Before reading.
This article requires that your phone is Rooted and has Busybox installed.
HTC owners, S-off your phone as well.
Android is a great operating system for SmartPhones. Only problem with it (From a more technical users point of view) is the small useless bad excuse of a linux system running behind the UI. Some of the smaller issues can be fixed by installing Busybox that provides a better basic set of tools to work with, but it's not enough. What I would like is to be able to use almost any real linux cli application, daemon, library etc. Also some compilers would be great. I'm using an HTC desire which has more than enough power to do things like compiling (I know, I have done it.), and so has a lot of other SmartPhones. Why would one need this when there is cross compilers you can use on regular and faster machines? Well, because It's fun, why else. I did not spend all that money on a SmartPhones just to make a few phone calls and write a few text messages. My old Sony Ericsson did that quite well. I spend that money to get a phone with many possibilities that I could play with.
I tried to search the web for some helping instructions on how to port a real linux system to this phone. What I mostly got, was people who ported linux systems that would run as an extra OS on the phone, some even with an Xserver accessible via VNC. Sounds fun, but not what I was after. I did not want an extra OS using CPU and unnecessary RAM. I just wanted some extra tools, libs etc to work with and the regular linux user management. I managed to find an old article from someone using Debians armel version on an old G1 phone. I thought that if it worked on that phone, it would be possible to do so on mine. So I started playing around with that.
The way this works is by installing a bare minimum debian on an second partition. This will not boot anything up since it will just work as extra tools and lib using the already booted android linux system.. You will still only have one OS but more tools (Including the nice APT package system) to work with.
Now there is two ways of using debian on android.
The first way is to setup the Debian in an chroot environment. This has some flaws like I have not yet been able to make the chroot start second jobs, which means that you will be able to start applications and daemons running in the current shell session. But you will not be able to make them run in the background. But as an development environment it will still work great, as you will be able to use the Debian libs and compilers.
The second way (The way I was after) is to setup Debian using the UAFS kernel module. This is used to merge directories into one with different rules for each. For an example you would be able to merge /debian_root/etc and /system/etc into a shared /etc with RW on Debians etc and RO on Androids forcing any changes to be made in /debian_root/etc. Using this option you will use Debian to extend the Android Linux part. Android UI with Debian Shell.
This article is split into 3 parts. The first part is the setup of Debian. Must be done whether you want chroot or a merged system. In the second part we will cover the setup of the chroot environment.
The third part is the setup of the merged system. This will require one thing in order to work.
You will need a kernel with the uafs module which is not default in most android kernels. You will need to compile your own kernel. People using the Thalamus kernel, can download a kernel with this module kernel-2.6.37.2_AUFS.zip. A big thanks to Thalamus for providing this. Note that this kernel was a special request from me that he was kind enough to provide. It comes with absolutely no guaranties. Do not email spam him about errors you might encounter using it as this is not an official release.
Note that once you mount the Debian system, you will not be able to mount the SD Card when connecting it to your PC. You can download the App “Multi Mount SD-Card” from Market which will be able to mount your SD Card on your PC while mounted on your phone. This app should also speed up transfers on 2.6.37 kernels, or so I have heard.
Part 1: Building Debian
We are going to run debian from a file containing a ext2 filesystem. If your SD Card is big enough you might be able to create an extra partition and force it to mount as something else other than ext-sd, but in this article we are going to use a partitioned file.
Also, this will require that you have the tool “debootstrap” on your PC. This is found in Ubuntu and Debian, dont know about other Linux distro's or Operating systems. If you don't use Linux or an distro with debootstrap you can download a Ubuntu Live CD from the Ubuntu website. This can be run on CD, DVD and USB disks without installing it. For this article I have used Ubuntu 10.10.
Open a terminal on your Ubuntu/Debian/LiveCD PC and cd to the folder where you want to temp. store your debian. I will call this path “debian_dir”
The first thing we will do is to create the partitioned file.
I'm creating a file with 1.5GB of space. You can create the size you want.
Don't use 0 in the size, dd don't like that.
Code:
cd debian_dir
dd if=/dev/zero of=debian.img seek=1499999999 bs=1 count=1
mke2fs -F debian.img
mkdir debian
mount -o loop debian.img debian/
Now that we have created the file and mounted it, we should download and place debian inside of it. First we will install debootstrap.
Code:
apt-get install debootstrap
debootstrap --arch armel --foreign squeeze debian http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian
umount debian/
Debian Squeeze is Debian 6.0 which replaces the old Lenny.
Copy the debian.img file to your SD Card on your phone. I placed mine in the root of the SD Card.
Now open a terminal on your phone. You can download one from market. There are some free once, but the paid “Better Terminal” is the best to work with in my opinion.
Note: All shell work is done on the phone from now on.
First we need some temp. exports.
Type the fallowing:
Code:
export PATH=/bin:/sbin:/usr/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/local/sbin:$PATH
export HOME=/root
export TERM=linux
export DM=/data/local/debian
export DI=/sdcard/debian.img
Now we will create the Debian dir and then create a loop device which we will use to mount the Debian image to the Debian dir.
Code:
mkdir -d $DM
mknod /dev/loop0 b 7 0
mount -o loop,noatime $DI $DM
Now that we have debian mounted in our debian folder, we need to finalize the installation. Not all files as been installed yet. Don't forget to activate Mobile Network or Wifi.
chroot $DM /debootstrap/debootstrap –second-stage
We also need to insert the debian repository and a DNS (I use OpenDNS).
You can use whatever you want for the DNS, you routers IP for an example. It should have some default Ips configured.
Code:
echo “deb http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian squeeze main contrib non-free” > $DM/etc/apt/sources.list
echo “208.67.222.222” > $DM/etc/resolv.conf
Now change the root to the debian dir and set a root password and make sure that certain folders already exists.
Code:
chroot $DM /bin/bash
passwd root
mkdir root
exit
Now we need to make sure that certain variables exists and that the values is as they should be. So we will alter the /system/bin/sh that android uses as login shell.
Code:
cd /system/bin
mv sh sh0
Create a new /system/bin/sh file with the fallowing content.
This will ensure that these variables is created and/or changed every time you enter a new shell session. You can call another shell like bash or ash instead /system/xbin/sh, just make sure to use ash or sh at the top, since bash does not seam to understand [email protected]
Warning: It is very important that the /system/bin/sh file is made correct. Android will not boot if anything is wrong with this file. It should be exactly like the one I posted, and you cannot make it on your PC and push it to the phone. Don't know why, it works fine with other shell scripts, but not that one.
Enter an adb shell from your PC and use vi or nano (You can download nano here here) to copy and paste the content directly into the ADB Shell.
Note: ADB from the recovery will always work. It does not use /system/bin/sh
Code:
#!/system/xbin/sh
/system/xbin/sh --login [email protected]
Make sure that it has execute rights. Then type sh in the terminal to make sure that it works before you close your ADB Shell session.
Code:
chmod a+x /system/bin/sh
sh
sh0 will not be used, it's up to you wether you want to save it or not. Just make sure that /system/xbin/sh exists, otherwise
copy /system/bin/sh0 to /system/xbin/sh.
Now we need the profile file that is needed by this method. This file will make sure that we have all our variables and the data that they should contain.
Android does not keep very good track of these things. Place this data in the file /system/etc/profile
Code:
export TERM=linux
export TERMINFO=/etc/terminfo
export PATH=/bin:/sbin:/usr/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/local/sbin:/vendor/bin:/system/bin:/system/xbin
if [ "$EUID" == "0" ]; then
if [ -z "$HOME" ] || [ -z "$USER" ] || [ -z "$GROUPS" ]; then
export HOME=/root
export USER=root
export GROUPS=0
fi
else
# Make sure that this user id variable exists.
if [ -z $EUID ]; then
export EUID=$(echo $(id | cut -d "(" -f 1) | cut -d "=" -f 2)
fi
# If we have an /etc/passwd file available,
# we should also make sure to get name, group and home info from that file and
# store in the default linux variables.
if [ -f /etc/passwd ]; then
# Create the user info variables based on user id and /etc/passwd
export USER=$(grep "x:${EUID}:" /etc/passwd | cut -d : -f 1)
export GROUPS=$(grep "x:${EUID}:" /etc/passwd | cut -d : -f 4)
export HOME=$(grep "x:${EUID}:" /etc/passwd | cut -d : -f 6)
fi
fi
export ADID=$EUID
if [ "$PS1" ]; then
if [ "$BASH" ]; then
# The file bash.bashrc already sets the default PS1.
if [ ! -z $HOME ] && [ -f $HOME/.bashrc ]; then
. $HOME/.bashrc
elif [ -f /etc/bash.bashrc ]; then
. /etc/bash.bashrc
else
export PS1='\h:\W\$ '
fi
else
if [ "$EUID" == "0" ]; then
PS1='\w # '
else
PS1='\w $ '
fi
fi
else
PS1='\h:\W\$ '
fi
if [ -d /etc/profile.d ]; then
for i in /etc/profile.d/*.sh; do
if [ -r $i ]; then
. $i
fi
done
unset i
fi
We will also need an /etc/bash.bashrc which is needed because /etc/profile not always gets executed.
Code:
if [ "$ADID" != "$EUID" ]; then
# Some times /etc/profile is not executed (For an example when using Androids su command).
# /etc/bash.bashrc however it used instead. So we just execute it manually in these cases.
# If you create a local bashrc ($HOME/.bashrc), remember to include this check.
# /etc/bash.bachrc is not used when a local file exists.
if [ -f /etc/profile ]; then
. /etc/profile
# Since /etc/profile links back to this file,
# we will make sure not to start an unending loop.
# the profile file should update this, but it's better to be on the safe side.
if [ "$ADID" != "$EUID" ]; then
export ADID=$EUID
fi
fi
fi
PS1='\h:\W\$ '
And last we have some user and group configurations in order to make Debian better work with Android. Open your Android terminal emulator and make sure it opens as user and not root. Now type "/system/xbin/id".
What we need here is the uid, gid and the ids of each accosiated groups along with the names of it all. In my terminal I have "uid=10048(app_48) gid=10048(app_48) groups=1015(sdcard_rw),3003(inet)".
What we will do it create this user along with the groups in our Debian inveroment. However, I use the uid name and gid name "bterm" instead of app_48, but still with the original IDs. The inet and sdcard_rw groups will be created as system groups. Do the same for your app user and group if you don't want any login possibilities with this user. I however have assigned home and password to this user.
This needs to be doen in chroot
Code:
chroot $DM /bin/bash
groupadd --system --gid 1015 sdcard_rw
groupadd --system --gid 3003 inet
groupadd --gid 10048 bterm
adduser --home /home/bterm --gid 10048 --uid 10048 bterm
gpasswd -a bterm sdcard_rw
gpasswd -a bterm inet
exit
Now your ready for the next step. Remember that the user you have created, is the user used by your terminal emulator when you are not logged on as root. This ID is only assigned to that specific app, if you install another terminal, it will get another ID.
