pRoot and Linux Distributions

You’ll notice that the solutions in this article, as well as Termux, rely on pRoot to host the Linux distributions that run on Android.

It may make it seem like pRoot itself is an Android utility, but it isn’t. It’s a general userspace implementation of chroot.

What this means is that you can use pRoot to install ‘jailed’ Linux distributions on any compatible host OS. You can most likely install it from your distro’s repositories ( sudo apt install proot will work on Ubuntu), or download it from the project’s website https://proot-me.github.io. Once it’s installed, you’ll need to find a compatible root filesystem for the pRoot. The Downloads section of the site has some places where you can download these, while the Examples section shows some common command options.

This would allow normal (non-root) users to try out some alternative distributions within their own home directory. Another neat trick is to use it to test out applications for other CPU architectures. Finally, while most ‘jailed’ or ‘containerised’ apps operate only within their own space, pRoot offers bind support.

This would allow you to grant access to files outside the ‘jail’ to the pRoot’s OS.