AptDesk

Linux Desktop in your Browser — from your Android phone. No root required.

Features • Quick Start • How It Works • Building • FAQ

AptDesk turns any Android device into a portable Linux desktop server. Install the app, press Start, and open http://<phone-ip>:8080 from any browser on your network. You get a full Ubuntu XFCE desktop with a terminal, file browser, and apt package manager — all running locally on your phone via PRoot.

No laptop required. No cloud subscription. No root access.

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Features

• One-tap Linux desktop — Press Start, open your browser. XFCE desktop with VNC via noVNC.
• GPU Acceleration (v0.2.0+) — Built-in VirGL hardware GPU acceleration. Offloads 3D, OpenGL, and WebGL rendering from the container to your Android host's physical GPU (Mali, Adreno, etc.).
• Built-in terminal — Web-based shell via ttyd at http://<ip>:8081. Full bash access from any device.
• File browser — Upload, download, and manage files from your browser at http://<ip>:8083/filesapp.
• Software manager — Search, install, and remove apt packages from the web UI.
• System dashboard — Real-time CPU, RAM, disk, battery, and uptime monitoring.
• No root — Uses PRoot to run an isolated Linux filesystem without kernel modifications. Safe on stock Android.
• Dark theme — Material 3 dark theme with Jetpack Compose.
• Factory reset — Reset desktop configuration without touching personal files.
• Works offline — Fully local on your LAN. No internet required after initial setup.

Quick Start

1. Download the latest APK from Releases.
2. Install on any Android 7+ (API 26+) device.
3. Open the app and tap Start Backend.
4. Wait for the Ubuntu rootfs to download and extract (~2-5 minutes on first run).
5. Open http://<phone-ip>:8080 from any browser on the same network.

Your desktop IP is shown on the app screen after startup.

Access Points

Service	URL	Description
Desktop	http://<ip>:8080	XFCE desktop via noVNC
Terminal	http://<ip>:8081	Web-based bash shell
Files	http://<ip>:8083/filesapp	File browser & manager

How It Works

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│               Android Device                 │
│  ┌────────────────────────────────────────┐  │
│  │      AptDesk App (Kotlin + Compose)    │  │
│  │  ┌──────────────────────────────────┐  │  │
│  │  │        PRoot (no root)           │  │  │
│  │  │  ┌────────────────────────────┐  │  │  │
│  │  │  │  Ubuntu XFCE Rootfs        │  │  │  │
│  │  │  │ ┌──────┐ ┌──────┐ ┌──────┐ │  │  │  │
│  │  │  │ │Xvfb  │ │ttyd  │ │File  │ │  │  │  │
│  │  │  │ │VNC   │ │bash  │ │Brows.│ │  │  │  │
│  │  │  │ │noVNC │ │      │ │      │ │  │  │  │
│  │  │  │ └──────┘ └──────┘ └──────┘ │  │  │  │
│  │  │  │ ┌──────────────────────┐   │  │  │  │
│  │  │  │ │ Caddy Reverse Proxy  │   │  │  │  │
│  │  │  │ └──────────────────────┘   │  │  │  │
│  │  │  └────────────────────────────┘  │  │  │
│  │  └──────────────────────────────────┘  │  │
│  └────────────────────────────────────────┘  │
│            LAN  (port 8080)                  │
└─────────────┼────────────────────────────────┘
              │
    ┌─────────┴─────────┐
    │   Any Browser     │
    │ (Phone, Tablet,   │
    │  Laptop, Desktop) │
    └───────────────────┘

The app downloads a prebuilt Ubuntu rootfs from GitHub Releases. On startup, it launches PRoot with the rootfs, starts Xvfb (virtual display), x0vncserver + noVNC for desktop access, ttyd for terminal, filebrowser for file management, and Caddy as the reverse proxy — all wrapped in a single foreground service.

