{"id":77005,"date":"2020-04-07T01:42:52","date_gmt":"2020-04-06T23:42:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/prohoster.info\/blog\/administrirovanie\/ustanavlivaem-rabochij-stol-linux-na-android"},"modified":"2020-04-07T01:42:52","modified_gmt":"2020-04-06T23:42:52","slug":"ustanavlivaem-rabochij-stol-linux-na-android","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prohoster.info\/en\/blog\/administrirovanie\/ustanavlivaem-rabochij-stol-linux-na-android","title":{"rendered":"Setting Up a Linux Desktop on Android","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"

Hello, Habr! I present to you a translation of an article from APC magazine.<\/p>\n

\"Setting
\nThis article discusses a complete installation of the Linux operating environment along with a graphical desktop environment on Android devices. <\/p>\n

One of the key technologies used by many Linux systems on Android is pRoot<\/a><\/noindex>. This is an implementation of the chroot utility in user space, which is widely popular in desktop systems and Linux servers. However, the chroot tool requires root user privileges, which are not available by default on Android. pRoot provides this advantage by establishing a directory bind.<\/p>\n

Linux Terminals <\/h3>\n

\n Not all Linux terminal emulators for Android include the BusyBox utility set, unlike Termux, for example. This is due to the fact that the whole point of such systems is to provide a 'full' installation of all OS components, whereas BusyBox is designed to consolidate the many common utilities into a single binary file. In systems where BusyBox is not installed, the initial boot for Linux contains full versions of programs.
\n\"Setting" <\/p>\n

Set a username and password for the distribution and VNC in UserLAnd.<\/i><\/p>\n

However, these systems have an additional technology that does not require Termux. This article will discuss the complete installation of a Linux distribution as well as a GUI desktop. But first, you need to choose a method for installing the graphical system.<\/p>\n

Linux on Android<\/h3>\n

\nAs mentioned earlier, the software packages we will be installing run in user space.
\n<\/a><\/noindex>
\nThis means that they only have permission for the current user, who in the case of the Android OS is always a regular user, i.e., does not have administrator privileges. However, to set up a Linux desktop, we need to install a graphical server, such as X or Wayland. If we were doing this in a Linux operating environment, it would run with the privileges of a regular user, without access to the graphical layer of the Android OS. Therefore, we must consider installing the server in the 'standard' Android way so that it has access to the hardware and the ability to support the graphical environment.<\/p>\n

The smart folks from the developer community have proposed two solutions to this problem. The first is to use custom versions of Linux (typically, an X server). Once they start running in the background, you will have access to that background process via VNC. If you already have a VNC viewer app on your Android device for remote interaction with other computers, simply use it to gain remote access to the local node. This is a straightforward solution, but some users report experiencing difficulties with the app.<\/p>\n

The second option is to install a server specifically designed for Android-based devices. Some servers are available on the Play Store in both paid and free versions. Before installation, it\u2019s important to check whether the chosen option is supported or at least compatible with the Linux package for Android that you plan to install. We prefer the X-Server system, which is why we used the XServer XSDL package (link<\/a><\/noindex>). This article will describe the installation process of this server, although it may vary slightly if you have a different application installed or if you are using VNC.<\/p>\n

System Selection<\/h3>\n

\nAs with X-Servers, there are several applications in the Play Store for installing Linux system distributions. Here, just like with Termux, we will focus on options that do not require superuser privileges, which in turn implies a certain level of risk. These applications provide all the necessary functionality for most users while keeping your data safe. Below are examples of such applications in the Play Store:<\/p>\n

\u2014 UserLAnd<\/a><\/noindex><\/b>: a very popular choice among users. The app includes a set of common distributions: Debian, Ubuntu, Arch, and Kali. Interestingly, despite the lack of RPM-based options, UserLAnd includes Alpine Linux for devices with lower memory.<\/p>\n

\u2014 AnLinux<\/a><\/noindex><\/b>: this application helps in installing one or more large distribution lists and can include Ubuntu\/Debian, Fedora\/CentOS, openSUSE, and even Kali. It also allows you to choose low-overhead desktop options: Xfce4, MATE, LXQt, and LXDE. Termux must be installed to work, and the Android operating system needs to be version 5.0 or higher.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Andronix<\/a><\/noindex><\/b> : very similar to AnLinux. It may have a better design than the previous application, however, it supports a smaller number of distributions.<\/p>\n

\u2014 GNURoot WheezyX<\/a><\/noindex><\/b>: this project started as a way to run Linux on Android and was developed for open-source software. As the name suggests, it focuses on Debian distributions, while the \u2018X\u2018 at the end means that the application is geared towards the graphical desktop. And although the developers halted the project's development in favor of UserLAnd, GNURoot WheezyX is still available on the Play Store for those in need of it.<\/p>\n

The authors of this article will use the UserLAnd app to install a Linux desktop on Android for several reasons. Firstly, the app is open-source (although AnLinux is also open-source). Secondly, it offers a good set of distributions (even though Fedora and CentOS are not included), and it allows the installation of distributions with minimal system requirements that won\u2019t take up much space on your smartphone. But the main advantage of UserLAnd is that it has support tools for installing individual applications instead of entire distributions. We will find out what this specifically means for us later. For now, let\u2019s install UserLAnd on your device.<\/p>\n

