We knew Google was working on it, but we can finally set it up and actually run graphical apps with it.
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Links
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Developer Mode Guide - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwR2HIstT-c
Video Description
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Android in and of itself is actually a distro of Linux. . .but with a slightly modified kernel. Google has said they are working on getting full Linux apps running within the Android operating system.
#android #debian #linux
But there's actually a lot of work that needs to be done before that can happen seamlessly.
For now, everyone with the latest version of Android 15 or later, they all have the ability to install and setup a full blown terminal on their smartphone or tablet.
It's actually Debian OS that's running within Android, and today I'll be showing you how to set this up on your device.
Android 15+ Linux Terminal
Before we can begin the process of installing a Linux Terminal on Android, we first need to enable Developer Mode.
This is done by tapping the Build Number entry from within the Settings application around 7-10 times.
Then, you can find the System menu within the Settings app, and you will now be able to find the newly revealed Developer Options menu.
If anyone needs extra help getting this enabled, be sure to check the video description as I'll have a dedicated guide linked down below. I can also put that link in the pinned comment here as well, so that it's easy for everyone to find.
Once you're in this secret menu, you'll want to scroll down until you find the Debugging section.
Then, a few entries down, you will see something called Linux Development Environment.
If you don't see this menu, then I'm guessing you don't have the latest version of Android 15 installed yet.
You'll then be taken to this menu, where you'll see the feature is disabled by default.
So let's tap on this toggle here to begin the installation.
You may think nothing has happened, but if you go and look in your App Drawer now, you should see a new application called Terminal.
Tap it to launch the app, and this is where we can configure the Linux Terminal on Android.
It will need to download the image file, so tap the install button and wait for the phone to download that file.
Once it finishes that download, it will switch over to a Preparing Terminal page
And then a short while later, you'll have access to a Terminal from Debian Linux directly on your Android smartphone or tablet.
We can run an apt-get update command, to fetch the latest packages.
Just remember to add the sudo word in front.
Let's even install a popular program for those who are familiar with the Linux terminal window.
We can run the command
apt-get install htop
And then type the command htop to run it
conclusion
It's finally happened, Android now has a built-in terminal that can be used without installing a 3rd-party application.
I encourage you all to give it a spin and see what kind of interesting things you can do with your Android device now.
I've read that Google is working on hardware acceleration, which then allows you to run graphical Linux applications just as you would expect. I've even seen someone get a version of Doom installed and running through the terminal.
Just remember, this is in its early stages of development. Even the toggle within the Developer Options menu specifically says this feature is experimental. So there are a number of things that are expected to not work properly.
And considering we have a Settings page for it, that allows us to resize the disk partition it uses, port forwarding options, and partition recovery options, it looks as if Google is getting all of the pieces in place.
Let me know if you had any issues following this guide. . .or about Android and the Linux Terminal in general, down in the comments section below.
And please, don't forget to like this video while also subscribing to the channel as we're getting really really close to that 100k subscriber milestone.
Step by Step Tutorial
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1. Intro [00:00]
2. Installing the Native Linux Terminal on Android [00:47]
3. Using the Built-in Android Linux Terminal [03:49]
4. Conclusion [04:59]
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