Part 2 – Setting up a chroot environment
The best way of doing this is to make two small scripts and place them in /system/bin or /system/xbin. One script for doing the mount after phone boot. And one script for entering the chroot when open a new shell session.
Here is the mounting script that I call mkdebian.
This needs to be executed once every time the phone has rebooted. If your ROM supports init scripts, you can add it there for auto-mount on boot.
Code:
#!/system/bin/sh
export DM=/data/local/debian
export DI=/sdcard/debian.img
# Create the loop device and mount the debian image
mknod /dev/loop0 b 7 0
mount -o loop,noatime $DI $DM
# Let's make sure that we can access our sd card from within the chroot
if [ ! -d "$DM/mnt/sdcard" ]; then
mkdir $DM/mnt/sdcard
fi
mount --bind /mnt/sdcard $DM/mnt/sdcard
# Now we make sure that the chroot has access to all the device maps
if [ ! -d "$DM/dev" ]; then
mkdir $DM/dev
fi
mount --bind /dev $DM/dev
# We also need to make proc, sys etc available from within the chroot
chroot $DM mount -t proc proc /proc
chroot $DM mount -t sysfs sysfs /sys
# And last fix the mtab
chroot $DM rm -f /etc/mtab
chroot $DM ln -s /proc/mounts /etc/mtab
echo “Debian was mounted in $DM/”
Now for the script that I called “debian”.
This script will make you enter the chroot environment using one single command. Every time you exist the debian chroot, you can enter back using the command “debian”.
Code:
#!/system/bin/sh
chroot /data/local/debian/ /bin/bash
And that is it. Open a terminal, type debian and start using your debian environment. It might be a good idea to run aptitude update or apt-get update before you start using the package manager.
Part 3 – Settings up a merged Android/Debian environment
This is the fun part to play with. A merged Android/Debian environment without the usage of chroot. This only requires a script to be executed at boot, or after boot.
Remember that this will not work unless your kernel has the aufs module.
Code:
#!/system/xbin/sh
export DM=/data/local/debian
export DI=/mnt/sdcard/debian.img
# Now we mount the debian image to our debian folder.
mknod /dev/loop0 b 7 0
mount -o loop,noatime $DI $DM
# These two directories exists in both android and debian,
# so these are going to be merged together.
mount -t aufs -o dirs=$DM/etc=rw:/system/etc=ro aufs /system/etc
# For some reason, mounting /sbin with aufs does not work.
# So we make a little cheat with symbolic links instead.
mount -o remount,rw /
mv /sbin /sbin0
ln -s $DM/sbin /
rm -rf /sbin/adbd
rm -rf /sbin/ueventd
ln -s /sbin0/adbd /sbin/
ln -s /sbin0/ueventd /sbin/
# Let's get all the debian root directories out to the real root dir.
rm -rf /root
for x in tmp root lib bin boot home media opt selinux srv usr var
do
ln -s $DM/$x /
done
if [ -f /system/xbin/bash ]; then
mount --bind /bin/bash /system/xbin/bash
mount --bin /system/xbin/bash /system/xbin/sh
else
mount --bind /bin/bash /system/xbin/sh
fi
echo "Debian has been merged with Android..."
Run this at startup and start using all of debians possibilities (Don't run it yet).
The / dir is left with RW permissions. If this is set to RO then apt-get will not work. It writes tmp log files to this dir when running. It does not matter since all changes to this dir is restored to default on every boot.
Also dont forget to run apt-get update or aptitude update to update the package list.
You are now able to install and run almost anything (CLI Only) that runs on debian systems and other linux dists. Personally I'm currently running OpenSSH Server and Lighttpd with PHP. A perfect small transportable web server.
You can use either /etc/init.d/[your service] start
or
service [your service] start
to start daemons you have installed.
Now you can use the "mkdebian" command to merge your new Debian with Android.
Note: The command “su” from debian works differently than the android “su” command.
The debian command uses the regular linux management to provide access which means that it will ask for your root password that you created in the first part. The android command will just provide you with su rights without a password. Both commands provides su rights to both android and debian, so it is possible to remove the android command and create a new Android/Java based SU app for the Android UI that will require root password.
Note: There is a small problem with the Android "su" command. It does not recheck the /etc/profile.
That means that if you log on using the regular user, and then uses the "su" command, user variables does not get updated with su paths.
Using the Debian "su" command will work fine, just note that this command will promp for password. Also logging in using the root account
directly works fine.
Good luck
[Edit: 2011-03-09 11:06]
- Changed the /etc/profile script in Part 1
- Added /etc/bash.bashrc script in Part 1
- Changed User and Group setup and moved it from Part 3 to Part 1
- Fixed error in /system/bin/sh
All of this will fix some permission problems with Debian
[Edit: 2011-03-08 11:21]
- Fixed problems with user management by adding an /etc/profile and changing /system/bin/sh and the debian merge script. Using the "login" command is no longer needed.
[Edit: 2011-03-07 08:49]
- Fixed bug in Part 1 sh script.
[Edit: 2011-03-07 00:20]
- Added a new /system/bin/sh script to Part 1
- Added the way we create missing users and groups in Part 3
[Edit: 2011-03-06 19:36]
- Inserted a warning text in part 1 about avoiding problems when creating a new /system/bin/sh.
Applying Host name
If you want to set a custom hostname for your phone, you can create an init script (If your ROM supports it).
Code:
#!/system/bin/sh
# Get the hostname if it exists, or set it to localhost
if [ -f /system/etc/hostname ]; then
_HOSTNAME=$(cat /system/etc/hostname)
if [ -z $_HOSTNAME ]; then
_HOSTNAME=localhost
fi
else
_HOSTNAME=localhost
fi
# Update the Hostname
echo "$_HOSTNAME" > /proc/sys/kernel/hostname
# Update the hosts file
echo "127.0.0.1 localhost.localdomain localhost" > /etc/hosts
# If the hostname is not localhost, we add one more line to the hosts file
if [ "$_HOSTNAME" != "localhost" ]; then
echo "127.0.0.1 $_HOSTNAME" >> /etc/hosts
fi
This will look in /system/etc/ for the regular linux hostname file. If it exists, it will take the hostname from that file and set as the global hostname.
If it does not exist, "localhost" is used instead. Also it creates the /system/etc/hosts file.
Add or Edit your hostname like this.
Code:
echo "myhostname" > /system/etc/hostname
Note: Remember to delete the hosts and hostname files in your debian /etc/ dir when using merged environment. Otherwise they will overwrite the once in /system/etc/ as debian has first priority.
Manipulating the Android Permissions
Androids permissions works by providing a User ID for each application. This user (Application) can then get a range of different permissions by being added to groups with the permissions required by the app. For an example an app that needs to write to the SD Card, should be a member of Androids sdcard_rw group which translates into 1015 in a Linux group id. Using the numeric values of the Android groups, we can assign these permissions to shell users, daemons etc.
An example:
I had problems with my Http Server because I wanted my www folder on my sdcard. But, the www-data user and group could not be allowed to write to the SD Card, which I needed it to do, because Android controls what permissions the SD Card should have, not even root can change that.
What I did was creating a system group that I named sdcard_rw (Same name as the android, just to better keep track of the groups) with the same Id as the Android sdcard_rw (1015). I then assigned that group to my www-data user (gpasswd -a www-data sdcard_rw) and now my lighttpd had Read/Write access to my sdcard.
You can use the same example for creating a regular SSH User by using the Android shell group or for any other type of user that needs some Android permissions to work properly.
[Edit: 2011-03-08 21:13]
- Added an permission example
Great...
I was just looking into this myself for the last few days.
strange how there isn't more of this being talked about.
at least I have been unable to find anything.
Omg this sounds awesome,
Will try this when u get home and will report back
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App
I'm still trying to work out some problems with User Rights on SD Card. Can't get lighttpd to be allowed to create files in my SD Card www dir (Does not matter what user and group I set it to use). I can't even get the root account to be allowed to change permissions on SD Card files and folders. It's not the biggest problem, but will report back when I figure it out.
Nice! I've been constantly disappointed for the past year at how un-Linuxy Android is under the hood and unimpressed with the old chroot tricks. This looks much better and I'll try it soon.
I have added a new /system/bin/sh script that can be found in Part 1. This script will automatically look for bash and, if that exists, try to find bash.bashrc, .profile or .bashrc in /etc or the users home dir. If bash does not exist, it looks for sh instead. If you have both one of the Android specific compiled bash, then Debians bash is used when available as this is made to work in a real linux environment. Android bash does not seam to work that way. Also debians packages gets updates via APT.
Also I changed the way groups and users is created in Part 3. Manually inserting them to /etc/passwd, /etc/shadow and /etc/group did not seam to be enough. The users and groups where only half registered. For an example the command "login" gave me a lot of errors, and i had problems with user rights. By using adduser and addgroup in a chroot before the first merge, the user management seams to work as it should now.
I was playing with Debian on my phone just a few days ago too. I've found that same G1 article you mentioned, and installed Lenny in a chroot environment. Background daemons work fine for me, I've installed OpenSSH and I'm using ConnectBot connecting to 127.0.0.1 to get a terminal, so I don't have to chroot every time. I even have X with tightvnc server + android-vnc-viewer. Running the desktop Firefox on my phone is fun Although not very useful. I'm still thinking about what awesome things we could do with this that we couldn't otherwise.
Anyway, great howto.
Do you have any details on the Thalamus kernel? What phone is it for? Overclocked, audio hack, etc? Or is it just a vanilla kernel with the extra module?
What applications can we dream up?
The first thing that springs to mind is could this be used to create a low power server running bittorrent and the like?
Would a cheap device like the Vodafone 845 be under-powered for this?
Can you connect to a usb hub to allow multiple devices to be connected to it? I'm thinking usb network adapters, external storage, etc.
How much additional effort on top of this guide would be needed?
Just curious...
will not... - -!
Well I learned one thing. Don't make Shell scripts when you are tired. I started a shell loop on phone bootup with my /system/bin/sh fix (Which had been changed). When using the merged environment, you need (for now) to enter /bin/login when you open a new shell and login as user with the password you created in Part 3. This will make Debian take over the user management which among other things will make sure that the right variables etc. exists. I have tried to locate where android controls new shell sessions, but I cant seam to find it.
When you make Debian take over, you can use your Linux shell as any other. .bashrc, .profile, /etc/bash.bashrc, /etc/profile files, change default shell (bash, sh, ash) in /etc/passwd and so on.
