Debian noroot

3.9
7.74K reviews
500K+
Downloads
Content rating
Everyone
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About this app

This app will install Debian Buster with Xfce desktop environment.
You do not need to root your device.
You will need 1.2 Gb free on internal storage.
A mouse or stylus is highly recommended.

This app is NOT full Debian OS - it is a compatibility layer, based on PRoot, which allows you to run user-land Debian applications.
Your phone is not rooted during installation.
Running Wireshark or Aircrack-ng will fail, because they require root.
This is not an official Debian.org release.

To install packages (web browser for example), open Terminal and run commands:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install chromium


You can check full list of packages in Synaptic package manager.

Packages that work:
synaptic gimp inkscape clementine chromium vlc mplayer audacity lmms

In VLC and Audacity, select PulseAudio as audio output.

To run Chromium, use command:

chromium --disable-dev-shm-usage --no-sandbox

Packages that fail to run:
firefox-esr libreoffice konqueror kodi kdenlive blender, and anything that uses OpenGL.

Sources are here:
https://github.com/pelya/commandergenius/tree/sdl_android/project/jni/application/xserver-debian
Previous versions are here:
https://sourceforge.net/projects/libsdl-android/files/ubuntu/
Updated on
Jul 22, 2020

Data safety

Safety starts with understanding how developers collect and share your data. Data privacy and security practices may vary based on your use, region, and age. The developer provided this information and may update it over time.
No data shared with third parties
Learn more about how developers declare sharing
No data collected
Learn more about how developers declare collection

Ratings and reviews

3.9
6.54K reviews
Pierre Erard
October 16, 2022
The app works as expected, but can crash when too much RAM is used, no matter what I do. I have at least 4-6 GB of RAM free on my S21 Ultra, and this app somehow crashes while only using 1GB. I think the virtual OS is limited to 1GB and crashes when it goes above that amount. Changing the display resolution has little to no impact on this. Also, I can't run some programs in terminal because they don't work. The app only allows to prompt for media permission, not program files.
35 people found this review helpful
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sam spade
December 29, 2020
It is unusual for me to give full five stars. But this really exceeded all expectations, especially given that many apps out there to perform this same function require root or require extensive set up and modification. Most things work "out of the box." Using the terminal to unzip files or co /mv files works perfectly well and this app links directly to my phones storage- all others required setting that up. Very impressed after using this for quite a while. EDIT: After some tweaking, it is running nearly perfect. Sometimes, it lags out a little bit but then, I am running it on MY PHONE so what are ya gonna do...
154 people found this review helpful