Full Linux on the Phone in Your Pocket

ApophisOS is an Android application that runs a full Arch Linux environment with KDE Plasma desktop directly on your phone or tablet — no root required, no second boot, no hardware modifications. It uses proot-style containerization to run a complete Linux userspace on top of the Android kernel.

You get a real terminal. A real package manager. Real desktop applications. Everything you'd expect from a Linux workstation, in your pocket, on the hardware you already own.

Full Linux. Always.

The smartphone was supposed to be a computer in your pocket. Instead it became a locked-down appliance controlled by two corporations. ApophisOS is the counter to that.

Our goal is simple: Linux is your primary operating environment, all day, every day. You live in the Plasma desktop. You run real Linux applications. You have a terminal always available. You install software with a package manager, not a curated app store.

Android stays in the background — handling phone calls, SMS, camera, GPS, and the hardware layer it does well. When you need to take a call, you take the call. When the call ends, you're back in Linux.

This is the hybrid Linux phone. Not PostmarketOS — which requires flashing your device and sacrificing camera and calls. Not raw Termux — which is a terminal emulator, not a desktop. ApophisOS is a full Plasma desktop that lives alongside Android, using what Android does well while taking everything else back.

Your phone is a Linux computer. Act like it.

GigLife Gaming & Computer Services

Founded by a veteran software developer with over 20 years of experience — including time spent working in Silicon Valley at the heart of the tech industry. After a workplace injury in 2017 ended a long career in traditional development, we pivoted to what we love most — building software that actually solves real problems for real people.

Since then we have designed websites, built apps, and created tools that put powerful technology in the hands of everyday users. ApophisOS is our flagship project and the clearest expression of our mission — bringing full Linux to the average person, on the hardware they already own, without the technical barriers that have kept Linux out of reach for most people.

Connect with the Developer

Have a question about ApophisOS? Need install help? Want to report a bug or suggest a feature? Reach out directly — no support ticket, no bot, just the developer.

Or email redneckefhutton@gmail.com

Step-by-Step

$ adb push ApophisOS_v0_5_2_signed.apk /sdcard/Download/  
# Get the APK from payhip.com/apophisOS first

$ adb uninstall app.trierarch

Update Arch & Install Plasma

After the rootfs downloads you land in a terminal. Run these commands one at a time.

$ pacman -Syu

$ pacman -S plasma-desktop konsole firefox

dbus-run-session -- env PLASMA_PLATFORM=tablet startplasma-wayland

$ kwriteconfig6 --file kwinrc --group Windows --key BorderlessMaximizedWindows true
$ kwriteconfig6 --file kwinrc --group Windows --key Placement Maximized
$ kwriteconfig6 --file kdeglobals --group KDE --key SingleClick true
$ kwriteconfig6 --file baloofilerc --group "Basic Settings" --key Indexing-Enabled false
$ qdbus org.kde.KWin /KWin reconfigure

Configure the Startup Script

The Display button in the side menu runs a configurable script to launch your session. Set this once after installing Plasma.

dbus-launch --exit-with-session startplasma-wayland

$ rm -f /var/lib/pacman/db.lck
$ pacman -Syu

Add a User — Stop Running as Root

By default ApophisOS runs as root. This works but is bad practice — a misconfigured script running as root can wipe your entire Linux environment. Takes five minutes and is worth doing before daily use.

# pacman -S sudo

# useradd -m -g users -G wheel,audio,video,storage -s /bin/bash yourusername

# passwd yourusername

# EDITOR=nano visudo

# %wheel ALL=(ALL:ALL) ALL

%wheel ALL=(ALL:ALL) ALL

su - yourusername -c "dbus-launch --exit-with-session startplasma-wayland"

su - yourusername -c "dbus-run-session -- startplasmamobile"

# su - yourusername
$ sudo pacman -Syu

# cp -r /root/.config /home/yourusername/
chown -R yourusername:users /home/yourusername/.config

Firefox with PWA Support

Firefox is the recommended browser for ApophisOS. It runs without sandbox issues in proot and supports PWAs via the PWAsForFirefox extension — PWA icons launch directly from the desktop without needing the browser open first.

$ pacman -Sy
$ pacman -S firefox

$ echo 'MOZ_DISABLE_CONTENT_SANDBOX=1' >> /etc/environment
$ echo 'MOZ_DISABLE_GFX_SANDBOX=1' >> /etc/environment

$ MOZ_DISABLE_CONTENT_SANDBOX=1 firefox --no-sandbox

https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/pwas-for-firefox/

$ mkdir -p /etc/xdg/menus
$ cat > /etc/xdg/menus/applications.menu << 'EOF'
<!DOCTYPE Menu PUBLIC "-//freedesktop//DTD Menu 1.0//EN"
  "http://www.freedesktop.org/standards/menu-spec/menu-1.0.dtd">
<Menu>
  <Name>Applications</Name>
  <DefaultAppDirs/>
  <DefaultDirectoryDirs/>
  <DefaultMergeDirs/>
</Menu>
EOF
$ kbuildsycoca6 --noincremental

Install Any App to Your Desktop

Download All Three APKs

Set Up ApophisOS Terminal

Open ApophisOS Terminal and complete these steps in order before running any other commands.

Pick a Distribution

Tap any card to reveal the verified install and login commands. All distros work with ApophisOS Display and XFCE4.

Pick a Desktop Environment

All of these work with ApophisOS Display (Termux:X11). Run the install command inside your distro after logging in. Tap a card to see the commands.

Create Your User Account

Run these inside your chosen distro after installing the desktop environment.

Download the Start Script

This script from LinuxDroidMaster/Termux-Desktops handles starting PulseAudio, the X11 display server, and launching XFCE4 in the right order.

Start on Boot Automatically

Configure ApophisOS Boot to launch your desktop every time you unlock your phone.

Common Fixes