#9 Well the kernel is the same that is found in the Oxygen 2.0.1, so it's an gingerbread rom (2.3.3). If it works only in Oxygen, I don't know but I don't think so.
#10 He he, Could not say. For now I'm just trying to make it work as I want it to work. After that I might start playing around with different things.
The "login" command is no longer needed. I finally found a way to successfully control user variables and management, making Android and Debian work together as one when merging the two.
This is amazing. Totally going to do this later tonight when I get home.
If you merge using AUFS instead of making a chroot, you should perhaps use the system user (Id: 1000, Group: 1000) as the regular user.
There are only two static users in Android, 0 and 1000.
Android just isn't made to work as an multi-user system. This is how the Java UI is made, and we really need to Linux part to be compatible with that part of the OS. Instead of multi-users, android uses it's apps as users. Each app works as one user with different id. So the 10048 I used as regular user is just the ID of mine "Better Terminal". Switching to another terminal app changed the EUID.
Use the root and only root to work with in the shell. And then delete Debians "su" command and stick with the one from android. Debians need all users that execute "su" to be written to the /etc/passwd.
All GNU tool and library, that's Great. thanks a lot.
I have added an example of how to apply Android rules to shell users, daemons etc. Some daemons will need this in order to function.
I have added this in Thread 2 below the hostname example.
I also changed the main Thread. Found a fix for the rest of the permission problems, including the Android "su" command issue.
I have tested this Android/Debian merge using several methods (ADB, SSH, different local terminals) and it worked on most. I had one problem with one local terminal app that did not execute /etc/profile and some Debian users in /etc/passwd that didn't either.
To fix this I changed /system/bin/sh from using "/system/xbin/sh --login [email protected]" to instead use "/system/xbin/sh --rcfile /system/etc/profile [email protected]". I then moved the Debians /bin/bash to /usr/bin/bash and made a similar script file in /bin/bash > "/usr/bin/bash --rcfile /etc/profile [email protected]". You can make the same for /bin/sh if you don't like using bash for your /etc/passwd users.
Remember to change the bash bind mount in the mkdebian script from /bin/bash to /usr/bin/bash
Use whatever method works on your phone.
This looks like a ton of fun, and could be very useful. I'd like to try this on my NookColor (N2Acard, CM7.1), probably using The Guardian Project's lilDebi image as a base. They go the chroot route with their installer, and I'm going to have to do some hacking on their scripts to make them work with the NookColor. I figure if I'm going to have to hack on it, I might as well put my efforts toward a more ideal solution.
Question: It doesn't look like the CM7.1 kernel supports aufs. That is,
Code:
cat /proc/filesystems
doesn't return aufs as one of the supported filesystems.
Aside from a lack of elegance, is there any reason we can't apply your /sbin workaround to "merging" the whole filesystem? [I recognize there's a certain amount of ignorance behind the question; I figure there's only one way to cure that: Ask.]
OR, how difficult might it be to take a complete CM7.1 kernel and add aufs support to it?
'preciate any help I can get!
mailman1175 said:
This looks like a ton of fun, and could be very useful. I'd like to try this on my NookColor (N2Acard, CM7.1), probably using The Guardian Project's lilDebi image as a base. They go the chroot route with their installer, and I'm going to have to do some hacking on their scripts to make them work with the NookColor. I figure if I'm going to have to hack on it, I might as well put my efforts toward a more ideal solution.
Question: It doesn't look like the CM7.1 kernel supports aufs. That is,
Code:
cat /proc/filesystems
doesn't return aufs as one of the supported filesystems.
Aside from a lack of elegance, is there any reason we can't apply your /sbin workaround to "merging" the whole filesystem? [I recognize there's a certain amount of ignorance behind the question; I figure there's only one way to cure that: Ask.]
OR, how difficult might it be to take a complete CM7.1 kernel and add aufs support to it?
'preciate any help I can get!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
here's where you get aufs patches.
you'll have to build the kernel yourself to make it work.
to the OP:
using the aufs mount method instead of a chroot...
I have a small problem, I don't know if it shows up with your .img filesystem method, but with an sd-ext partition used intead of the .img file, apt-get fouls massively when trying to update/upgrade libc6.
it complains about the libc6*.so existing in two places at once, and requests the existing one be removed. If it's removed, then nothing in the Linux install works, because just about everything is compiled against libc. I can use busybox to manipulate files with the libc6 removed or hidden away, but can't seem to get past the error since dpkg and apt don't work without some version of libc installed.
Any hints/suggestions? I like your scripts a lot better than the chroot ones I cobbled together from everyone else's work last year for similar purposes before I got aufs working in a kernel.
Related
Debian on Haykuro ADP 1.5
I have seen people running into issues getting Debian running on cupcake builds so I decided to post a guide on how I did it. It's important to note that I got this information from http://www.saurik.com/id/10 and http://android-dls.com/wiki/index.php?title=Haykuro_Apps_to_SD. I have simply made some changes for it to applicable to the current setup and to use the native ext2 partition instead of mounting an image like people have been doing with Debian. I would also like to say thanks to everyone in the community for their continued hard work putting out this builds etc.
1.) Get Haykuro ADP 1.5 Apps2SD up and running.
A. Check if your phone is recognised.
adb devices
B. Mount the phone into ADB.
adb remount
C. Bring up the shell.
adb shell
D. Check if /system/sd is visible.
df
E. Skip this step if you already have your apps on SD.
cp -a /data/app /system/sd
F. Skip this step if you already have your app-private on SD.
cp -a /data/app-private /system/sd
G. Remove the current apps folder on device.
rm -r /data/app
H. Remove the current app-private folder on device.
rm -r /data/app-private
I. Link the app folder on sd to the one on device.
ln -s /system/sd/app /data/app
J. Link the app-private folder on sd to the one on device.
ln -s /system/sd/app-private /data/app-private
K. Finally Reboot.
reboot
*You should now have a fully functioning apps2sd build running. We are now going to start getting the files for Debian.
2.) We need to get debbootstrap on the system you are working from. Hopefully you are running a debian based distribution.
apt-get install debootstrap
3.) Next we need to create a folder to mount the ext2 partition of the card to. This is fine being on for instance your desktop.
mkdir sd
4.) Plug in your phone and make sure you choose the mount option.
5.) If your system auto-mounts the drive you will need to unmount it as it is probably mounted with noexec. (This is where mine was mounted for example.)
umount /media/disk1
6.) Now lets mount the ext2 partition on your sdcard. (Note your drive and partition may differ from mine.)
mount /dev/sdb2 sd
7.) At this point I created a folder as I didnt want debian cluttering my partition but this is up to you.
cd sd
mkdir debian
8.) Next lets actually get some files on there.
debootstrap --verbose --arch armel --foreign lenny debian http://ftp.de.debian.org/debian
9.) Now we can unmount the partition.
umount debian
10.) For the next steps we need to get into adb shell again. (See above for getting into shell.)
11.) Now we need to set a couple variables. (Note the mnt variable is set to where you placed your debian files Haykuro Apps2SD mounts the ext2 partition at /system/sd from there we have my debian folder I created.)
export mnt=/system/sd/debian
export PATH=/usr/bin:/usr/sbin:/bin:$PATH
export TERM=linux
export HOME=/root
12.) Now we just have to have debbootstrap extract and configure everything. (This is gonna take 10-15 minutes.)
chroot $mnt /debootstrap/debootstrap --second-stage
13.) From here we have a couple fixes to make.
A.) We need to fix the sources.list for apt.
echo 'deb http://ftp.de.debian.org/debian lenny main' >$mnt/etc/apt/sources.list
B.) We need to fix the resolv.conf
echo 'nameserver 4.2.2.2' >$mnt/etc/resolv.conf
14.) Now we are ready to go into Debian.
chroot $mnt /bin/bash
15.) Let's tidy up mtab.
rm -f /etc/mtab
ln -s /proc/mounts /etc/mtab
15.) And get everything mounted.
mount -t devpts devpts /dev/pts
mount -t proc proc /proc
mount -t sysfs sysfs /sys
16.) Don't forget to set a password for root.
passwd root
You know have a fully functioning Debian in a chrooted environment on a cupcake build. Now you can install OpenSSH or whatever else from here using apt-get. I haven't covered unionfs or various scrip
When you restart your phone will need to resetup some items. You can create a shell script with the commands listed below.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
export mnt=/system/sd/debian
export PATH=/usr/bin:/usr/sbin:/bin:$PATH
export TERM=linux
export HOME=/root
mount -t devpts devpts $mnt/dev/pts
mount -t proc proc $mnt/proc
mount -t sysfs sysfs $mnt/sys
chroot $mnt /bin/bash
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here is the script for those that would prefer to download it.
Debian Boot Script
How much space does this take in the ext2 partition?
What would you need to do to add a GUI such as Gnome?
Nice work.
Wow. THANKS!!!! I've been trying to figure out how to do this FOREVER.
How do you completely remove debian off your phone, not just your sdcard, so you can reinstall.
could you place a better explanation on step 2?
2.) We need to get debbootstrap on the system you are working from. Hopefully you are running a debian based distribution.
apt-get install debootstrap
I dont know what is debootstrap or where to run this commands
Thanks
P.S I am running a Mac
My ext2 partition currently has 163 MB used between the debian install and some apps I have on it. The size of the partition all depends on what you want to do with it. I gave myself 500 MB.
juangil said:
could you place a better explanation on step 2?
2.) We need to get debbootstrap on the system you are working from. Hopefully you are running a debian based distribution.
apt-get install debootstrap
I dont know what is debootstrap or where to run this commands
Thanks
P.S I am running a Mac
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What I mean is for this to work you need to be running Debian Linux or a derivative thereof. I for instance did this from Kubuntu 9.04. These instructions wouldn't work from a Mac as you wouldn't have apt-get etc.
whoaaa
first post, omg.
great guide, dude.
kronarq said:
What I mean is for this to work you need to be running Debian Linux or a derivative thereof. I for instance did this from Kubuntu 9.04. These instructions wouldn't work from a Mac as you wouldn't have apt-get etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks I appreciated your explanation, I have ubuntu installed but no experience at all with it, I'll try to follow your instructions
one more question, on step 12..
10.) For the next steps we need to get into adb shell again. (See above for getting into shell.)
11.) Now we need to set a couple variables. (Note the mnt variable is set to where you placed your debian files Haykuro Apps2SD mounts the ext2 partition at /system/sd from there we have my debian folder I created.)
export mnt=/system/sd/debian
export PATH=/usr/bin:/usr/sbin:/bin:$PATH
export TERM=linux
export HOME=/root
12.) Now we just have to have debbootstrap extract and configure everything. (This is gonna take 10-15 minutes.)
chroot $mnt /debootstrap/debootstrap --second-stage
do I continue in adb or where do I go to do step 12? and, after I type whats in step 12 should I expect something to happen?
