Start here
Estimated time: 5 minutes · Difficulty: Beginner · Requirements: none · Expected outcome: you know what the Get Started wizard does, what it cannot promise, and which words matter.
What this site helps you do
Android Desktop Linux helps you answer three questions, in order:
- Can my Android phone run a Linux desktop? — assessed across separate dimensions (memory, storage, Android version, display output, and more), each with its own confidence level.
- Which Linux setup fits me? — a transparent recommendation for a distribution, desktop environment, display method, and accessories, with the reasoning shown for every choice.
- How exactly do I set it up? — a personalized, step-by-step guide from the first app install to a working desktop, where every command says where to run it and what should happen.
The Get Started wizard does all three. It runs entirely in your browser: no account, and your answers never leave your device.
What the guided installer does
- Asks about your device, goals, experience, display, input devices, and audio — “I don't know” is always a valid answer.
- Looks your device up in the ADL compatibility catalog; unknown devices get honest specification-based results, never automatic rejection.
- Generates an installation guide tailored to your configuration, with checkpoints, troubleshooting links, backups, and a removal path.
- Optionally imports a device report generated on the phone itself, because a browser cannot reliably detect Android hardware.
What it cannot guarantee
A compatibility result is an estimate built from evidence, and the evidence quality is always shown (officially documented → verified by ADL → community reports → inferred from specifications → unknown). Android updates, One UI changes, Termux releases, and Linux packages all move — something that worked last month can change. That is why every material claim in ADL carries a source and a verification date, and why the wizard requires an explicit risk acknowledgment before showing executable instructions.
Basic terminology
- Termux — a terminal app for Android; everything runs inside it. See What is Termux?
- proot — the user-space trick that lets a full Linux system run inside Termux without root. See What is proot?
- Termux:X11 — the app that displays your Linux desktop. See Termux:X11
- Distribution (distro) — the Linux system itself (Debian, Ubuntu, Alpine, Arch).
- Desktop environment — the graphical interface (Xfce, MATE, LXQt, KDE Plasma). See What is a desktop environment?
Rootless vs. rooted
Everything ADL's guided path installs is rootless: it runs in user space, changes nothing about Android itself, and uninstalls cleanly. The “root” user you may meet inside the Linux environment is simulated by proot — it is not Android root. Rooting a phone or unlocking a bootloader is a separate path with different risks, and it is not part of the default route. See What Linux on Android means.
Summary
The wizard assesses, recommends, and guides — transparently and locally. Nothing is guaranteed; everything is explained.