in a virtual machine (VM), providing users with a terminal interface to run Linux commands. Google recently updated its official documentation for AVF, highlighting the Linux Terminal app as a key use case. The documentation addresses a long-standing limitation, noting that 'Android has traditionally been the only major operating system that doesn't let users develop apps on the platform itself.' Unlike on macOS or Windows, building apps for Android has always required a separate computer because the development tools aren't natively available on the OS. By introducing the Linux Terminal app, Google can 'provide a Linux-based development environment to Android users who are developers.' This is crucial because many development tools, including Google's official Android Studio, are available for traditional Linux distributions. While Android Studio is available for Linux, there's a caveat: it doesn't currently support the ARM-based CPUs that power the vast majority of Android devices. To enable true on-device development, Google will likely need to add ARM support to the Linux version of Android Studio, allowing it to run in a virtual machine on Android devices much like it already does on Chrome OS. More interestingly, Google plans to enable OEMs to 'implement innovative VM use cases like running graphical user interface apps and even games.' To accomplish this, the company has been working to add graphics, audio, and hardware acceleration support to AVF. This work is already bearing fruit. The Android Canary build released last week allows the Terminal app to run graphical Linux applications. We tested this new capability over the weekend and successfully ran several full-fledged Linux apps — including the desktop version Chromium, GIMP, and LibreOffice — on a Pixel 8 Pro. Compared to our initial tests back in January, the Terminal app now runs Linux apps far more reliably, though performance is still sluggish. When we ran the Speedometer benchmark inside the VM, for example, it scored less than half of what it did natively. Google still has a lot of work to do to fix bugs and improve performance, but it's impressive how far the feature has come since its initial release. If implemented well, the Linux environment could even provide the means for Android to become a desktop gaming platform. Chromebooks can currently run Windows games through their Linux environment thanks to the Proton compatibility layer, so the same could theoretically be done on Android. However, the CPU architecture would again pose a challenge, as Proton doesn't support ARM-based CPUs — at least, not yet. Valve is rumored to be working on ARM support for Proton. If true, this could open the door to running many Windows games on Android through its new Linux environment. The addition of AVF and the Linux environment introduces a wealth of new possibilities, and we're excited to see Google continue this work. These features may even be key to Google's long-term ambition of merging Chrome OS and Android into a single, unified platform. For Android to truly compete with macOS and Windows on the desktop, it needs to be more than just a blown-up version of its mobile OS. It needs to win over the developers and gamers who demand a powerful, versatile platform, and these new features are a crucial step in that direction. Follow
Android Authority
6 days ago
- Android Authority
You can finally run Doom and other graphical apps in Android's Linux Terminal
Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority TL;DR Android's Linux Terminal app can now run graphical Linux apps in the latest Canary build, a major step forward for the feature. A new 'Display' button launches a graphical environment, letting users run full desktop apps that aren't available on Android. Hardware acceleration can also be enabled for better performance, paving the way for running even more powerful Linux software and games. The Linux Terminal app that Google introduced earlier this year is one of the most exciting new features in Android, not for what it currently does but for what it can potentially do. The Terminal app lets you boot up an instance of Debian in a virtual machine, allowing you to run full-fledged Linux apps that aren't available on Android. Unfortunately, the current version of the Terminal app is limited to running command line programs, but that's set to change in the near future. In the new Android Canary build that Google released today, the Terminal app now lets you run graphical Linux apps. Earlier this year, we ran a Linux port of Doom in Android's Terminal app to showcase the app's upcoming graphical capabilities. For months, Google has been working to add hardware acceleration support and a full graphical environment to the Linux Terminal, but the company never pushed these features to any public builds, requiring us to compile Android from source to try them out. After installing the July 2025 Android Canary build, however, we noticed that the Terminal app has been updated with graphical app support. When you open up the Terminal app in this build, you'll see a new button in the top right corner. This button launches the 'Display' activity of the Terminal app, which forwards graphical output from the Linux VM to the Android host. Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority Once on this screen, you can type the 'weston' command to open up a graphical environment. Weston is a reference implementation of a Wayland compositor, a modern display server protocol, and it comes preinstalled with Android's Linux Terminal. In the graphical environment, we were able to launch apps like Gedit, a basic text editor. We didn't try running Doom again, but you can see what that looks like in the video we recorded earlier this year. By default, hardware acceleration isn't enabled in the Linux Terminal. To enable it, you need to create an empty file named ' virglrenderer ' and place it in the ' /sdcard/linux ' directory. If you see a toast message that reads 'VirGL enabled' when you open the Linux Terminal, then you've done things correctly. The addition of graphical app support in the Linux Terminal is a big deal, as it opens the door to running many useful Linux programs that aren't available on Android. It also opens the door to running PC games in the future, though more work will need to be done to make them compatible, especially since most Android devices have ARM CPUs. Regardless, this is a big step forward in Google's plans to combine Chrome OS and Android into a single platform, so we're excited to see how things proceed. Although this feature is enabled in the latest Android Canary build, we don't know when it'll land in the Beta or Stable channels. We're hoping that Google will roll it out in the second quarterly release of Android 16, which is scheduled to roll out in December. However, there's no guarantee the company will do so.