Thanks
juangil said:
one more question, on step 12..
12.) Now we just have to have debbootstrap extract and configure everything. (This is gonna take 10-15 minutes.)
chroot $mnt /debootstrap/debootstrap --second-stage
do I continue in adb or where do I go to do step 12? and, after I type whats in step 12 should I expect something to happen?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This step should be done in adb shell. This is what unpacks everything and sets it up on the ext2 partition. Before this the files are all packed up and nothing will run. You should see quite a few things happening at this stage. What are you getting?
Can I use debootstrap on pc and then copy the debian folder into the phone sd card? Don't have an usb cable with me, but wanna try this...
Just did it - it works. Downloaded files from pc then continue with terminal application.
Nice guide - thank you!
Question. Does it make the phone run slower or decrease battery life?
kronarq said:
This step should be done in adb shell. This is what unpacks everything and sets it up on the ext2 partition. Before this the files are all packed up and nothing will run. You should see quite a few things happening at this stage. What are you getting?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm getting this:
Code:
chroot $mnt /debootstrap/debootstrap --second-stage
chroot: cannot execute /debootstrap/debootstrap: No such file or directory
MorphWVUtuba said:
I'm getting this:
Code:
chroot $mnt /debootstrap/debootstrap --second-stage
chroot: cannot execute /debootstrap/debootstrap: No such file or directory
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you set the variables?
Code:
export mnt=/system/sd/debian
export PATH=/usr/bin:/usr/sbin:/bin:$PATH
export TERM=linux
export HOME=/root
You can check it:
Code:
# echo $mnt
/system/sd/debian
Okay, I must've typo'd. I ran those commands again & this time it's installing/unpacking stuff. Thanks for the help.
how do i get those files (debootstrap, verbose, arch armel, and foreign lenny?
I go to the site linked there, but I do not see them listed.
Hi. I was just install debian, but i have problem with apt-get.
I want use
Code:
apt-get install icewm
but it results is
Code:
apt-get install icewm
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree... Done
E: Couldn't find package icewm
Any ideas
You probably need to add repo's to /etc/apt/sources.list
I think I'm missing something obvious.
I got through every step of this tutorial, and I can't boot Debian.
If I go to a term and $bootdeb, I get 'permission denied.' So I $su and #bootdeb and I get 'not found.' I've tried cd'ing to /system/sd/debian and get the same results. Any ideas?
I followed all of the steps very carefully and had no troubles. I'm running the latest JF, 1.43 w/ 1.5 ADP. But I was using Haykuro 1.5 before this - so no flash. Is that what's preventing me from running?
Thanks
Hi. Well, I've researched a lot to get to this. For now, I haven't used the mount commands (because there isn't support for loop devices, or at least, that I think; in my stock rom). Because of that, the files are in a folder in the Filesystem of android.
There are Screenshots at the end of my post.
The steps are a little bit long, but I assure you, that LXDE running on VNC + debian applications (like amsn, ice weasel, etc) is f*cking amazing.
Revision of the Tutorial: 3. Date: 14/feb/2011.
What you need:
A PC with Debian (lenny or squeeze) or a VM with that OS (you can use Ubuntu too) with 2GB or more disk free space
A internet connection (or packages of Debian armel locally downloaded)
A rooted Motorola Defy (requiered to run some commands later)
Overclocked Motorola Defy (optional, but increases the performance) (find "SetVsel" on market)
At least 300MB (for "console only") or 750MB (for "console" and graphical stuff) on the /data/local of the internal phone memory (I'm not using mount points, for some software issues with the kernel)
Same amount of free space on your SD (to copy files from PC to Internal storage. you could use adb, but I like the SD method, as you don't need any drivers)
A lot of time to do this (optional hehehe)
As I don't like to use "su" or "sudo" commands, I use a Root Terminal.
(sudo su)
Well, create a directory in your account folder, I mean if you're the user "cocus", create a folder called /home/cocus/debian
You could use any other folder, but take care in the scripts, and replace with the one that you're using.
We have to be in the parent folder, so make a cd to /home/cocus/
Next, get the packages to create the deboostrap, and run the chroot.
To do this, if you're on Debian run the following:
Code:
apt-get install qemu-user-static debootstrap
But if you're on Ubuntu, use this:
Code:
apt-get install qemu-arm-static debootstrap
Then, we have to get the armel files, using deboostrap:
If you want to install Debian Lenny (5.0, tested by me)
Code:
debootstrap --verbose --arch=armel --foreign lenny debian http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian
And for Debian Squeeze (6.0, tested by johnw.xda without the graphical stuff)
Code:
debootstrap --verbose --arch=armel --foreign squeeze debian http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian
In fact, we could use a Ubuntu distro, like karmic. But I recommend debian, because it has more support for armel.
Ok, that will be at least 5 mins downloading data and unpacking other stuff. When that finishes, we have to tweak the system to run without errors.
First thing, is to create the mount point of the sdcard (in fact, is a system link).
Code:
mkdir debian/sdcard
Second thing, is to run the chroot and configure some things:
Code:
cp /usr/bin/qemu-arm-static debian/usr/bin
chroot debian /bin/bash
If succed, you will have a # (root) shell, then put the following:
Code:
/debootstrap/debootstrap --second-stage
adduser
Then provide a username and password.
Now run the following, to fix some configs:
Code:
echo 'nameserver 8.8.8.8' > /etc/resolv.conf
rm -f /etc/mtab
ln -s /proc/mounts /etc/mtab
If you're installing Debian Lenny, then run this:
Code:
echo 'deb http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian lenny main contrib non-free' > /etc/apt/sources.list
apt-get update
But if you're installing Debian Squeeze, then run this:
Code:
echo 'deb http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian squeeze main contrib non-free' > /etc/apt/sources.list
apt-get update
With that, the system will run ok in the Defy, but I would like to add the x11, lxde, vnc packages (because installing on the chroot in pc is more faster than in the phone).
If you want LXDE, then do:
Code:
apt-get install lxde tightvncserver
But if you prefer IceWM instead LXDE, then:
Code:
apt-get install icewm tightvncserver
Ok, I really dont remember, but that stuff cost about 350MB more of disk. By the way, while installing the packages, it might ask something, you just say Ok on all messages and complete if it requieres.
Once finished, type
Code:
exit
Well, now we have to fix the "LC_LOCALE" error, and the "HOME=/root" for conveinence. To do that, in your local Debian (not the chroot), add the following lines to the file
/home/cocus/debian/etc/init.d/rc.
Code:
PATH=/sbin:/usr/sbin:/bin:/usr/bin
export $PATH
export HOME=/root
export LC_ALL=C
Add these lines replacing the original PATH.
After that, we have to move the files to internal storage, so, to do that, I've used tar bzip2 to compress all the files and saving the attributes too.
Code:
tar -cjf /home/cocus/debian.tar.bz2 /home/cocus/debian/*
That command will generate a file in /home/cocus called debian.tar.bz2. Once you've got this, copy to your SD.
By the way, create a file called bootdeb in the SD root, with the following contents:
Code:
echo " "
echo " a888a "
echo " d888888b "
echo " 8P YP Y88 "
echo " 8|o||o|88 "
echo " 8. .88 "
echo " 8 ._. Y8. "
echo " d/ 8b. "
echo " .dP . Y8b. "
echo " d8: ::88b. "
echo " d8 Y88b "
echo " :8P :888 "
echo " 8a. : _a88P "
echo " ._/ Yaa_ : .| 88P| "
echo " \ YP | 8P \. "
echo " / \._____.d| .| "
echo " --..__)888888P ._.|"
echo " "
echo " COCUS WAS HERE (I hate JAVA) "
export mnt=/data/local/debian
export TERM=linux
export HOME=/root
export OLDPATH=$PATH
echo "mnt: $mnt"
echo "PATH: $PATH"
echo "TERM: $TERM"
echo "HOME: $HOME"
busybox mount -o bind /dev $mnt/dev
busybox mount -o bind /sys $mnt/sys
busybox mount -o bind /proc $mnt/proc
busybox mount -o bind /sdcard $mnt/sdcard
busybox mount -t devpts devpts $mnt/dev/pts
echo "Type EXIT to end session"
echo "Make sure you do a proper EXIT for a clean kill of Debian!"
echo " "
export PATH=$PATH:/bin:/sbin:/usr/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/local/sbin
busybox chroot $mnt /bin/bash
#After exit command is executed clear it all up
busybox umount -f /data/local/debian/dev/pts /data/local/debian/proc /data/local/debian/sys /data/local/debian/sdcard /data/local/debian/dev
export PATH=$OLDPATH
echo "Filesystems have unmounted"
Create another file, called vnc with the following contents:
Code:
export USER=root
cd /
rm -r -f tmp
mkdir tmp
cd /
vncserver -geometry 1280x720
(you could change the resolution of the X11 desktop there )
And at last, create the last file called xstartup. Take care here, if you have choosed LXDE, use the following:
Code:
#!/bin/sh
xrdb $HOME/.Xresources
xsetroot -solid grey
icewm &
lxsession
But if you've choosed IceWM, then use:
Code:
#!/bin/sh
xrdb $HOME/.Xresources
xsetroot -solid grey
icewm &
xterm
Here, we have to run commands, but in the phones shell (adb, ssh, terminal emulator).
Remember to mount the SD again (in the case that youre using USB SD Massive storage).
Well, we have to get root access in the shell, so you have to root your Defy first. If you have root acces, then run the following in your mobile:
Code:
mkdir /data/local/debian
cp /sdcard/bootdeb /data/local
busybox tar -xvf /sdcard/debian.tar.bz2 -C /data/local
rm /data/local/debian/root/.vnc/xstartup
cp /sdcard/xstartup /data/local/debian/root/.vnc/xstartup
cp /sdcard/vnc /data/local/debian/bin/vnc
ln -s /data/local/bootdeb /system/bin/bootdeb
chmod 0755 /data/local/bootdeb
chmod 0755 /data/local/debian/bin/vnc
If everything worked and no errors appeared, then you can run debian via your Terminal Emulator:
Code:
bootdeb
And you should get the debian shell, and then run:
Code:
vnc
to start vnc server on localhost. Take note of the localhost:x (where x is a number). That number is what you have to use to connect, I mean:
If the number is 1:
the port is 5901
If the number is 9:
the port is 5909
Thats all!
I will try to make a yaffs2 image to mount, but I really dont trust on the mount command, because it gives me a lot of errors, even with correct stuff.
Some Screenshots:
pictures are 403 Otherwise great stuff dude!
Did you tried Debian 6.0?
Lenny = 5.0
Squeeze = 6.0
Code:
build-arm-chroot --verbose --arch=armel --foreign squeeze debian http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian
For the dumb ppl here, the second screenshot is of your phone running an OS?
