Installing Applications

From tap to running app

ADL gives you access to thousands of Linux applications through the same package manager that powers Ubuntu servers and desktops worldwide. If you have never installed software from a command line before, this guide will walk you through everything you need to know.

How Software Installation Works in ADL

Unlike Android, where you tap "Install" in the Play Store, ADL uses a command-line tool called APT (Advanced Package Tool) to install, update, and remove software. APT connects to online repositories that contain pre-built software packages, downloads them, and sets everything up for you automatically.

If you want to understand how package managers work in more detail, see What Is a Package Manager?.

⭐Best Practice

Always update your package lists before installing new software. This ensures APT knows about the latest available versions.

$apt update

Finding Software

Before you install something, you need to know its package name. The package name is not always the same as the application name you are used to. For example, the Firefox browser is packaged as firefox, but the VLC media player is packaged as vlc.

Searching for Packages

Use apt search followed by a keyword to find packages:

$apt search web browser

This returns a list of packages with "web" and "browser" in their name or description. The output can be long, so you can narrow it down:

$apt search --names-only firefox

Getting Package Details

Once you find a package, check its details before installing:

$apt show vlc

This tells you the package version, size, dependencies, and a description of what it does.

Installing Software

To install a package, use apt install followed by the package name:

$apt install vlc -y

The -y flag automatically confirms the installation so you do not have to type "yes" manually.

You can install multiple packages at once:

$apt install gimp inkscape audacity -y

✅💡 Tip

If you are not sure whether a package is already installed, go ahead and run the install command. APT will simply tell you it is already at the latest version.

Removing Software

To remove an application you no longer need:

$apt remove vlc -y

To remove the application and its configuration files:

$apt purge vlc -y

After removing packages, clean up leftover dependencies that are no longer needed:

$apt autoremove -y

Updating Software

Keep all of your installed software up to date with two commands:

$apt update && apt upgrade -y

The first command refreshes the list of available packages. The second downloads and installs any newer versions.

⭐Best Practice

Run updates regularly, at least once a week, to get security patches and bug fixes.

ARM Architecture: What You Need to Know

ADL runs on Android devices, which use ARM processors (arm64/aarch64). This has an important consequence for software compatibility.

⚠️Warning

Only ARM-compatible packages (arm64/aarch64) work in ADL. Software built for x86 or x86_64 (standard PC processors) will not run. Most packages in the Ubuntu repositories are available for ARM, but some third-party software may only provide x86 builds.

When downloading software from outside APT (such as .deb files from a project's website), always select the arm64 or aarch64 version. If only an x86/amd64 version is available, that software will not work in ADL.

How to Check a Package's Architecture

You can verify that a package supports ARM before installing:

$apt show firefox | grep Architecture

The output should say arm64. If it says amd64, the package is not compatible.

Recommended Applications

The following table lists well-tested applications that run reliably on ADL. All of these are available through APT and support ARM.

Web Browsers

Application	Package Name	Description
Firefox	firefox	Full-featured browser with extension support
Chromium	chromium-browser	Open-source version of Chrome
Midori	midori	Lightweight browser, good for low-RAM devices

Office and Productivity

Application	Package Name	Description
LibreOffice	libreoffice	Full office suite (documents, spreadsheets, presentations)
AbiWord	abiword	Lightweight word processor
Gnumeric	gnumeric	Lightweight spreadsheet editor
Evince	evince	PDF and document viewer
Mousepad	mousepad	Simple text editor (included with XFCE)

Development Tools

Application	Package Name	Description
VS Code (OSS)	code-oss	Code editor with extension support
Vim	vim	Terminal-based text editor
Git	git	Version control system
Python 3	python3	Python programming language
Node.js	nodejs	JavaScript runtime
GCC	gcc	C/C++ compiler

Media

Application	Package Name	Description
VLC	vlc	Plays almost any audio or video format
GIMP	gimp	Image editor (similar to Photoshop)
Inkscape	inkscape	Vector graphics editor
Audacity	audacity	Audio recording and editing
mpv	mpv	Lightweight video player

Utilities

Application	Package Name	Description
Thunar	thunar	File manager (included with XFCE)
XFCE Terminal	xfce4-terminal	Terminal emulator (included with XFCE)
Htop	htop	System resource monitor
Neofetch	neofetch	System information display
File Roller	file-roller	Archive manager (zip, tar, etc.)

✅💡 Tip

Start with lightweight applications if your device has limited RAM (4 GB or less). Midori instead of Firefox, AbiWord instead of LibreOffice, and mpv instead of VLC will all use significantly less memory.

Installing a Starter Pack

To install a solid set of everyday applications in one command:

$apt install firefox libreoffice vlc gimp htop file-roller -y

Installing Software From Outside APT

Some applications are not available in the Ubuntu repositories. In those cases you may find .deb files on the project's website. To install a downloaded .deb file:

$apt install ./package-name.deb -y

⚠️Warning

Only install .deb files from sources you trust. Unlike APT repository packages, standalone .deb files are not verified by Ubuntu's package signing system. Always download the arm64 version.

Troubleshooting

"Unable to locate package"

This usually means either the package name is wrong or your package lists are outdated. Run apt update and try again. You can also search for the correct name:

$apt update && apt search your-keyword

"Has no installation candidate"

The package exists in the repository metadata but has no ARM build available. Look for an alternative application that supports ARM.

Broken dependencies

If an installation fails because of dependency problems, try:

$apt --fix-broken install -y

ℹ️Note

If you continue to run into problems installing a specific application, check whether it is known to work on ARM-based Ubuntu systems. Some software is only built for x86 and has no ARM version available.