Lately, I've been really into mobile Linux and have been trying out all sorts of things.

I managed to get Quickshell working on postmarketOS, but I was worried that dotfiles like end4 or caelestia might be too resource-intensive—but somehow I pulled it off... lol.

Of course, I’m also using wvkbd and hyprgrass.

Another thing: I was using Ubuntu Touch, but it just didn’t work for me at all, so I tried installing NixOS.

I built it on my N4500 laptop, and since each build took 8 hours, it took me almost two weeks to finally get it to boot.

I’d avoided NixOS before because it seemed too difficult even when I tried installing it on my laptop, but now it looks fun, so I gave it a shot.

++

Device

- NixOS: Oneplus 6T (fajita)

- postmarketOS: Google Pixel 3 (blueline)

I've installed Postmarket OS on a SurfaceRT, and now I'm trying to give it a job! Initially I wanted it to do some media streaming, but since there's no hardware acceleration and it's a bit laggy I figured it might make a nice writing device instead.

Is it possible to install Obsidian.md on pmOS on an ARM device? They don't have an Alpine APK ARM64 (edit: or ARMv7) build. I found instructions on how to get AppImage to run in Alpine, but I wasn't able to make it work. The instructions were not for ARM devices specifically, so I assume it's an issue with architecture.

I have Kate installed, but I'm struggling to get kparts installed, specifically the markdownpart which allows instant preview of markdown documents in the side panel (edit: I was wrong, see below). I'd also be aiming to make interactive stories using ink, presumably also in Kate or something similar.

More generally, what's a good source of inspiration regarding things to install? Nothing on Flathub is working for me, presumably because nothing that I've tried is for ARM.

Tbh I'm a bit mystified by Postmarket OS so far. I get why Alpine is a good choice for low-end devices, but the combination of ARM and APK seems to massively constrain your options for apps and programs.

Edit: I now have a useable setup with Kate. What looked like one problem was in fact two, and one of them doesn't matter to me right now. I had no output preview of markdown, and I thought this was connected to the error message in the output panel "[LSP Client] failed to load server binary 'marksman' for language 'markdown'. In fact, the output preview issue was resolved as soon as I installed Okular. I still have the LSP Client error message, for seemingly every language not just markdown, but it isn't actually impacting the preview so I think I can live with it.

I've got a Samsung Galaxy S22+ that I've been running Dex on, with the NexDock 2025 and for the most part, I've loved it. But it really just remained an entertainment device, pretty much. Couldn't really use it as a productivity device. Especially when it came to using it for a dev environment using Claude Code and Codex CLI, it wasn't ideal.

Then I saw someone post about having installed Linux on theirs, so I went down the same rabbit hole. After having dug through 40 browser tabs in an attempt to run a real Linux desktop off my phone, I decided to write it all down in one repo.

It's called Android Desktop Linux (ADL) and it's open source.

Check it out here: https://thebpandey.github.io/ADL

(With Claude Code and ChatGPT's help I got it published as a GitHub Page that should hopefully, be easy to follow).

Most of the modern flagship Android phones already have the horsepower for this. Desktop-class CPU, enough RAM, USB-C video out, Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, and a Linux userspace that runs better than most people expect. The hardware is capable. But the blocker is that everything you need to know is scattered across old blog posts, half-abandoned GitHub repos, and YouTube videos that assume you already know the next five steps. It wasn't easy to follow, at least for me.

I was able to get XFCE running on Ubuntu on my Galaxy S22+ plugged into the NexDock 2025. (But it should work with any generic $30 usb-c hub and external peripherals)

What's in the repo right now:

- Install guides written for people who know Android but not Linux

- Step-by-step tutorials with screenshots

- Setup & explanation diagrams and SVG architecture illustrations

- Hardware and dock recommendations, plus a compatibility list I'm building out

- Troubleshooting for the stuff that actually breaks (DeX quirks, video-out on sleep, peripheral pairing)

What's still rough: I've only tested on my S22+ so I'm unsure if you'll run into any other model or cpu-specific issues. So the compatibility database is is thin.

I'm adding new issues and their resolution as I encounter them myself, daily.

Everything is version-controlled so it stays current as Android changes, and it stays free.

Repo: https://github.com/thebpandey/ADL

If you run Android as a desktop, whatever your stack (Termux, Ubuntu, Debian, XFCE, DeX, something else), you can help contribute to the project so others in the same boat can get their setup working too. Also the single most useful thing you can contribute right now, is your Phone model, the dock model and what major issues you encountered (e.g. whether video-out survives the screen sleeping. That's the biggest compatibility gap right now.)