Sent from my MB525 using XDA App
bash: build-arm-chroot： command not found
which package.deb include build-arm-chroot?
To see the pics : right-clic => open image in new tab
DrogenDiego said:
pictures are 403 Otherwise great stuff dude!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't work for me to
mick711 said:
Don't work for me to
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
DONT click on the link. Copy the link location or the url and then paste in url browser.
Echo " COCUS WAS HERE (I hate JAVA) ".... nevertheless well done. I will try it with squeeze.
I was wondering what exactly is the final result here, maybe a REMOTE lxde (GUI for debian) for my defy running on PC or something like that..
well i got my answer here:
http://www.androidfanatic.com/community-forums.html?func=view&catid=9&id=1615
So, if you have the same doubt, NO, it's not a remote desktop, it is debian + lxde (or IceWm) running directly on your defy.
The connection through vnc is just a workaround to make it working.
Thanks Cocus for your nice step-by-step guide.
Hi. Thanks for the feedback. I've reuploaded the images to imageshack, now you can see them without any 403.
johnw.xda said:
bash: build-arm-chroot： command not found
which package.deb include build-arm-chroot?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi john, are you running the command in Debian or Ubutnu?
Did you run the command of debootstrap?
Code:
# apt-get install debootstrap
walter79 said:
Did you tried Debian 6.0?
Lenny = 5.0
Squeeze = 6.0
Code:
build-arm-chroot --verbose --arch=armel --foreign squeeze debian http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, I haven't tryied it. In fact, I was trying to get it working. Now I would try to do some interesting things.
chaihg said:
For the dumb ppl here, the second screenshot is of your phone running an OS?
Sent from my MB525 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In fact, the kernel is the one that the phone booted. The only thing that I've done, is changing the root (/) path to another one, that is like swap the filesystem to another one. The other path, contains the debian root, so you will have a debian root, instead the default of your phone. With that, we can use the debian (armel) features, like aptitude (apt-get install) and such.
If anyone knowns how to mount images on loop or any thing like, please feel free to comment. I'm running out of space in my device (almost 10mb left). So, the image mount could be the best option, but I can't figure how to do that in the stock kernel.
cocus said:
Hi. Thanks for the feedback....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi cocus,
is there any way to get it working without the vnc part? I mean, it would be great if we could load debian and lxde from our defy regardless of the vnc connection.
If i'm not wrong, to boot propely it needs to load some drivers from PC, that's why we need the vnc. Is it correct?
xdaid said:
Hi cocus,
is there any way to get it working without the vnc part? I mean, it would be great if we could load debian and lxde from our defy regardless of the vnc connection.
If i'm not wrong, to boot propely it needs to load some drivers from PC, that's why we need the vnc. Is it correct?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The fact is, debian doesn't have access to the display. I really don't know why, because I'm kinda dumb on linux stuff.
If somebody knowns how to add graphical support (display), and/or mouse (touchscreen), it would be great. And, we could just close the dalvik and run the debian (a lot of ram would be free to use).
Now im trying to use the camera, audio and mic. They appears in /dev/, so the drivers are working fine, but I don't know with application to use.
If you can install Debian on a Defy, why isn't it possible to install Gingerbread ? :/
geecko said:
If you can install Debian on a Defy, why isn't it possible to install Gingerbread ? :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not exactly installed. Let me clarify it.
The linux file system consists of directories and start at the root directory. (/). Imagine the Windows95 directory, and change the boot to the path of Windows98. Technically what boots (in this case the kernel) is the same, but what changes is the directory. So you'll have a working Debian, as if it were actually installed, but it really is not.
Debian can not access the screen (at least I do not know how to set it up) so you have to use VNC server locally to access the X11 (display manager).
Take into account that anything here is emulated at all, is running all native.
I really don't known nothing about Gingerbread.
cocus said:
Hi john, are you running the command in Debian or Ubutnu?
Did you run the command of debootstrap?
Code:
# apt-get install debootstrap
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hi cocus, yes i did install debootstrap, on my debian/and64.
dpkg -L debootstrap can not found build-arm-chroot too
which debian are you using? mine is unstable + testing.
thank you.
johnw.xda said:
hi cocus, yes i did install debootstrap, on my debian/and64.
dpkg -L debootstrap can not found build-arm-chroot too
which debian are you using? mine is unstable + testing.
thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, I'm using Lenny on x86. (VM is VMWare Workstation).
You could download the netinstall iso, and install on a new VM.
It might be a problem with your AMD64. Thus I don't really know. Try installing x86 on a VM.
cocus said:
Hi, I'm using Lenny on x86. (VM is VMWare Workstation).
You could download the netinstall iso, and install on a new VM.
It might be a problem with your AMD64. Thus I don't really know. Try installing x86 on a VM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
can you show me the output?
shell$ dpkg -S build-arm-chroot
also
shell$ which build-arm-chroot
and
shell$ dpkg -L debootstrap | grep build-arm-chroot
thank you.
johnw.xda said:
can you show me the output?
shell$ dpkg -S build-arm-chroot
also
shell$ which build-arm-chroot
and
shell$ dpkg -L debootstrap | grep build-arm-chroot
thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi. I've done all of that, but without any outputs, and a lot of errors. I've researched, and I've made a mistake in my info.
Replace build-arm-chroot with debootstrap. Its the same.
(now edited on the main post)
Sorry for the inconvenience.
cocus said:
Hi. I've done all of that, but without any outputs, and a lot of errors. I've researched, and I've made a mistake in my info.
Replace build-arm-chroot with debootstrap. Its the same.
(now edited on the main post)
Sorry for the inconvenience.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok. i will retry it, when i back to home.
thank you.
can you run vim on your defy?
i really miss it, when i want to edit plain text file.
INTRODUCTION
This document describes a procedure for installing Ubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot onto your Android device to run alongside an existing Android rom. My instructions assume you are running CyanogenMod 7. I will try to provide workarounds for other roms.
Ubuntu on a mobile device, running alongside Android, is somewhat difficult to use and is useless for most users. You should not attempt this procedure unless you have a need to run arbitrary Linux software from a mobile device. Many mobile computing needs can be met by installing remote access software on a traditional desktop computer. Conversely if you find the idea of having a general purpose Linux system in your pocket to be freaking awesome, whether you need it or not, please read on.
CAUTION
The following procedure assumes familiarity with Linux fundamentals, and basic familiarity with Android's Linux underpinnings. Data loss is possible, especially for the data on your SD card, so please make backups. Some commercial Android software is recommended, specifically Tasker and Better Terminal Emulator Pro. A large, fast SD card is also recommended. (I <3 my PNY 32 GB class 10 card)
Some optional steps are proposed that may interfere with how your Android device manages its SD card. You may be required to manually run a script before certain Android features, like mounting your device's SD card on a desktop PC via USB cable, will function properly.
Each step will have, whenever possible, a recommended procedure and one or more alternative procedures. If the recommended procedure doesn't work for you, the alternative procedure might require some research, manual-page reading, or other outside assistance to accomplish.
Shell commands should be executed on a root shell on your Android device. Use the built-in Terminal Emulator, ConnectBot in local mode, Better Terminal Emulator Pro, "adb shell" from a connected PC, or your favorite terminal emulator.
OVERVIEW
Too long; didn't read? Here's a quick summary of the steps involved:
Partition your SD card, creating a 2 GB or 4 GB Linux partition
Confirm the new partition is mounted at /sd-ext
Unpack http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-core/daily/current/oneiric-core-armel.tar.gz to /sd-ext
Create an empty file /sd-ext/.nomedia
Edit /system/etc/init.d/05mountsd to bind proc, dev, and sys to /sd-ext
Optionally edit /system/etc/init.d/05mountsd to bind /data, /system, and /cache to /sd-ext/mnt
Prepare a script to open a chroot shell with correct environment variables
Update /etc/apt/sources.list and /etc/resolv.conf according to your preference
Overwrite /sbin/start with /sbin/true
Copy or link important files into /etc and /lib
Initialize the package manager and begin downloading packages
(optional) Integrate Ubuntu services with Tasker profiles
STEP 1: Partition your SD Card
While a basic Ubuntu system can be installed in as little as 200 MB of disk space, many software packages require more space. Also many Linux tasks require unusual file attributes, permissions, or types, which cannot be placed on your SD card's regular FAT32 / VFAT file system.
Recommended: Use an existing Ubuntu system, or even an Ubuntu live CD, and a USB card reader to repartition your SD card without losing any data. Be sure the first primary partition remains FAT32 / VFAT, and create a second primary partition of type ext3 or ext4.
Alternative 1: Use any desktop system to back up all of the data on your SD card, either with a card reader or using your Android device. Use your phone's recovery partition to destructively repartition your SD card with a 2 or 4 GB ext3 or ext4 partition, and NO swap partition. Then copy your SD card contents back to your SD card.
Alternative 2: If you don't want to partition your SD card, you can create large empty files on your SD card and mount those. Some of the later steps will work differently and you may have to improvise.
Create large empty files on your SD card to contain your Ubuntu filesystem: dd if=/dev/zero of=/mnt/sdcard/UBUNTU.IMG bs=32768 count=65536
Identify a free loopback device number that isn't currently in use and won't likely be occupied by Android Apps2SD in the future: ls /dev/block
Create a new loop device for your file. Note the first number is the loop filename number you observed wasn't in use (at least a few dozen higher than the highest number you see), then a b and a 7, and then a number one less than the filename number. For example: mknod /dev/block/loop200 b 7 199
Associate the loop device with your new empty file: losetup /mnt/block/loop200 /mnt/sdcard/UBUNTU.IMG
Find which versions of mkfs are on your system: ls /system/xbin/mkfs*
Using whatever version you have (ext4 or ext3 preferred, but ext2 is acceptable) run: mkfs.ext# /dev/block/loop200
Save these commands in a script for later use. The dd and mkfs commands were only used this once, but the mknod and losetup commands will have to be run manually from a script each time you boot your phone.
STEP 2: Mount your Linux Partition
To avoid causing problems for your Android system, we shouldn't tamper with any of Android's critical files or directories. We will mount our Linux partition in a new directory that Android isn't using. With any luck, our rom already contains scripts that will automatically mount this for us.
Recommended: If you have partitioned your SD card and you are running CyanogenMod 7, use a root shell or file manager to confirm /sd-ext contains at least a directory called lost+found. If lost+found is present in /sd-ext then this step is done and you should continue to step 3.
Alternative 1: Use a root shell to navigate to /etc/init.d and look for a file called 05mountsd. If that file doesn't exist, you may need to create it or use another alternative method. If it does exist, run it with ./05mountsd and observe any error messages. If fsck or mount are failing because the filesystem type doesn't match what was expected, you can edit the file and change the filesystem type in the script.
