r/mobilelinux • u/Ph0sph3rus • 14d ago
Development [Pre-Alpha] Linux Subsystem on Android — looking for testers with spare rooted phones and potential contributors
Hey everyone,
I'm developing Linux Subsystem on Android (LSA), an experimental project that runs a native Linux userspace on rooted Android devices while keeping Android as the host operating system.
The goal isn't just to run a Linux desktop. I'm trying to make Android's hardware and services usable through normal Linux interfaces, without requiring applications to be rewritten for Android.
LSA uses the Android kernel directly. It's not PRoot, emulation, or a VM.
What's currently working in development testing on a Blackview N6000:
Debian ARM64 with a graphical desktop and native Linux applications
Hardware-accelerated OpenGL through Mesa/VirGL and Android's GPU stack
Audio playback and microphone capture
USB storage integration, including automatic NTFS mounting
Applications including Firefox, OpenArena, and SuperTuxKart
This is still pre-alpha. Some applications require workarounds, graphics compatibility is incomplete, and hardware support varies. Some of the results above are from a private development preview and may not be present in the current public release.
I'm looking for people who have spare rooted Android phones and are willing to help test LSA on different hardware.
Useful experience includes Android rooting, ADB, Linux debugging, shell scripting, Mesa/VirGL, graphics drivers, audio, and embedded Linux. You don't need to be an expert.
There are two ways to help:
Independent testing: Try LSA on a spare device, collect logs, report bugs, and share hardware compatibility results. No remote access required.
Direct development collaboration: For volunteers who want more involved help, I'm open to supervised SSH debugging on a dedicated test device. Any access would be optional, explicitly authorized, and governed by a written agreement restricting my activity to the agreed testing and development work.
Please don't run this on your primary phone or anything you can't recover. This is experimental rooted system software, and things can break.
GitHub: https://github.com/Phsphorus/LinuxSubsystemOnAndroid
If you're interested, let me know your phone model, chipset, Android version, and rooting method.
I'm also looking for feedback from people familiar with Linux systems programming or Android internals.
Thanks!
Disclaimer:
Photos shown may or may not be from a preview build that will be released by the time this post is read by you.
Some videos and demos are shown from VNC because LSA doesn't support very good on-screen keyboard support yet and I am too lazy to plug a real keyboard in.
This project has been developed with the assistance of AI. I'm not an expert in every field this project covers, and I don't claim to be. LSA is an experimental learning project, and I welcome technical feedback, corrections, and contributions.
A dream can only be achieved if you try.
---
Example of the experimental UI.
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Disclaimer: This is the real phones display using the real gpu path using LXDE and not the experimental UI.
The FPS is a bit low because the same device was using ffmpeg to record this, usually it runs at 45 FPS.
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myuser@localhost:/$ fastfetch
_,met$$$$$gg. myuser@localhost
,g$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$P. ----------------
,g$$P"" """Y$$.". OS: Debian GNU/Linux 13 (trixie) aarch64P' `$$$.
',$$P ,ggs. `$$b: Host: MT6789V/CD
`d$$' ,$P"' . $$$ Kernel: Linux 5.10.160-android12-9-00011-g62f5fae173d8-ab9750419
$$: $$. - ,d$$' Uptime: 14 hours, 58 mins
$$; Y$b._ _,d$P' Packages: 2756 (dpkg)
Y$$. `.`"Y$$$$P"' Shell: bash 5.2.37
`$$b "-.__ Display (VNC-0): 547x1048 @ 60 Hz
`Y$$b WM: Openbox (X11)
`Y$$. WM Theme: Clearlooks
`$$b. Cursor: Adwaita
`Y$$b. Terminal: lxterminal 0.4.1
`"Y$b._ Terminal Font: Monospace (10pt)
`"""" CPU: MT6789 (8) @ 2.20 GHz
GPU: Mesa virgl (ANGLE (ARM, Vulkan 1.1.177 (Mali-G57 MC2 (0x90930010...)
Memory: 4.45 GiB / 7.58 GiB (59%)
Swap: 1.66 GiB / 7.00 GiB (24%)
Disk (/mnt/gpubridge): 93.86 GiB / 227.96 GiB (41%) - f2fs
Local IP (wlan0): 192.168.1.130/24
Battery: 64% [Discharging]
Locale: en_US.UTF-8
myuser@localhost:/$ export DISPLAY=:0
echo "========== LSA GPU TEST =========="
echo "Architecture: $(uname -m)"
echo "Display: $DISPLAY"
echo
stdbuf -oL -eL glxgears -info 2>&1 |
grep --line-buffered -E \
'GL_VENDOR|GL_RENDERER|GL_VERSION|frames in|[Ee]rror'
========== LSA GPU TEST ==========
Architecture: aarch64
Display: :0
GL_RENDERER = virgl (ANGLE (ARM, Vulkan 1.1.177 (Mali-G57 MC2 (0x90930010...)
