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Release v1.0.0

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@CRUNZEX CRUNZEX released this 30 Jul 21:26
· 7 commits to main since this release
v1.0.0
183290a

Highlights

  • A real VM - unmodified ARM64 Linux boots under UEFI (edk2) with virtio disk, network, GPU and RNG. QEMU runs the machine; nothing in the guest is patched to make it work.
  • Podman, Docker and LXC pre-installed on the Alpine container host, with Docker running from boot and dex already in the docker group.
  • In-app terminal - a real xterm-256color emulator: alternate screen (vim, htop), scrollback, selection and paste, and an extra key row for keys soft keyboards lack. Up to three windows, each attached to its own guest console (ttyAMA0, hvc0, hvc1) and therefore its own shell.
  • GUI Linux - a full XFCE or GNOME desktop in the built-in viewer, served over VNC on loopback only. Under Samsung DeX, hardware mouse and keyboard behave natively.
  • Live port forwarding - add or remove phone:port -> VM:port (TCP or UDP) while the VM is running, applied over QMP without a reboot. SSH forwarding and a 9p shared folder are one switch each.
  • Monitor - live CPU and memory charts, charging power, device temperature, host and guest network addresses, and a read-only list of plugged-in USB devices. Reachable even while the VM is off.
  • The whole machine is configurable - 1-8 cores, memory up to device RAM minus Android's 2 GB reserve, CPU model, disk size / interface / write-cache mode, display adapter and resolution, boot order, direct kernel boot with extra arguments, and an engine override. Use desktop preset sets a desktop-ready machine in one tap.

Ready-made images (arm64)

Image Size What it is
alpine-light-3.22.0 219 MB The smallest and fastest-booting flavour (Recommended)
alpine-3.22.0 615 MB Container host: podman, docker and LXC ready at boot (Recommended)
debian-13 336 MB Debian server, console only (Recommended)
ubuntu-24.04 618 MB Ubuntu server, console only
kali-2026.2 1.08 GB Kali server, kept light (~340 packages); add tools with apt

Every image ships preconfigured:

  • user dex, password dex, passwordless sudo, serial-console autologin
  • DNS that works on Android, on any resolver stack - QEMU's built-in resolver cannot work there
  • the guest console resized to the app's terminal at login and before every prompt
  • snaps masked and cloud-init switched off after the first boot, so no background chores steal emulated CPU

Requirements

  • ARM64 device, Android 13-16 (API 33-36), no root and no Samsung system APIs
  • ~4 GB free storage; 8 GB+ RAM recommended for a desktop guest
  • Samsung DeX is supported but not required

Full Changelog: https://github.com/CRUNZEX/Linux-on-Dex/commits/v1.0.0

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