Andy Walker / Android Authority
Tl;
- The Android Linux Terminal app is now widely available for Pixel users running the March 2025 update.
- The debian-based environment allows users to have a full-fledged Linux occurrence, although it is still missing several creature comfort.
Late last year we reported that Google is preparing a native Linux Terminal Application It will allow smartphone users to have a portable version of a desktop distro. Since then, we have seen that very app rolls out with Android 15 Beta building. Now, with March 2025 Pixel UpdateA stable version of that app is more accessible to Google Phone users running the latest stable version of Android.
The Linux Terminal app icon appears automatically when you have switched on Linux development environment in Settings> System> Development Options. When I activated it and drained this icon, I was asked to allow a 567MB download.
Although the first time I tried to run the terminal on Pixel 8 -en, the second time worked. After draining this speed bump, I could open the terminal by tapping the shortcut in my applist and running basic commands that help,, dfand free-m. Of course, you can issue far more advanced commands than this if you want.
Especially the Linux environment is based on Debian, one of the most established Linux distributions available. Unlike a native terminal -app like Termux, the Linux terminal runs in a virtual machine via Android Virtualization Framework (AVF).
In particular, the Linux Terminal app is devoid of a few features. Gui -app support is perhaps the largest deficiency but as Our very entertaining subway demo suggests that this functionality is scheduled for Android 16.
The availability of a Linux terminal app on Android may not be very exciting or life-changing for the masses, but it is a big step forward for developers and power users who want to run Linux applications on the desktop level on their devices for different purposes.