Once you’ve picked your Linux distribution of choice, visit its website and download its installer. There are many, many other options-there’s no wrong answer, although some Linux distributions are intended for more technical, experienced users. Ubuntu and Linux Mint are still some of the most popular Linux distributions. Different Linux distributions have different system tools, desktop environments, included applications, and visual themes.
Linux distributions package up the Linux kernel and other software into a complete operating system you can use. However, note that the process to set up a distro is pretty much similar for all.First, you’ll need to choose a Linux distribution you want to use. Once you've decided which distro to run, tap on its entry for further instructions.įor this tutorial, let's assume you want to set up Ubuntu. This will bring up a list of distros that you can run on your device. To begin the process of setting up a distro, launch the CompleteLinuxInstaller app, bring up the navigation menu and tap on the Install Guides item.
The other items will bring up various information and tips to assist you. The first two are the most important: Install Guides will take you through the steps required for setting up and installing the various supported Linux distros, and the Launch item is the integrated launcher that you can use to boot into the configured distro. Tap on the project's icon in the top-left corner of the screen to reveal the navigation menu, which contains several items. Once you've grabbed these, you can launch the CompleteLinuxInstaller app.
In any case, the project suggests using the Android Terminal Emulator app. You'll need another app to access Android's built-in command line, but you'll already have this if you've rooted your device. The project suggests using the popular Android VNC Viewer app.
The Installer requires BusyBox to boot Linux which it will go ahead and install on first launchīesides the app produced by the LinuxOnAndroid project, you'll also need a VNC viewer to use the graphical desktop. The exact procedure necessary to root an Android device varies between models. The app requires a rooted Android device. Alternatively you can head to the LinuxOnAndroid project's website and download the open source version of the Android app (but go into the Settings > Security menu and toggle Unknown Sources to enable installation of non-Play Store apps). Start by grabbing the Complete Linux Installer app from Google's Play Store. The ext4 images are compatible with Android 4.3 while the ext2 images are compatible with earlier versions of Android. You can grab the images with either the ext2 or ext4 filesystem. Arch Linux produces images with the Enlightenment desktop, and Fedora ships an image with the MATE desktop. Some distros have additional images as well. Finally you have the Large image, which includes the KDE Plasma Desktop, LibreOffice and Gimp. Next there's the Small image, which ships with the LXDE desktop and its suite of programs. This is ideal for creating your own images and include the Openbox window manager. The Core image is the smallest in size, and includes the minimum set of packages you need to run the distro.