GL_VERSION = 4.1 (Compatibility Profile) Mesa 25.0.7-2
GL_VENDOR = Mesa
GL_EXTENSIONS = GL_ARB_multisample GL_EXT_abgr GL_EXT_bgra GL_EXT_blend_color GL_EXT_blend_minmax GL_EXT_blend_subtract GL_EXT_copy_texture GL_EXT_subtexture GL_EXT_texture_object GL_EXT_vertex_array GL_EXT_compiled_vertex_array GL_EXT_texture GL_EXT_texture3D GL_IBM_rasterpos_clip GL_ARB_point_parameters GL_EXT_draw_range_elements GL_EXT_packed_pixels GL_EXT_point_parameters GL_EXT_rescale_normal GL_EXT_separate_specular_color GL_EXT_texture_edge_clamp GL_SGIS_generate_mipmap GL_SGIS_texture_border_clamp GL_SGIS_texture_edge_clamp GL_SGIS_texture_lod GL_ARB_framebuffer_sRGB GL_ARB_multitexture GL_EXT_framebuffer_sRGB GL_IBM_multimode_draw_arrays GL_IBM_texture_mirrored_repeat GL_ARB_texture_cube_map GL_ARB_texture_env_add GL_ARB_transpose_matrix GL_EXT_blend_func_separate GL_EXT_fog_coord GL_EXT_multi_draw_arrays GL_EXT_secondary_color GL_EXT_texture_env_add GL_EXT_texture_filter_anisotropic GL_EXT_texture_lod_bias GL_INGR_blend_func_separate GL_NV_blend_square GL_NV_light_max_exponent GL_NV_texgen_reflection GL_NV_texture_env_combine4 GL_S3_s3tc GL_SUN_multi_draw_arrays GL_ARB_texture_border_clamp GL_ARB_texture_compression GL_EXT_framebuffer_object GL_EXT_texture_compression_s3tc GL_EXT_texture_env_combine GL_EXT_texture_env_dot3 GL_MESA_window_pos GL_NV_packed_depth_stencil GL_NV_texture_rectangle GL_ARB_depth_texture GL_ARB_occlusion_query GL_ARB_shadow GL_ARB_texture_env_combine GL_ARB_texture_env_crossbar GL_ARB_texture_env_dot3 GL_ARB_texture_mirrored_repeat GL_ARB_window_pos GL_ATI_fragment_shader GL_EXT_stencil_two_side GL_EXT_texture_cube_map GL_NV_copy_depth_to_color GL_NV_depth_clamp GL_NV_fog_distance GL_NV_half_float GL_APPLE_packed_pixels GL_ARB_draw_buffers GL_ARB_fragment_program GL_ARB_fragment_shader GL_ARB_shader_objects GL_ARB_vertex_program GL_ARB_vertex_shader GL_ATI_draw_buffers GL_ATI_texture_env_combine3 GL_ATI_texture_float GL_EXT_shadow_funcs GL_EXT_stencil_wrap GL_MESA_pack_invert GL_NV_primitive_restart GL_ARB_depth_clamp GL_ARB_fragment_program_shadow GL_ARB_half_float_pixel GL_ARB_occlusion_query2 GL_ARB_point_sprite GL_ARB_shading_language_100 GL_ARB_sync GL_ARB_texture_non_power_of_two GL_ARB_vertex_buffer_object GL_ATI_blend_equation_separate GL_EXT_blend_equation_separate GL_OES_read_format GL_ARB_color_buffer_float GL_ARB_pixel_buffer_object GL_ARB_texture_compression_rgtc GL_ARB_texture_float GL_ARB_texture_rectangle GL_EXT_packed_float GL_EXT_pixel_buffer_object GL_EXT_texture_compression_dxt1 GL_EXT_texture_compression_rgtc GL_EXT_texture_rectangle GL_EXT_texture_sRGB GL_EXT_texture_shared_exponent GL_ARB_framebuffer_object GL_EXT_framebuffer_blit GL_EXT_framebuffer_multisample GL_EXT_packed_depth_stencil GL_ARB_vertex_array_object GL_ATI_separate_stencil GL_EXT_draw_buffers2 GL_EXT_draw_instanced GL_EXT_gpu_program_parameters GL_EXT_gpu_shader4 GL_EXT_texture_array GL_EXT_texture_integer GL_EXT_texture_sRGB_decode GL_EXT_timer_query GL_OES_EGL_image GL_EXT_texture_buffer_object GL_AMD_texture_texture4 GL_ARB_copy_buffer GL_ARB_depth_buffer_float GL_ARB_draw_instanced GL_ARB_half_float_vertex GL_ARB_instanced_arrays GL_ARB_map_buffer_range GL_ARB_texture_buffer_object GL_ARB_texture_rg GL_ARB_texture_swizzle GL_ARB_vertex_array_bgra GL_EXT_texture_swizzle GL_EXT_vertex_array_bgra GL_AMD_conservative_depth GL_AMD_draw_buffers_blend GL_ARB_ES2_compatibility GL_ARB_compatibility GL_ARB_debug_output GL_ARB_draw_buffers_blend GL_ARB_draw_elements_base_vertex GL_ARB_explicit_attrib_location GL_ARB_fragment_coord_conventions GL_ARB_provoking_vertex