📱 DroidDesk Proot XFCE

A portable Linux environment for Android designed to overcome mobile OS limitations.

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⚡ Quick Start

Download and run the setup script directly from GitHub in Termux:

curl -sL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/arinadi/DroidDesk/main/setup-proot-xfce.sh -o ~/setup-proot-xfce.sh
chmod +x ~/setup-proot-xfce.sh
bash ~/setup-proot-xfce.sh

Note

This script installs XFCE inside an Ubuntu proot and creates specialized launcher scripts for Termux:X11 and PulseAudio.

📦 Install Extra Apps (TUI)

After the main installation, you can install Browsers (Firefox), AI Tools, and Development IDEs using the interactive package installer:

curl -sL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/arinadi/DroidDesk/main/install-tui-packages.sh | bash

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💡 The Vision: Portable Linux Power

DroidDesk isn't just a terminal; it's a complete Linux workstation in your pocket. It solves the two biggest pain points of mobile productivity:

1. Overcoming Android Sleep Limits: Native Android browsers (Chrome/Firefox) aggressively sleep background tabs when the screen is off. By running a full desktop browser inside a proot Linux session, you can keep complex web apps alive.
   • Usecase: Running Google Colab as a background backend for a Telegram bot or long-running scripts that must not sleep.
2. Native Developer Tooling: Mobile apps are limited. DroidDesk provides standard glibc environments for the tools you actually use.
   • Usecase: A full Web Development IDE (VS Code, Geany) with native Node.js, Python, and Git, allowing you to code anywhere with a desktop-class experience.

🧐 Why Ubuntu Proot?

While you can install XFCE natively in Termux, running the entire desktop inside a proot Ubuntu environment offers a much smoother "daily-driver" experience:

• 📦 Standard glibc binaries: Termux uses bionic (Android's libc), which breaks many standard Linux apps. Ubuntu proot uses standard glibc, ensuring maximum compatibility.
• 📂 Android Storage Integration: DroidDesk bridges the gap between mobile and desktop files. It bind-mounts your internal storage to /sdcard and creates native-style symlinks:
  • ~/Downloads → Android's Download folder.
  • ~/Pictures → Android's DCIM/Camera folder.
  • ~/Android_Internal → Full /sdcard access.
• 🔗 Seamless App Integration: Setting proot apps as defaults in native Termux XFCE is difficult. By putting the entire XFCE desktop inside Ubuntu, apps like firefox-esr "Just Work" as the system browser.
• 🛡️ Better App Stability: Apps run exactly as they would on a standard desktop. Firefox ESR, for example, handles complex JavaScript and Google logins perfectly inside proot.
• 🐧 Why Ubuntu? Ubuntu provides superior binary support and PPA availability for ARM64 compared to Debian or Fedora ARM ports in proot environments.

🛠️ What this script does

• Installs Termux-required packages (x11-repo, termux-x11-nightly, proot-distro).
• Sets up an Ubuntu proot distro.
• Installs XFCE and basic GUI tooling (thunar, settings, audio utils).
• Android Storage Integration: Automatically mounts your phone's internal storage to /sdcard and creates symlinks in the Ubuntu home directory (~/Downloads, ~/Pictures, ~/Android_Internal).
• Android Hardware Control: Built-in bridge for Termux:API. Control your phone's battery, notifications, and sensors directly from the XFCE terminal.
• Generates 6 focused launcher scripts in ~/.shortcuts/ (with symlinks to ~/):
  • 🟢 start-x11.sh — Start Termux:X11 and PulseAudio (Host).
  • 🟢 start-xfce.sh — Start XFCE session (Proot).
  • 🔴 kill-x11.sh — Stop X11 and PulseAudio (cleans sockets).
  • 🔴 kill-proot.sh — Stop all XFCE processes and clean session cache.
  • 🔴 kill-all.sh — Stop everything with one command.
  • 🔄 update-droiddesk.sh — Safely update these scripts from GitHub.