Android Authority
17-07-2025
- Android Authority
Android's Linux Terminal arrives on the Galaxy Z Flip 7, but Z Fold 7 users are left out
Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority TL;DR Samsung's new Galaxy Z Flip 7 is the first non-Pixel phone to support Google's Linux Terminal app, but the feature is curiously missing from the Z Fold 7. The app requires a non-protected virtual machine, which the Z Flip 7's Exynos chip supports but the Z Fold 7's Snapdragon chip currently does not. The Terminal app runs a Linux VM and is part of Android 16, but it probably won't be available on many other devices. Back in March, Google rolled out a major update to its Pixel devices that added a new Linux Terminal app. This app lets you run full-fledged Linux programs in a virtual machine, a handy feature given that many tools for power users and developers aren't natively available on Android. While it was initially unclear when the Terminal app would arrive on other Android devices, we've discovered that Samsung's new Galaxy Z Flip 7 is the first non-Pixel phone to support it. Curiously, however, the phone's larger and more expensive sibling, the Galaxy Z Fold 7, does not. You're reading an Authority Insights story. Discover Authority Insights for more exclusive reports, app teardowns, leaks, and in-depth tech coverage you won't find anywhere else. These reports reflect developments at the time of writing. Some features or details uncovered in leaks may change before official release. The Terminal app downloads and boots a modified version of Debian, a popular Linux distribution, within a virtual machine. This virtual machine is powered by the Android Virtualization Framework (AVF), the operating system's subsystem for creating and managing VMs. Although Google introduced AVF in 2022 with Android 13, the Terminal app itself only debuted with the second quarterly release of Android 15. Since OEMs like Samsung typically build their software on major annual OS versions, though, the Terminal app will effectively be an Android 16 feature for their devices. Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority However, the inclusion of AVF and the Terminal app in Android's codebase doesn't guarantee support on all Android 16 devices. Availability depends on strict technical requirements that are mostly determined by the silicon vendor rather than the OEM. The latest chipsets from both Qualcomm and MediaTek do support AVF, but Samsung chose to disable the feature on its otherwise compatible devices until the recent One UI 8 release, perhaps as it needed to fix incompatibilities with its Knox service. This hardware dependency explains the curious case of the Terminal app's availability on Samsung's latest flagships. Even in One UI 8, the Linux Terminal app is present on the Galaxy Z Flip 7 but missing from the Galaxy S25 series and the Galaxy Z Fold 7. The reason lies in their chipsets: the Z Flip 7 uses Samsung's own Exynos 2500, whereas the S25 and Z Fold 7 use Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite. While both chips support AVF, the Snapdragon 8 Elite only supports the more secure, protected virtual machines. The Terminal app, however, requires a non-protected VM, a capability the Exynos 2500 supports. That's why the app works on the Z Flip 7 but not its Snapdragon-equipped siblings. Left: The Linux Terminal developer option appearing on the Galaxy Z Flip 7. Right: The Linux Terminal developer option missing on the Galaxy Z Fold 7. Left: The Linux Terminal running on the Galaxy Z Flip 7. Right: The Linux Terminal crashing on the Galaxy Z Fold 7. Qualcomm will hopefully address this limitation in a future vendor update. The company's Snapdragon chipsets are arguably the most powerful chips powering Android devices, but there's a notable lack of features that take full advantage of that power. Combined with tools like Samsung DeX on the Z Flip 7, the Linux Terminal app can transform a phone into an incredibly capable portable PC. While the app currently lacks graphical app support, we know that feature is on the way, potentially paving the way for running full-fledged Linux PC games on your Android device in the future. Got a tip? Talk to us! Email our staff at Email our staff at news@ . You can stay anonymous or get credit for the info, it's your choice.