GPU Acceleration (VirGL)

Starting in v0.2.0, AptDesk includes hardware-accelerated rendering. When enabled, a host-side libvirgl_test_server process is spawned on the Android device. Inside the guest container, the Mesa driver is configured to use the virpipe driver (GALLIUM_DRIVER=virpipe). All 3D rendering and WebGL commands are serialized and sent over an isolated UNIX socket (cacheDir/virgl-shared/.virgl_test) to the host, which renders them directly on your phone's physical GPU (e.g. Mali, Adreno) at native hardware speeds.

To ensure stability in headless VNC environments, XFCE compositing is automatically disabled on boot.

Building

Requires Android Studio Hedgehog or later.

git clone https://github.com/thozoz/AptDesk.git
cd AptDesk
./gradlew assembleDebug

The debug APK will be at app/build/outputs/apk/debug/app-debug.apk.

Building the Rootfs

The custom, optimized Ubuntu XFCE rootfs can be rebuilt and packaged using the provided scripts:

• On Linux (Native):

  cd docker
  chmod +x build-rootfs.sh
  ./build-rootfs.sh

• On Windows (WSL + Docker Desktop): Run the PowerShell wrapper script to automate the build inside WSL:

  cd docker
  .\docker.ps1

  (Optional: Use -NoCache to force rebuild without Docker cache)

Requirements

• Android Studio Hedgehog (2023.1.1) or later
• JDK 17
• Android SDK 34

Project Structure

AptDesk/
├── app/                    # Android app module
│   ├── src/main/java/      # Kotlin source
│   │   ├── MainActivity.kt       # Compose UI
│   │   ├── MainService.kt        # Foreground service
│   │   ├── ProotManager.kt       # PRoot lifecycle
│   │   ├── RootfsManager.kt      # Rootfs download/extract
│   │   ├── WebServer.kt          # nanohttpd REST API
│   │   ├── AptDeskState.kt       # State management
│   │   └── NetworkInfo.kt        # IP detection
│   └── jniLibs/            # PRoot & VirGL host rendering ARM64 binaries (libproot.so, libvirgl_test_server.so, etc.)
├── docker/                 # Rootfs build scripts
│   ├── Dockerfile.ubuntu-xfce    # Ubuntu XFCE rootfs build
│   ├── build-rootfs.sh           # Rootfs packaging script (runs on Linux or WSL)
│   └── docker.ps1                # PowerShell wrapper script for Windows/WSL
├── configs/
│   └── Caddyfile           # Caddy reverse proxy config
├── scripts/
│   └── setup-rootfs.sh     # Rootfs post-install setup
└── build.gradle.kts        # Root Gradle config

FAQ

Does this need root? No. PRoot runs in userspace without any kernel modifications. Safe on stock, unrooted Android.

Does it support GPU acceleration? Yes! v0.2.0+ includes built-in VirGL GPU acceleration. This offloads WebGL, browser rendering, and 3D graphics to your phone's hardware GPU (Mali, Adreno, etc.). It can be toggled on or off from the Settings panel.

Is it slow? Terminal and file operations are snappy. With GPU acceleration enabled, WebGL and 3D rendering run at hardware speeds (locked to your phone screen's refresh rate, e.g., 60Hz, 120Hz, or 144Hz, to prevent overheating and save battery). VNC desktop GUI itself has minor network latency, similar to any web-based remote desktop.

Can I install any Linux package? Yes. The built-in software manager runs apt-get inside the rootfs. Search, install, and remove packages from the web UI.

Does it need internet? Internet is needed only for the initial rootfs download. After that, everything runs locally on your LAN.

Will it drain my battery? The app runs as a foreground service. Expect moderate battery impact. Use the Stop Backend button when not in use, or keep your device plugged in for long sessions.

Can I access it from outside my home network? Not directly — the server binds to your LAN. For remote access, set up a VPN (Tailscale, WireGuard, etc.) to your home network.

Does it work on tablets? Yes. On tablets you can run AptDesk and open the browser in split-screen — desktop on one side, your work on the other.

How do I stop it? Open the app and tap Stop Backend, or swipe the notification away.

License

MIT