🧩 The Minimalist Package Philosophy

To keep the environment lightning-fast and prevent storage bloat, this script avoids "kitchen-sink" meta-packages. Instead, we use a highly curated, modular list:

1. Termux Host Packages:

• termux-setup-storage: Grants Termux access to your phone's internal memory.
• termux-api: Enables communication between the Linux desktop and Android hardware.
• x11-repo & tur-repo: Required for high-performance X11 and Termux User Repository packages.
• termux-x11-nightly: The best, highest-performance X server for Android.
• proot-distro: The safest way to manage Linux containers in Termux.
• pulseaudio & xorg-xrandr: Essential for audio forwarding and display scaling.

2. Ubuntu Proot Packages (--no-install-recommends):

• dbus-x11: Crucial for Inter-Process Communication (IPC).
• xfce4-session, xfwm4, xfce4-panel: Bare minimum to render a working desktop.
• xfdesktop4, thunar, xfce4-settings, xfce4-terminal: Desktop background, file manager, GUI settings, and terminal.
• libgl1, mesa-utils: OpenGL rendering support.

📋 Requirements

• Android phone (ARM64)
• Termux (installed from F-Droid, NOT Play Store)
• Termux:X11 Android app (Nightly release)
• Termux:API Android app (installed from F-Droid)
• Termux:Widget (Optional, but recommended for 1-tap launchers)

🎨 Personalization & Pre-config

DroidDesk comes with an optimized XFCE configuration (64px panel, high DPI, black wallpaper) designed for mobile screens.

To apply the pre-set theme inside your Proot environment:

curl -sL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/arinadi/DroidDesk/main/apply-xfce-config.sh | bash

Note: Restart your XFCE session after applying.

🛑 CRITICAL: Android 12+ Background Restrictions (Signal 9 Error)

If your Termux session crashes with [Process completed (signal 9) - press Enter], Android's Phantom Process Killer has terminated your desktop.

To fix this permanently:

• Android 14+:
  1. Enable Developer Options in Android Settings.
  2. Find "Disable child process restrictions" and turn it ON.
• Android 12 & 13: You must use ADB (from a PC or via Wireless Debugging) to run:

  adb shell "/system/bin/device_config put activity_manager max_phantom_processes 2147483647"
  adb shell settings put global settings_enable_monitor_phantom_procs false

Warning

Without this fix, your Proot XFCE session will crash repeatedly during heavy usage (e.g., browsing the web).

🚀 Usage

📱 Termux:Widget Support

If you have Termux:Widget installed, the setup script automatically makes launchers available on your homescreen! Start or stop sessions with a single tap.

For terminal usage, run the symlinks in your home directory:

1. Start the Server & Audio

bash ~/start-x11.sh

(Starts Termux:X11 and PulseAudio server)

2. Start the Desktop

bash ~/start-xfce.sh

(Launches the XFCE session inside the proot container)

3. Stop Everything

bash ~/kill-all.sh

(Securely kills all desktop processes, audio servers, and cleans socket files)

📱 Android Hardware Control (Termux:API)

You can control your phone directly from the Ubuntu terminal using the tapi bridge or built-in aliases:

• termux-battery-status — Check phone battery level.
• termux-toast "Hello from Ubuntu!" — Show a toast message on Android.
• termux-vibrate — Make the phone vibrate.
• tapi termux-camera-info — Get camera specifications.

Tip

Workflow: Always run the kill scripts before starting a new session to ensure a clean slate and avoid "X server already running" or missing cursor errors!

⚠️ Notes

• start-xfce.sh must be run only after start-x11.sh is already running.
• The session runs via dbus-launch --exit-with-session startxfce4.
• If display is unstable, try adding -legacy-drawing or -force-bgra to the start-x11.sh script.

🔄 How to Safely Update Scripts

To update your launcher and kill scripts without losing your Linux installation or personal files, run the update script:

bash ~/update-droiddesk.sh

This will download the newest scripts, update missing packages, and overwrite your old shortcuts automatically.

🧹 Cleanup Tips (Nuclear Option)

To free up space and start completely fresh:

1. Go to Android Settings > Apps > Termux.
2. Tap Storage > Clear Data.

Caution

This will permanently wipe your proot distro and all Linux files inside Termux.

📜 License

Released under the GPLv3 license.