Android Authority
07-06-2025
- Android Authority
8 things you must try with the Linux Terminal app on your Android phone
Andy Walker / Android Authority One of Google's significant innovations that has gone largely unnoticed this year was the rollout of Linux Terminal support baked right into Android. If you own a Pixel and are running the latest stable version of Android, you can enable the app and open up a world of possibilities. Sure, the terminal is daunting, but thanks to its presence in a virtual machine, it remains largely isolated from your phone's critical inner workings. This makes it the perfect playground. If you're asking yourself how a black screen with incoherent lines of text can be a playground, you've come to the right place. In this piece, I'll detail some useful, not-so-useful, and downright fun ways to use the Linux Terminal app on your Android phone. Have you enabled the Linux Terminal app on your Pixel? 953 votes Yes, I have. 24 % No, I haven't yet, but I'm considering it. 51 % No, I don't want to at all. 10 % No, I don't have a phone that supports it. 15 % Get to grips with the basics Andy Walker / Android Authority Getting lost in the terminal is easy, so a little help is always welcome. I've been leaning heavily on this brilliant Linux Terminal companion app called Linux Command Library to help with the essential, must-know commands. However, you needn't ever go beyond the terminal itself for help. There are two parameters you'll need to remember: help and man . Help displays a list of commands that are available to you. Think of it as a phonebook. Man, on the other hand, displays the manual pages for utilities and commands. It's a good idea to use the help command to explore the possibilities broadly, and then man to drill down into those you're interested in. The man parameter is used as such, with ls as an example: man ls There are two other important commands you'll need to know. They are: Update the system: sudo apt update and sudo apt upgrade and Install a package: sudo apt install [name of the package] Remove old lines from the terminal: clear Close the currently running program: usually CTRL c unless otherwise specified by the utility Experiment with system information tools Andy Walker / Android Authority Let's look at something simple before we get into the more technical items. Linux has several system information tools that you can access through the terminal. Running them on the Pixel will give you detailed information about how much RAM and CPU power Debian is using, as well as other details related to your virtual machine. There are two options available: neofetch , which displays a less nuanced overview of your system, and htop , which offers real-time updates of system resource usage. sudo apt install neofetch sudo apt install htop Once installed, type neofetch or htop in the terminal and hit the Enter button to run them. Play a game, or two, or three! The command line might seem an impractical way to play games, but terminal games just ooze charm. Playing Bastet, a Tetris-like block stacking game, was one of the first things I learned how to do on Linux, and it's something I still do to this day. Yes, using the Pixel 8's relatively small screen and control buttons is awkward, but it's still a blast. To install it, use the command below: sudo apt install bastet Of course, Bastet isn't your only option. Find some of my favorite terminal games below, including their install commands: Pacman4console sudo apt install pacman4console Moon-Buggy sudo apt install moon-buggy Nsnake sudo apt install nsnake Ninvaders sudo apt install ninvaders Control other devices on your network Perhaps one of the more useful ways to use the terminal on your Android phone is to command other devices on your network through SSH. If you've built your own Pi-hole to block ads or build your own digital assistant, you can easily SSH into it from your phone through the terminal and check up on it occasionally. You will need to install SSH using the command below sudo apt install ssh Alternatively, if you're not a Pi-hole owner, you can still SSH into almost any machine, from your homemade NAS to your desktop. Turn the Terminal into a secret notebook There are several text editors that make full use of the terminal, but nano is my favorite. I've used it for years on the desktop, and now I can try it on the terminal. To install it, enter the following command: sudo apt install nano Once it's installed, run nano . You can now use the terminal to take notes, too. You can save the current note in a text file and recall it once you reopen the app. Brilliant! Step into the Matrix Andy Walker / Android Authority Your Android phone can be a portal to 1999, when leather trench coats were still all the rage. The scrolling matrix screen is still a firm part of popular culture, and you can turn your terminal window into something similar thanks to cmatrix . To install it, type the following into the terminal on your phone, followed by the Enter key: sudo apt install cmatrix To run the utility, type the following, followed by the Enter key: cmatrix Your phone's terminal window should now be covered in vertically cascading text. To stop the command, tap the CTRL button followed by C. Stress test your Pixel Should you stress test phones known for heating problems? Probably not, but it's fun nonetheless. After building a system, it's a good idea to stress test it to check what it's capable of, how hot it'll get, and whether all the components are in working order. You can do this, too, using traditional Android apps. However, it's much more fun to use the terminal. First, install the stress testing tool: sudo apt install stress Once installed, you can stress test the CPU by running the following command: stress –cpu [number of cpus] –timeout [how long you want the test to run, in seconds] As an example, the Pixel 8 has nine CPU cores, so to stress test all of them my command would be: stress –cpu 9 –timeout 60 To monitor the progress of the test, open htop in a second terminal tab, and switch between the two views. You will notice the CPU cores on htop kick up to 100% and remain pretty high for the allotted time. Become a digital cat parent Andy Walker / Android Authority If you're a fan of early 2010s pop culture, you can turn your expensive Google phone into a Nyan Cat display. Run the below command: sudo apt install nyancat Then type nyancat and hit Enter to run the utility. Your terminal will display a flying poptart-encased feline with rainbow trails. This is just the beginning! The Linux Terminal app is an excellent addition to Android phones. While users only have access to a text-based portal to the Debian virtual machine, Google is planning to run full-scale Linux apps on Android's desktop mode eventually. That's pretty exciting, and something we can all look forward to in the future. For now, the terminal is a great learning and experimenting tool for most and a portable development toolkit for others. The items above are merely intended to highlight the terminal's potential. Some have installed full-blown graphical interfaces, turning their Pixels into portable Linux machines. We've even managed to install and run Doom. The possibilities are only really limited by your imagination, so I encourage you to keep reading resources, guides, and how-tos detailing the more intricate ways of using the terminal on Android. Do you have a fun way of using the Linux Terminal on your phone? Perhaps I missed something handy. If so, let the community know in the comments below.