UserLAnd app<\/h3>\n

\nDownload the app from Google Play or F-Droid (link<\/a><\/noindex>) on Android OS. It installs like any other app \u2013 there\u2019s nothing special to do here. After that, launch it from the app drawer.<\/p>\n

The first thing you will see there is a list of distributions. At the end, you can find a couple of desktop options: LXDE and Xfce4. It concludes with the Firefox app, a couple of games, and several office utilities: GIMP, Inkscape, and LibreOffice. This tab is called \u201cApplications.\u201d It is intended for installing applications. <\/p>\n

After you install something, a corresponding entry will appear on the \u201cSession\u201d tab. Here you can start or stop the current session as well as view the running processes.<\/p>\n

The \u201cFilesystems\u201d tab is the last one that shows completed installations. It\u2019s worth noting that once you remove any item from Filesystems, information about it will be deleted from the Session tab, which, however, does not prove the opposite. This means you can create a new session based on the current filesystem. Understanding how this relationship works is much easier if you see it in action, so we will start by installing an application in the UserLAnd system environment.
\n\"Setting
\n
\nBefore installing a distribution on your smartphone, you need to grant UserLAnd access to storage.<\/i><\/p>\n

Distributions in UserLAnd<\/h3>\n

\nSelect one of the distributions displayed on the Apps screen to install on your device. For example, we will use Ubuntu. When you click the icon, a dialog box will appear asking for a username, password, and VNC password. Then, choose how you will access the distribution. Download will begin, during which the base image of the selected distribution will be deployed. The file will be unpacked in the UserLAnd directory.<\/p>\n

After the download is complete, return to the xterm terminal emulator. You can enter the command to check which version of Linux you have installed:<\/p>\n

uname -a<\/code><\/pre>\n
\nThe next step is to install the desktop using the following Ubuntu command:<\/p>\n
sudo apt install lxde<\/code><\/pre>\n
\nThe final step is to ensure that your new desktop environment is ready to launch. To do this, you need to edit the file .xinitrcfile,<\/b> which currently contains just one line. \/usr\/ bin\/twm<\/i>You need to change it to \/usr\/bin\/startlxde<\/i>. Now log out of the XSDL session (make sure to press the STOP button in the notification area), hold the 'Ubuntu listing' button on the Sessions tab, then tap 'Stop Sessions' and restart the sessions. After a few seconds, the LXDE system environment should appear. You can do the same things here as on a regular desktop. It may just be a bit smaller and run a little slower: to click a button on the device, you might have to wait longer than if you were using a keyboard and mouse. Let's see specifically how we can enhance the Linux system environment on a smartphone.<\/p>\n
A Brief Guide to UserLAnd<\/h3>\n
\nUpon careful examination of the desktop content, you will find an exact replica of the desktop version. If you are using UserLAnd on a device with a keyboard and mouse (connected via Bluetooth or in some other way), you will easily adapt to using the Linux system environment in this format. Except for a slight delay caused by the synchronization of the X-Windows cursor with the cursor on your Android device, everything works smoothly.<\/p>\n
Perhaps the first thing you'll want to do is adjust the default font system, as the desktop font size is too large for the phone screen. Go to the main menu, then choose \"Settings\" \u2192 \"Appearance and Widgets\" \u2192 \"Widget\". Here you can change the default font size to a more suitable option for your phone.<\/p>\n
Next, you may want to install your favorite applications in the Linux system environment. As mentioned earlier, the utility commands won't work in this case, so feel free to use the truly indispensable tool that is installed in the UserLAnd system environment called ASAP:<\/p>\n
sudo apt install emacs<\/code><\/pre>\n
\n\"Setting
\n
\nThe distributions in the app are presented as sessions. You can start and close them.<\/i><\/p>\n
\"Setting
\n
\nAfter installing the distribution, you can add a desktop environment with standard commands.<\/i><\/p>\n
You may also need alternative ways to establish a connection for your distribution. The fact that you initially installed XSDL doesn't mean it has to remain unchanged all the time. You can create another account on the Session tab and choose a different server. Just make sure you specify it in the same file system. UserLAnd will attempt to direct you to the necessary application to set up a new type of connection: either XSDL, ConnectBot for SSH, or bVNC.<\/p>\n
However, the persistence with which the app automatically directs you to the Play Store when trying to reconnect can be annoying. To stop this, you just need to change the server by installing a special application. To set up SSH, choose the tried-and-true VX ConnectBot. Just log in to port 2022 on the workstation with your username and password. To connect to the VNC server, you only need to install the commercial, but advanced application Jump Desktop, and enter the address 127.0.0.1:5951. <\/p>\n
We hope you remember the VNC password you set when creating the file system.
\nYou can also access the current UserLAnd session using similar tools on another computer in your network. Just connect via SSH to the running session (with SSH connection type, of course) through a Linux terminal like Konsole, or connect to the VNC session using KRDC. Simply replace the local addresses on your computer screen with the IP addresses of your Android device.<\/p>\n
Combined with a couple of portable applications, this setup provides you with a convenient portable Linux system that you can connect to from any computer available to you at the moment.
\n
Source: habr.com<\/a> <\/p>","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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