Podroid README

The project's README from github.com/ExTV/Podroid. As one markdown file: README.md.

Podroid logo

Podroid

Run Linux containers and a full Linux desktop on your Android phone. No root.

A real Alpine Linux VM with its own kernel - not a chroot or proot trick - so Podman, Docker and LXC behave exactly like they do on a server.

Release Downloads Stars License Android 8+ arm64

Website · Documentation · Download APK

Home screen before the VM starts
Home		 Home screen with the VM running and network info
Running		 Built-in terminal showing Alpine system info
Terminal		 Terminal Quick Settings with themes and fonts
Themes & fonts

What you get

Quick start

  1. Download the APK and install it.
  2. Tap Start VM, wait for Ready!, open the terminal.
# rootless containers, straight away
podman run --rm alpine echo "hello from a container"
docker run -d -p 8080:80 nginx

# expose that container to your phone and LAN, right from the VM shell
podroid-forward add 8080 8080 tcp     # TCP or UDP, on both the QEMU and AVF backends
curl http://<phone-ip>:8080
podroid-forward clean                 # remove every rule you added, in one go

# SSH in from your laptop (enable SSH in the setup wizard or Settings)
ssh root@<phone-ip> -p 9922        # password: podroid

Setup, the two backends, networking, the X11 viewer and troubleshooting all live in the documentation.

Build

git clone https://github.com/ExTV/Podroid.git
cd Podroid
./build-all.sh all     # kernel, rootfs, QEMU and APK (needs Docker + Android SDK/NDK)

Per-component builds and toolchain details: CONTRIBUTING.md.

Contributing

Contributions of every size are welcome: bug reports, kernel-config tweaks, new themes, UI polish, X11 input fixes, anything.

RikkaHub Agent is a fork of RikkaHub, the native Android LLM chat client, that turns it into a real on-device agent: 80+ device tools, scheduled jobs, an AI-driven browser, a Linux workspace, SSH, screen automation and a remote Telegram bot, all opt-in. Its SSH tool can log into a running Podroid VM (localhost:9922), so an agent on your phone can build, run and inspect containers without you typing a command.

Credits
QEMU Machine emulation
Termux Terminal emulator engine
Alpine Linux The guest distribution

Full list in CREDITS.md.

License

GPLv2. If Podroid is useful to you, a star helps other people find it.

Podroid (ExTV/Podroid)

virtual-machine
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3.6K ·GitHub
Podroid
What is this?Podroid is a rootless Android app that boots a real Alpine Linux virtual machine on your phone, letting you run Linux containers (Podman, Docker, LXC) and even full GUI desktop apps.
Is this just a terminal emulator, or a real VM with a kernel?It is a real VM, not a chroot or proot trick: Alpine Linux runs on its own custom kernel via QEMU, or on hardware-accelerated AVF on supported pKVM devices, so containers behave exactly like on a real server.
How do I get it running?Download the APK and install it, then tap 'Start VM' and wait for the 'Ready!' status before opening the built-in terminal.
Do I need root or a specific Android version?No root is required; it works on any arm64 device running Android 8 or later.
Does every phone get hardware-accelerated performance?No - the VM runs via software-emulated QEMU by default, and only switches to the faster hardware-accelerated AVF path on devices that support pKVM.
What's already installed when the VM boots?Podman, Docker and LXC are pre-installed and ready to use the moment the VM finishes booting, with no extra setup.
Can I run GUI Linux apps, or only a terminal?Besides a full xterm-256color terminal with 122 color themes and 13 fonts, Podroid includes a built-in X11 viewer that renders GUI Linux apps with touch, keyboard, mouse and audio support.
Can I access the VM over SSH or use USB devices?Yes, Podroid supports USB passthrough, SSH access, port forwarding and a guest-to-Android bridge, plus container backup and Downloads-folder sharing with the guest.
What is RikkaHub Agent and how does it connect to Podroid?RikkaHub Agent is a fork of the native Android LLM chat client RikkaHub turned into an on-device AI agent; its SSH tool can log into a running Podroid VM at localhost:9922 so the agent can build and inspect containers autonomously.
What are similar projects?Docker-OSX, ServerBox, motor-os, UTM, try-omarchy, ProxmoxVE, DroidDesk, macos
Which topics is it in?port-forwarding, linux-distribution, qemu, kvm, x11, usb, virtual-machine, arm64, virtualization, backup, gplv2, containers
Creator
ExTV
Size
34 MB
Stars
3.6K
Updated
CommitSep 21Releasev1.2.9Sep 21
Age
7mo
Commits · 90 Days