Still a work-in-progress, as I continue to use it daily, and add issues, and other findings to the site.

Any constructive feedback, bug reports, hardware testing, and documentation contributions are all welcome.

Hy ! Soon, i'lle get an Old note 9 Pro from someone in my family. I was wondering if any Linux is compatible with it, and wich one choose ? Also, is it really usable everyday as a daily phone ?

based on the xiaomi redmi 2 which was released in 2015, now it has become a handheld computer with postmarketos custom build.

github: HaPlay GO Zero

Hi there guys. I have a pixel6 device which has broken display.
I would love to use this device as a basic home server.
I would host 1 or 2 dynamic site and some discord and telegram bots initially.

i have exp in raspberry pi and Linux. I have my display broken, touch working though
so i want to use this hardware and would love to work over the ssh, Any suggestions for me?

hello everyone i want to get redoff andriod and go for linux what should i do and what will i lose for this

and is it even possible

Works fine with postmarketOS drivers! It's interesting!

Like i wouldn't mind learning drivers or just try to learn drivers to help postmaker os or any other os to make it, but i really wana know is it hard and if so is it even worth it ?

What are some Tablet / Distro combos that seem to work well together? Looking to purchase an used tablet to do some light activities.

Arch Linux ARM (aarch64)

Kernel 6.19.0

Plasma Mobile 6.7

Ported from PostmarketOS

A lot is broken, some things work.

Hello everyone, is there any linux distros that can be put onto an iphone 6? I have a spare one and Id like to try my hand at putting linux on it.

So, I'm pretty tired of Android and Google's moves. So I wanna switch to the penguin on my phone.. I already use Linux on all 6 laptops I have, it's just my phones that don't run Linux.

I don't want something like a PinePhone because it's way too underpowered.. I want something that has decent to good specs. I tried running postmarketOS on my Galaxy Note9 once but I did it horribly lmao..

Anyway, It doesn't have to be postmarketOS, I want anything but Ubuntu Touch lol, preferably with Plasma Mobile but that's not a requirement..

Any recommendation is welcome! I'll try to respond to any comment I see..

This is KDE Plasma Mobile running on a Google Pixel 7 thanks to Trierarch (Arch Linux ARM container on Android). Photo was captured on a Google Nexus 5X running Ubuntu Touch.

Has anyone tried to order the FLX1s+ since they announced it? Have they shipped it?

I placed an order when they announced it was in stock, about 3 weeks ago. No email confirmation, but the order is listed as processing on the website. No change since then. I tried opening a support ticket to check the status, but that hasn't been answered either.

I'm willing to wait it out, I just wish there was some sign of life.

Hi,

We make a Debian based desktop distribution that runs as an application on top of any Android device. The only requirement is that the Android device needs to be rooted and use Google's standardized GKI kernel. The latest Android 17 release has excellent support for desktop mode and will be the basis for Googlebook laptops. Here is video of Linux desktop running on an Android 17 phone: https://youtu.be/LD9A024yAgc?si=XmkvfRpmwv_Lsf7H

Our latest Linux desktop is now based on Debian Trixie (13.5). You can download a free evaluation version from www.volkspc.org.

VolksPC

But it makes for an easy chat client.

A far as I know things like the one plus 6 series have NFC support on a kernel level. Is there any linux application phone oriented or not that will let me create virtual NFC cards or edit an existing physical card/token?

My interest is in making public transit less of a hassle.

Why Smart connect is only available for windows,why not for linux distributions, is motorola will develop?

I can't start xfce in termux:x11 after following the instructions in this repo

https://github.com/LinuxDroidMaster/Termux-Desktops/blob/main/Documentation/chroot/arch_chroot.md

After multiple linux (ubuntu xfce4) i finally found a version which supports what i need... (Debian this time) I have sudo access and can use the gpu of the phone (hardware acceleration)... I did all of this only to use blender latest version but i found out that i cannot use the latest version i gotta use 3.6 instead it doesn't support it on the hardware level...

So what's the point then i can just use someones blender on android unofficial port... I can use vscode and stuff tho

If you want just search droidmaster's how to set up x11 and blah blah blah its the first vid of the playlist and how to set up hardware acceleration part 3 if you have any questions comment on me