Hint: you can do a quick search-and-replace using sed and a regular expression:
Code:
mv 05mountsd 05mountsd-old
cat 05mountsd-old | sed -e s/ext3/ext4/ > 05mountsd
diff 05mountsd-old 05mountsd
#changes look good to you? then proceed:
rm 05mountsd-old
ls -al
chown root.shell 05mountsd
chmod 750 05mountsd
#adapt owner (root), group (shell) and permissions (-rwxr-x---) to match the other files in that directory
Alternative 2: If your rom doesn't create, or attempt to mount, anything called /sd-ext you might have to create your own mount point.
Code:
mount -o remount,rw /system
mkdir /system/sd-ext
mount -o remount,ro /system
Then, in the following steps, replace any reference to /sd-ext with /system/sd-ext.
STEP 3: Install the Base System
Recommended: Download this file: http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-core/daily/current/oneiric-core-armel.tar.gz (Should be under 32 MB, and is the only potentially-insecure download required because the file is unsigned.)
Store it on your SD card somewhere, like in /mnt/sdcard/download/. (If you use your Android device's browser, it will probably land there automatically.)
If you're nervous about making a mistake, double-check your system partition is read-only:
Code:
mount | grep -v block/dm- | grep \(rw
#If anything there looks like it shouldn't be read-write, make it read-only:
mount -o remount,ro /system
Open a root shell and navigate to /sd-ext. Use pwd (present working directory) to confirm you really are in /sd-ext. Then go ahead and unpack:
Code:
tar zxvf /mnt/sdcard/download/oneiric-core-armel.tar.gz
STEP 4: Create a .nomedia file
Android may try to scan your Linux partition for images, videos, and pictures. The Linux partition contains many files and directories and this scan can take a long time. To avoid these lengthy scans, we will add a file to the Linux partition that blocks well-behaved Android services from scanning.
Recommended: Use a root shell to navigate to /sd-ext. Create the file and set its permissions:
Code:
echo > .nomedia
chown root.root .nomedia
chmod 644 .nomedia
STEP 5: Bind /proc, /dev, and /sys to the Linux partition
Recent versions of Linux provide a way to clone a partition, so when changes are made to one copy of the partition the changes take effect immediately in the other copy. We will use this to make the /proc, /dev, and /sys partitions used by Android available in our Linux partition as well.
This is necessary because when we run Ubuntu we will be using chroot (change root) to make /sd-ext the only filesystem Ubuntu can see. Ubuntu will need to be able to see /proc, /dev, and /sys, as well as some of the files in /etc, /vendor/lib, and /system/lib. We will meet some of these needs with mount --bind
Additionally we will need these bindings to be recreated every time the /sd-ext partition is mounted. So we will add some commands to the run-parts script that mounts /sd-ext, located at /etc/init.d/05mountsd.
Recommended: Open a root shell and navigate to /etc/init.d, and use a text editor to open 05mountsd.
Near the end of the file you should see some commands that operate on /sd-ext:
Code:
$BB chown 1000:1000 $SD_EXT_DIRECTORY;
$BB chmod 770 $SD_EXT_DIRECTORY;
Edit the chmod command and change the permission mask number from 770 to 775, which grants non-root users the ability to read the contents of that directory. Then add the following commands immediately after the chown and chmod commands already present:
Code:
$BB mount --rbind /dev /sd-ext/dev
$BB mount --rbind /proc /sd-ext/proc
$BB mount --rbind /sys /sd-ext/sys
STEP 6: (OPTIONAL) Bind /system, /data, and /cache to /sd-ext
This step is optional, and provides a way to operate on Android system files from within Ubuntu. If you're concerned about a stray command destroying your Ubuntu system and you want to make sure it doesn't take any Android system files with it, you should skip this step.
Recommended: Open a root shell and navigate to /sd-ext/mnt, and create some directories which will serve as mount points:
Code:
pwd
# you should be in /sd-ext/mnt
mkdir -m 700 system data cache
chown root.root system data cache
ls -al
# Each of system, data, and cache should show drwx------ and root for both owner and group
Then navigate to /etc/init.d and edit 05mountsd. Add the following under the existing mount --rbind commands you added earlier:
Code:
$BB mount --rbind /system /sd-ext/mnt/system
$BB mount --rbind /data /sd-ext/mnt/data
$BB mount --rbind /cache /sd-ext/mnt/cache
STEP 7: Prepare a script to open a chroot shell with proper environment variables
Now you will need an easy way to create a first process, a shell, in the new environment you've created. This shell will start life in a different world than regular Android shell processes live in: it will use a different root filesystem and will be able to see different files and directories, and it will have access to a vast number of full-featured programs and services.
We will be using the Bourne Again Shell, bash. We will launch bash with a program called env, which sets some environment variables and then launches a program with that new environment. Finally, we will be launching env with a program called chroot, which changes the root filesystem seen by a program before it launches it.
Option 1: Better Terminal Emulator Pro: I don't want to say "recommended" because it involves buying software that's not really necessary. I'm partial to Better Terminal Emulator Pro because it seems to have more available options (compared to the built-in Terminal Emulator) and it doesn't kill your shell unexpectedly when network connectivity changes (unlike ConnectBot). I'm not affiliated with the author of that software. Also, after I bought that I stopped looking for alternative shells, so there may exist other alternative shells that work better for this.
Use Better Terminal Emulator Pro and add the commands necessary for starting your chroot shell to BTEP's options. Once you do this, BTEP will essentially be a dedicated Ubuntu console for you, and may be difficult to use for other tasks.
My settings are:
Shell: Android Shell
Command Line: /system/bin/sh
Initial Command:
Code:
/system/xbin/chroot /sd-ext /usr/bin/env PATH=/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin TERM=linux /bin/bash -l; exit
clear
Start as root: yes
Option 2: Terminal Emulator, and a shell script: Open a root shell and create a file:
Code:
#!/system/bin/sh
/system/xbin/chroot /sd-ext /usr/bin/env PATH=/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin TERM=linux /bin/bash -l
exit
Save the file with whatever name you like, perhaps "ubuntu", and put it somewhere in your path. You could add it to /system/bin: mount -o remount,rw /system; mv ubuntu /system/bin/ubuntu; mount -o remount,ro /system
Option 3: ConnectBot: I don't recommend ConnectBot for this because, while it does offer "local" connection types, if your connectivity changes (even wifi to cell) it will close your "connection" immediately.
That said: create a new connection with type local, and give it the following initial command:
Code:
su -
/system/xbin/chroot /sd-ext /usr/bin/env PATH=/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin TERM=linux /bin/bash -l; exit
clear
STEP 8: Update /etc/apt/sources.list and /etc/resolv.conf
Ubuntu uses a package manager which automatically finds, downloads, verifies, and installs software for you. The package manager requires a list of trusted repositories which contain binaries built for ARM CPUs, like the one in your Android device.
FIXME: Later I'll discuss the pros and cons of each of these selections. For now I'll just provide my sources.list file.
Open your Ubuntu shell, using the method from step 7, and issue the following commands:
Code:
echo nameserver 8.8.8.8 > /etc/resolv.conf
# you can use a nameserver of your choice if you like.
echo nameserver 8.8.4.4 >> /etc/resolv.conf
# notice the >> instead of > which means we're appending, not overwriting.
apt-get install nano
# follow the prompts - say yes if it asks if you want to proceed.
nano -w /etc/apt/sources.list
And here are the contents of my sources.list file, containing binary sources for ARM CPUs:
Code:
deb http://ports.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-ports/ oneiric main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://ports.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-ports/ oneiric-security main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://ports.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-ports/ oneiric-updates main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://ports.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-ports/ oneiric-backports main restricted universe multiverse
deb http://archive.canonical.com/ oneiric partner
deb http://archive.canonical.com/ oneiric-security partner
deb http://archive.canonical.com/ oneiric-updates partner
deb http://archive.canonical.com/ oneiric-backports partner
STEP 9: Overwrite /sbin/start with /sbin/true
Nothing too complicated here. Some Ubuntu packages install services, which the system will usually want to automatically start and end when the system boots and shuts down.
However, on an Android device Android is responsible for booting and shutting down the system, and it doesn't know much about Ubuntu services.
Later (FIXME: when?) we'll discuss how to use an Android program like Tasker to more intelligently manage Ubuntu services. But for now, we need to trick Ubuntu's package installation scripts into believing it has successfully started a service. We will use a useless program called true, which does nothing and reports that it was successful, in place of a program called start, which will be unable to start a service because it has no access to Android's init system.
Open your Ubuntu shell and do this: cp /sbin/true /sbin/start
STEP 10: Copy or link important files into /etc and /lib
FIXME: I haven't finished this section yet. Some of my software remains broken until I fix this.
STEP 11: Initialize the package manager and begin downloading packages
Now we can begin using our Ubuntu system's package manager to install any other packages we might need.
Open your Ubuntu shell and do the following:
Code:
apt-get update
# This will take a short while, and will download updated software catalogs from each of the update servers
apt-get upgrade
# This looks for updates to any currently-installed packages. There aren't many packages installed so this should be quick.
apt-get install PACKAGE NAMES GO HERE
Then keep using apt-get install to install whatever you need.
Here are some common packages and package sets:
ubuntu-dev-tools: development tools including a compiler and linker
tightvncserver: simple X server you can connect to with androidVNC
FIXME: I need to put a lot more here.
Sorry for bumping old threat, but I am kind of stuck. Everything goes fine, but when I try to create the script in BTEP (and android terminal) I am getting segmentation fault in both of them.
Checked for syntax errors 100 of times. I am using CM6 froyo 2.2 on Motorola milestone. SD card has 2 gb of ext3 partition mounted in /sd-ext.
*EDIT*
Reflashed CM 7 latest and same thing happens. Segmentation Fault.
Hi,
I want to learn some of the commands for use in SManager (Script Manager) for ANDROID.
https://sites.google.com/site/devwom/script-manager
Does anyone know a suitable thread with guide or commands for SManager? I tried searching the web and XDA but did not find anything myself.
Specifically I want to know the cmd line to start an app.
EDIT 1:
Spent a good few hours trying to google a solution but drawn a blank.......Maybe Shell Scripts for Linux are not same as for Android...?
I would like to be able to run a script that does the following:
Checks if a directory exists on the sdcard
then executes a command (renaming of 2 directories)
then starts a program
EDIT 2:
well a few emails with the author of SManager and I was able to write my first script to check if the app is running and then if not, to rename folders and start the other version of the app. (I have Navigon Europe as well as Navigon Australia and was looking for a solution to allow both to co exist on my One-X at the same time. As both apps share the same directory structure the issue was that starting one version would overwrite the critical files of the other).