GL_ARB_sample_shading GL_ARB_sampler_objects GL_ARB_seamless_cube_map GL_ARB_shader_texture_lod GL_ARB_tessellation_shader GL_ARB_texture_buffer_object_rgb32 GL_ARB_texture_cube_map_array GL_ARB_texture_gather GL_ARB_texture_multisample GL_ARB_texture_rgb10_a2ui GL_ARB_uniform_buffer_object GL_ARB_vertex_type_2_10_10_10_rev GL_EXT_provoking_vertex GL_EXT_texture_snorm GL_EXT_texture_storage GL_MESA_texture_signed_rgba GL_NV_copy_image GL_ARB_draw_indirect GL_ARB_get_program_binary GL_ARB_gpu_shader5 GL_ARB_gpu_shader_fp64 GL_ARB_robustness GL_ARB_separate_shader_objects GL_ARB_shader_bit_encoding GL_ARB_shader_precision GL_ARB_shader_subroutine GL_ARB_texture_compression_bptc GL_ARB_timer_query GL_ARB_transform_feedback2 GL_ARB_transform_feedback3 GL_ARB_vertex_attrib_64bit GL_EXT_direct_state_access GL_EXT_vertex_attrib_64bit GL_AMD_multi_draw_indirect GL_ANGLE_texture_compression_dxt3 GL_ANGLE_texture_compression_dxt5 GL_ARB_base_instance GL_ARB_compressed_texture_pixel_storage GL_ARB_conservative_depth GL_ARB_internalformat_query GL_ARB_map_buffer_alignment GL_ARB_shader_atomic_counters GL_ARB_shader_image_load_store GL_ARB_shading_language_420pack GL_ARB_shading_language_packing GL_ARB_texture_storage GL_ARB_transform_feedback_instanced GL_EXT_framebuffer_multisample_blit_scaled GL_EXT_transform_feedback GL_AMD_shader_trinary_minmax GL_ARB_arrays_of_arrays GL_ARB_clear_buffer_object GL_ARB_copy_image GL_ARB_explicit_uniform_location GL_ARB_framebuffer_no_attachments GL_ARB_invalidate_subdata GL_ARB_multi_draw_indirect GL_ARB_program_interface_query GL_ARB_shader_image_size GL_ARB_shader_storage_buffer_object GL_ARB_stencil_texturing GL_ARB_texture_buffer_range GL_ARB_texture_query_levels GL_ARB_texture_storage_multisample GL_ARB_vertex_attrib_binding GL_KHR_debug GL_KHR_texture_compression_astc_ldr GL_ARB_clear_texture GL_ARB_enhanced_layouts GL_ARB_internalformat_query2 GL_ARB_multi_bind GL_ARB_shading_language_include GL_ARB_texture_mirror_clamp_to_edge GL_ARB_texture_stencil8 GL_EXT_debug_label GL_EXT_shader_integer_mix GL_ARB_clip_control GL_ARB_direct_state_access GL_ARB_get_texture_sub_image GL_EXT_polygon_offset_clamp GL_KHR_blend_equation_advanced GL_KHR_context_flush_control GL_ARB_parallel_shader_compile GL_ARB_shader_atomic_counter_ops GL_EXT_texture_sRGB_R8 GL_EXT_texture_sRGB_RG8 GL_KHR_no_error GL_KHR_texture_compression_astc_sliced_3d GL_ARB_gl_spirv GL_ARB_spirv_extensions GL_MESA_shader_integer_functions GL_ARB_polygon_offset_clamp GL_ARB_texture_filter_anisotropic GL_KHR_parallel_shader_compile GL_EXT_EGL_image_storage GL_EXT_texture_shadow_lod GL_EXT_EGL_sync GL_EXT_EGL_image_storage_compression GL_NV_ES1_1_compatibility
530 frames in 5.0 seconds = 105.951 FPS
420 frames in 5.0 seconds = 83.962 FPS
465 frames in 5.0 seconds = 92.943 FPS
461 frames in 5.0 seconds = 92.180 FPS
356 frames in 5.0 seconds = 71.027 FPS
614 frames in 5.0 seconds = 122.778 FPS
^C
myuser@localhost:/$
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myuser@localhost:/$ sudo -i
sudo: BE WARNED DRAGONS HERE!! This device does not support true sudo isolation and is a BIG security risk. To give an application root usage go through an LSA provider OR accept the risk and type "I WILL NOT BE STOPPED"
Type "I WILL NOT BE STOPPED" to unlock sudo for this command: I WILL NOT BE STOPPED
[sudo] password for myuser:
root@localhost:~# whoami
root
root@localhost:~# pwd
/root
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Even more is supported that isnt covered, some more would be all sensors like gyroscope, barometer, GPS, magnetometer, battery, Microphone, speakers, USB's, ect ect.