Android Authority
20-05-2025
- Android Authority
I activated the Linux terminal on my Pixel, and you should too
Andy Walker / Android Authority Google Pixels can claim many exclusive features, including camera modes like Best Take and Add Me, and UI additions like At A Glance. But it can now add another feature to the list: the Linux Terminal app. Rolled out to Pixels with the March 2025 Pixel Drop update, the feature uses Android's built-in virtualization capabilities to run a version of Debian accessible via the terminal. In simpler terms, Pixel users now have access to a Linux distribution right on their phones. This means common commands and utilities usually beyond the reach of Android users can now be issued on the phone. The terminal supports installing packages, retrieving information on the phone, and various internet-related tasks. Anything you can do on a desktop Linux terminal, you can do on this app. Have you enabled the Linux Terminal app on your Pixel? 0 votes Yes, I have. NaN % No, I haven't yet, but I'm considering it. NaN % No, I don't want to at all. NaN % No, I don't have a phone that supports it. NaN % The Linux Terminal app is positioned as a developer tool, so it's not automatically available or enabled for all users immediately. But even if you don't know much about Linux, installing the app and tinkering with it is a great place to start. Here's everything you need to get started. How I activated the Linux Terminal app on my Pixel Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority Before I discuss how to acquire the app itself, you'll need to tick one crucial box. You'll need a Pixel phone running Android 15 or newer. I hope Google will expand the Linux Terminal app to more non-Pixel Android phones. For now, this limitation stands. Now, once you've confirmed your device is supported, follow the steps below to install the Terminal app: Head to Settings > About phone > Build number . Tap the Build number field several times until a pop-up confirming that Developer options have been enabled appears. You may need to enter a PIN or password to confirm its activation. . Tap the Build number field several times until a pop-up confirming that Developer options have been enabled appears. You may need to enter a PIN or password to confirm its activation. Next, locate Developer options within Settings > System. Within Developer options, locate and tap on the Linux development environment option. This will open a new page. Toggle on (Experimental) Run Linux terminal on Android. This will place a new Terminal app in your apps menu. Locate it and open it. Somewhat confusingly, opening the Terminal app will prompt you to install the Linux terminal app. Note that the download size is 565MB, which includes Debian and other necessary tools. I suggest checking Download using Wi-Fi only . Once you're ready, tap Install . . Once you're ready, tap . You'll need to wait a few minutes while everything installs, but the phone does most of the heavy lifting. Once the installation is complete, the Terminal will boot into Debian automatically. You can now issue commands. Google warns that this feature is experimental, and it's not kidding. It feels more like a garage project than a fast-secured part of the Android experience. I expect this to improve in time, but you will experience various bugs and errors for now. Google's Terminal app is pretty buggy as it stands, but it should get better as time passes. I've encountered an annoying bug that hands on the Allow Terminal to send you notifications? box, even when tapping Allow or Don't allow. My workaround is heading to Settings > Apps > See all apps > Terminal. Tap Notifications, and toggle on All Terminal Notifications. You can now return to the Terminal app; the box should be gone. The Terminal app also often loses access to the internet, leaving me unable to install packages or access any online tools. To remedy this, I've found that disabling and enabling the Terminal in Developer options is a particular fix, although you will likely lose any configs. I have, and I've had to start over from scratch several times now. The Terminal app is the perfect mobile Linux playground Andy Walker / Android Authority Google doesn't want everyone to use the Terminal app. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been hidden behind Developer options, but there's no reason why you shouldn't enable it. No harm can come from it. It runs in a virtual machine and is therefore isolated mainly from your Pixel's data. You can access files on your phone, but they must be located in your Downloads folder. Despite its problems and limitations, you should enable the Linux Terminal app if you have a supported Pixel. It's a great educational experience, even if you don't plan to use it in a serious capacity. When paired with a capable companion app, it's the perfect canvas for experimentation and learning. Have you enabled the Linux Terminal app on your Pixel? If so, please let us know your experiences with it.