Now with my script installed as a widget I can toggle between each version without problem.
Here is some useful information on shell language for others (credits to the author of SManager Devwom):
http://tldp.org/HOWTO/Bash-Prog-Intro-HOWTO.html
Here are some critical bits of info received during my emails with him:
Thanks a lot for your interest in SManager.
The requested commands is a mix between linux commands and android os commands.
To get info about each command you can search in google and select the preferred page.
But the commands available in each Android device depends on running rom.
To get all available commands in your device, simply execute a ls (lower case LS) in system directories, that is:
ls /system/bin
ls /system/sbin
ls /system/xbin
ls /system/usr/bin
ls /system/usr/sbin
ls /system/usr/xbin
These are the most common directories where binaries resides in android devices.
May be you also can have commands at:
ls /bin
ls /sbin
ls /usr/bin
ls /usr/sbin
usually android rooted roms have the well known busybox, to get a list all comands inside it simply execute
busybox
to get all installed packages (and running names) from your device you can execute:
pm list packages
to get info about running process
ps
or
ps aux
or
ps -aux
depending on ps version installed
If conditions are based on test bash command this command is a bit confused, because usually it is named as [, and other times it is built-in inside shell
read "test man page" to get a full list of test command flags.
To check if an app is running:
if [ -n "$(ps|grep os.tools.scriptmanager)" ] ; then
echo SManager is running
fi
To check if app is NOT running:
if [ -z "$(ps|grep os.tools.scriptmanager)" ] ; then
echo SManager is NOT running
fi
To check if a file exist:
if [ -e /sdcard/file ] ; then
echo /sdcard/file exists
fi
To check if a file exist and it is a directory:
if [ -d /sdcard/file ] ; then
echo /sdcard/file exists and is directory
fi
To rename a directory simply use mv command:
I hope you can build your script with this info.
Start app it is very easy but getting correct info to start app is a bit confused.
starting app uses "am command"
To get correct info to start app you should execute:
logcat |grep Starting
in a terminal on device
then go to launcher and launch desired app
then go back to the terminal and you will see a line with info about how to fill am command.
For example if you execute SManager
in
logcat|grep Starting
output you will see
I/ActivityManager(* 275): Starting: Intent { act=android.intent.action.MAIN cat=[android.intent.category.LAUNCHER] flg=0x10200000 cmp=os.tools.scriptmanager/.launcherActivity } from pid 377
so to start scriptmanager you need the following command
am start -a android.intent.action.MAIN -c android.intent.category.LAUNCHER -n os.tools.scriptmanager/.launcherActivity
I do not know how to stop apps from command line, I usually use killall command:
killall os.tools.scriptmanager
if you do not have killall command you can use grep and awk or cut commands
kill "$(ps|grep os.tools.scriptmanager|grep -v grep|awk '{print $2;}')"
or
kill "$(ps|grep os.tools.scriptmanager|grep -v grep|cut -f5 -d" ")"
may you need adjust -f5 flag
To execute script as shortcut install SMWidgets.
Scripts usually ends with last line , ie, not special action is required, it will exit with the last executed command return code
Also you can add
exit 0
or preferred exit value, but 0 usually means OK
To end script in the middle use
exit value
where value usually it is not 0
Also it is better use mv command instead rename command.
rename command it is not linux standard, but mv command is in all linux shells.
Android shell programing it is not equals to linux shell programming but this was one of my first scripting documents many years ago and it can be used as a guide. http://tldp.org/HOWTO/Bash-Prog-Intro-HOWTO.html
Best regards,
Devwom
Thanks, this is valuable information! It's a shame this thread didn't get more replies
I've been looking to change my wallpaper by script, but so far I haven't been succesful. With your guide, I guess I'm a step closer to my goals!
Hi.
Perhaps developer of smanager or any expert is reading...
I would like to write a script for 2 purposes. Both handle with samba share running on my ubuntu.
1st situation.: I would like to move my media, download and documents files from android to the desired folder on my Ubuntu, which is shared by samba in my LAN.
The goal is to start this script with just touching a widget.
2nd situation: I would like to copy files from my samba shared folder in ubuntu to a specific folder on sdcard in android. All files in folder on sdcard should be deleted before copying. Again just by touching a widget.
Shared folder on samba are with password and rw.
Till now I am doing it manually with esexplorer...
I would like to do it with script.
Sent from my Incredible S using xda app-developers app
Hello fellow phone enthusiasts,
there are some sources on the internet describing how to run Debian on the Samsung Galaxy i7500 (Samsung's first Android device). Unfortunately, none of these sources can act as a complete guide, so I thought I could try to fill this void. This guide is far from complete and will hopefully grow over time. Anyway, I hope this is helpful for some people that are trying to do the same.
Note that this post should have gone into the development section, but I'm not senior enough to post there. Also the URLs in this guide are messed up for the same reason. Each messed up URL is marked with "(FIX this url)". I will fix these things as soon as possible, if there is any interest in this guide.
Best regards,
Frank
0. WARNING
This guide is for experienced users only. You might brick your phone while following this guide. I will not take responsibilty for any harm that may happen to you, your phone or those around you when following this guide. Please read and understand the complete guide before doing the first step. You have been warned.
Make a nandroid backup (can be done in the recovery image). Really, do it. Even if you think there's no valuable data, you must do a nandroid backub, because you will need to have the boot.img to boot back into android after debian has been installed. You must also copy your nandroid backup onto your PC.
1. Credits
A few years ago, there has been quite an active development community for the Galaxy i7500. Unfortunately, these forums have now pretty much died and I was not an active member of that community, because I was using it as my primary device back then and had no interest in hacking it.
Anyway, a HUGE THANK YOU goes to the fine fellas from drakaz.com and the GAOSP. You guys are awesome!
The actual hard technical work for this guide has been done by the authors of the following guides. I'm simply trying to understand what they did and write a step-by-step guide using their expertise:
(FIX this url)https :// code . google . com/p/linux-on-android/wiki/BasicSteps
(FIX this url)https :// wiki . debian . org/ChrootOnAndroid
(FIX this url)http :// www . bananenfisch . net/?p=1056
(FIX this url)https :// sven . killig . de/android/console.html
2. Overview
The goal of this guide is to have a running Debian Squeeze (Debian 6) running natively on a Samsung Galaxy i7500. Debian will not be run in a chroot environment on top of android, but instead the phone will directly boot into debian when powering it on. Debian will be installed on a SD card, so that we could still boot into Android, should we really mess things up at some point. It will not be true dual boot though (i.e. you have to reflash the boot section from a PC to boot into Android).
2.1 Primary goals
In the end, I'd like have the following functionality:
WLAN
Bluetooth
X Window / Graphical User Interface
All this is possible with below description now.
But this means we will loose the ability to make phone calls, send text messages, use GPS, connect to the internet through 3G or anything else you would normally expect from a smartphone. It's very likely possible to also have this functionality included, but I simply don't need it for my project. If someone else is willing to investigate this, I would be interested in the results though.
2.2 Prerequisites
Things you'll need include:
good Linux knowlegde
1 rooted Samsung Galaxy i7500 (I recommend to flash GAOSP)
1 micro SD card (I'm using an 8 GiB class 4 card)
1 computer running Linux with the following software installed (I'm using Debian & Fedora, but any distribution that has debootstrap should work)
debootstrap
git
fastboot (I suggest to use the version that comes with your distro, but you can also try the one from the Android SDK)
GCC cross-compiler for ARM in order to compile the kernel (Debian and Fedora come with compiler versions, that didn't work for me, so I'm using version 7 of the Android NDK, i. e. GCC version 4.4.3)
3. Installing Debian
Note that I had already GAOSP2 beta 3 installed on the i7500. I don't know if any of these steps are possible without installing GAOSP first.
3.1 Prepare partitions on SD card
The Samsung Galaxy i7500 has an "internal SD card" which will be preserved for use with Android, the recovery image, a.s.o. The external SD card will be used for debian. ALL data on the external card will be lost after below steps.
Put the SD card into an SD card reader or boot the i7500 into recovery mode (press "vol-" and "call" buttons when switching on the phone). Note that using GAOSP directly didn't work for me, because for some reason only the first partition was shown on the PC.
Code:
cfdisk /dev/sdX
(replace X with the correct letter for your SD card, and then create the one big enough partition for your needs, I created one 4GiB primary partition leaving me 4GiB for playing around later)
Code:
sudo mke2fs /dev/sdX1
3.2 Build debian filesystem structure
Create a directory for the newly created debian partition (I assume it' s called "debian") and run the following commands
Code:
sudo mount /dev/sdX1 ./debian/
Code:
sudo debootstrap --verbose --arch armel --foreign squeeze ./debian/ (FIX this url) http :// ftp . de . debian . org/debian
Code:
sudo umount ./debian/
3.3 Finalize the debian installation
The following is based on the steps as described here (FIX this url) wiki. debian.org/ChrootOnAndroid and www . bananenfisch .net/?p=1056.
Boot phone into GAOSP
Open terminal
Code:
su
Code:
cd /data/local
Code:
mkdir debian
Code:
mount /dev/block/mmcblk1p1 /data/local/debian
Finalize bootstrap:
Code:
chroot /data/local/debian /debootstrap/debootstrap --second-stage
Mount special file systems and chroot into Debian:
Code:
for f in dev dev/pts proc sys ; do mount -o bind /$f /data/local/debian /$f ; done
Code:
chroot /data/local/debian /bin/bash
Finalise the installation:
Code:
echo "deb (FIX this url) http :// ftp . de . debian . org/debian/ squeeze main non-free contrib" > /etc/apt/sources.list
Code:
apt-get update
Code:
rm -f /etc/mtab
Code:
ln -s /proc/mounts /etc/mtab
Code:
passwd root
Code:
echo i7500 > /etc/hostname
Code:
apt-get install openssh-server
Code:
apt-get clean && apt-get autoclean
The ssh-sever can be started whenever you like through
Code:
/etc/init.d/ssh start
Afterwards you can log in from your PC using "ssh [email protected]" into the chroot environment.
3.4 Configure locale
We need to set the locale for the system (otherwise there will always be warning messages, e.g. when installing new software):
Code:
apt-get install locales console-data keyboard-configuration
You might want to tweak a few more settings (especially if your locale is not en_US). You can use:
Code:
echo export LANG=en_US.UTF-8 >> /root/.bashrc
Code:
export LC_ALL="en_US.utf8"
Code:
dpkg-reconfigure locales
Code:
dpkg-reconfigure console-data
Code:
dpkg-reconfigure keyboard-configuration
3.5 Installing additional software
You can now start installing additional software that you might need (I suggest you log into your phone through ssh as described above). You'll be needing an editor to edit configuration files (I choose vim). For setting up WiFi the package "wpasupplicant" is needed.
Code:
apt-get install vim less wpasupplicant
3.6 Chroot into debian
If you at a later time want to chroot into your debian environment, I recommend to store the following commands in a shell script (I stored it in /data/local/debian.sh) which you can then run as root.
Code:
#!/bin/sh
mount /dev/block/mmcblk1p1 /data/local/debian
for f in dev dev/pts proc sys ; do mount -o bind /$f /data/local/debian/$f ; done
chroot /data/local/debian /bin/bash
4. Create boot image
4.1 Build kernel
Perform the following steps on your PC:
Download the Galaxo kernel sources: git clone (FIX this url) https :// github . com/drakaz/GalaxoKernel.git
Apply the patch described on (FIX this url) https :// code . google . com/p/linux-on-android/wiki/BasicSteps (themddi_toshiba_smd.c patch doesn't work, do the change manually)
Apply patch as described here: (FIX this url) http :// sven . killig . de/android/console.html
copy attached config.txt file to .config
I will eventually create a branch on github containing the patches and default config. But for now, you'll have to do the patching yourself.
Code:
make ARCH=arm CROSS_COMPILE=/path/to/android-ndk-r7/toolchains/arm-linux-androideabi-4.4.3/prebuilt/linux-x86/bin/arm-linux-androideabi- oldconfig
Code:
make ARCH=arm CROSS_COMPILE=/path/to/android-ndk-r7/toolchains/arm-linux-androideabi-4.4.3/prebuilt/linux-x86/bin/arm-linux-androideabi-
Code:
make ARCH=arm CROSS_COMPILE=/path/to/android/android-ndk-r7/toolchains/arm-linux-androideabi-4.4.3/prebuilt/linux-x86/bin/arm-linux-androideabi- modules
4.2 Install modules
The modules need to be installed on the SD card partition, so you need to boot your phone into recovery and mount the SD card. Then execute the following command.
Code:
sudo make ARCH=arm CROSS_COMPILE=/path/to/android-ndk-r7/toolchains/arm-linux-androideabi-4.4.3/prebuilt/linux-x86/bin/arm-linux-androideabi- INSTALL_MOD_PATH=/path/to/sdcard modules_install
In order for the WLAN kernel module to work the following files need to be copied from the GAOSP ROM to the /etc/ folder on the phone:
rtecdc.bin
nvram.txt
4.3 Minimal boot file system
A boot file system (a.k.a. initramfs) is needed to start the debian boot process. Create a folder called minimal_initramfs with the follwoing content:
Code:
minimal_initramfs/
|-- dev/
|-- init*
|-- mnt/
| `-- root/
|-- proc/
|-- sbin/
| `-- busybox*
`-- sys/
A binary of busybox can be downloaded from the busybox website (use busybox-armv4tl). The file "init" is actually a shell script with the following content:
Code:
#!/sbin/busybox sh
# initramfs pre-boot init script
# Something (what?) needs a few cycles here
/sbin/busybox sleep 1
# Populate /dev
/sbin/busybox mknod /dev/mmcblk1p1 b 179 9
# Mount the root filesystem, second partition on micro SDcard
/sbin/busybox mount -t ext2 -o noatime,nodiratime /dev/mmcblk1p1 /mnt/root
# Transfer root to SDcard
exec /sbin/busybox switch_root /mnt/root /sbin/init
The directory structure must then be compressed. To do this run the following sequence of commands when in the minimal_initramfs directory:
Code:
find . | cpio --quiet -H newc -o | gzip > ../minimal.cpio.gz
4.4 Creating the image
For creating the image you need the tool mkbootimg which you can find in android_bootimg_tools.tar.gz. Run the following command to create the boot image from the initramfs and the kernel you created above:
Code:
./mkbootimg --kernel /path/to/Galaxo-kernel/arch/arm/boot/zImage --ramdisk /path/to/minimal.cpio.gz --cmdline "fbcon=font:VGA8x8" --pagesize 2048 --base 10000000 -o debian_boot.img
5. Configuring network
5.1 Setting up the interface
Your /etc/network/interfaces file on the phone should look like this:
Code:
# Used by ifup(8) and ifdown(8). See the interfaces(5) manpage or
# /usr/share/doc/ifupdown/examples for more information.
auto lo
iface lo inet loopback
auto eth0
allow-hotplug eth0
iface eth0 inet dhcp
wpa-driver wext
wpa-conf /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf
5.2 Setting up wireless encryption
For network configuration we'll be using wpa_supplicant which we already installed in one of the above steps. On the phone create the file /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf with the following content. Please enter the correct values for ssid, psk and key_mgmt for your network:
Code:
network={
ssid="YourSSID"
psk="YourSecretPassword"
key_mgmt=WPA-PSK
priority=11
}
5.3 Loading drivers
In order for the WLAN kernel module to be loaded add the following line to /etc/modules:
Code:
bcm4325 firmware_path=/etc/rtecdc.bin nvram_path=/etc/nvram.txt
6. Flashing the boot image and booting into Debian
Now it's finally time to finally flash the previously created boot image. At this time, be sure that you only have your Galaxy connected to your PC. Otherwise you might brick any other connected phone. On the PC run
Code:
sudo fastboot flash boot debian_boot.img
Then boot the Galaxy into fastboot mode by pressing "call" when powering on the phone.
When the process is finished the phone will boot into Debian and automatically connect to your wireless network (if the set-up was correct). You can now connect to the phone through ssh and enjoy your new pocket server.
If you may ever want to boot into android again, you just need to flash the original boot.img that you created with nandroid:
Code:
sudo fastboot flash boot boot.img
7. Bluetooth
7.1 Compile brcm_patchram_plus
For getting bluetooth operational it is necessary to use Broadcom's brcm_patchram_plus software. As it is not available as a Debian Squeeze package, we need to compile it ourselves. So we need to install the following packages on the phone:
Code:
apt-get install git gcc make libbluetooth-dev
Then it's possible to download the sources:
Code:
git clone (FIX this url)https :// github . com / MarkMendelsohn / brcm_patchram.git
And compile the tool using:
Code:
make
7.2 Activating bluetooth
In order for bluetooth to work the following files need to be copied from the GAOSP ROM to the same folder on the phone that you compiled the brcm_patchram_plus in:
BCM4325D1_004.002.004.0153.0156.hcd
After that it's possible to execute the followig commands:
Code:
echo 0 > /sys/class/rfkill/rfkill0/state
echo 1 > /sys/class/rfkill/rfkill0/state
./brcm_patchram_plus -d --enable_hci --baudrate 3000000 --use_baudrate_for_download --patchram BCM4325D1_004.002.004.0153.0156.hcd /dev/ttyHS0
The last command will never terminate and you will get a lot of output due to the (-d) switch. After starting a new console, you will be able to scan for bluetooth devices using:
Code:
hcitool -i hci0 scan
7.3 Connecting a keyboard
I'm using a Rapoo E6100 keyboard and the following procedure worked fine for me. It should be similar with other keyboards.
Code:
apt-get install python-bluez python-gobject python-dbus bluez-compat
Code:
cd /usr/share/doc/bluez/examples
Press pairing button on keyboard then
Code:
./simple-agent hci0 6C:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx
(use the bluetooth address of your keyboard, according to the scan in the previous chapter)
The script will ask for a PIN. I entered 0000 on both the keyboard and phone and the keyboard was registered.
Code:
./test-device trusted 6C:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx yes
(again use the bluetooth address of your keyboard)
Code:
hidd --connect 6C:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx
Now you should be good to use your keyboard.
7.4 Automate patchram
Right now, the KB is not automatically connected on boot, because the patchram command from above needs to be executed on every boot. Hence the following commands should be added to /etc/rc.local (before the exit 0):
Code:
#Activate bluetooth
echo 0 > /sys/class/rfkill/rfkill0/state
echo 1 > /sys/class/rfkill/rfkill0/state
/path/to/brcm_patchram_plus --enable_hci --baudrate 3000000 --use_baudrate_for_download --patchram /path/to/BCM4325D1_004.002.004.0153.0156.hcd /dev/ttyHS0 &
8. Setting the clock
I was having trouble with my clock forgetting the day and time after each reboot. It was a flaw in my kernel config. In the current version of attached config file this is fixed. Anyway, I'm also running NTP to have the clock more accurate.
Code:
apt-get install ntpdate
NTP already come nicely pre-configured (thanks, Debian maintainers!). After that the timezone can be selected using
Code:
dpkg-reconfigure tzdata
9. GUI (X.org)
X.org works almost out-of-the-box since we already pathed the kernel as described in chapter 4 above. Based on the description from (FIX this url)https :// code . google . com/p/linux-on-android/wiki/BasicSteps only two minor changes have been made:
The framebuffer device is at /dev/fb0 instead of /dev/graphcics/fb0
I use evdev instead of tslib, because it provided better results for me (thanks to pabs from #debian-mobile for pointing me there)
9.1 Install X.org
All we need to do is download the software
Code:
apt-get install xorg xserver-xorg-video-fbdev xserver-xorg-input-evdev
9.2 Configuring X.org
Now create /etc/X11/xorg.conf:
Code:
Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Touchscreen"
Driver "evdev"
Option "Device" "/dev/input/event2"
EndSection
Section "Device"
Identifier "Configured Video Device"
Driver "fbdev"
Option "fbdev" "/dev/fb0"
EndSection
Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Configured Monitor"
Option "DPMS" "false"
EndSection
Section "Screen"
Identifier "Default Screen"
Monitor "Configured Monitor"
Device "Configured Video Device"
EndSection
Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "Default"
Screen "Default Screen"
InputDevice "Touchscreen" "CorePointer"
EndSection
Section "ServerFlags"
Option "DefaultServerLayout" "Default"
EndSection
9.3 Testing X.org
For testing X.org I've installed icewm and created the following /root/.xsession
Code:
#!/bin/sh
xterm&
exec icewm
Then just type in startx from the console and you have X. Of course you will have to change this to whatever you need or maybe even make X start on boot.
9.4 Boot into Browser
For my target system I want the phone to directly boot into a browser. This can easily be achieved by using the nodm package:
Code:
apt-get install nodm
and midori as browser:
Code:
apt-get install midori
We'll also need a user account. I called my user "default". But naturally you can of course choose whatever you like.
Code:
adduser default
Then nodm has to be configured in /etc/default/nodm:
Code:
# nodm configuration
# Set NODM_ENABLED to something different than 'false' to enable nodm
NODM_ENABLED=true
# User to autologin for
NODM_USER=default
# xinit program
NODM_XINIT=/usr/bin/xinit
# First vt to try when looking for free VTs
NODM_FIRST_VT=7
# X session
NODM_XSESSION=/etc/X11/Xsession
# Options for the X server
NODM_X_OPTIONS='vt7 -nolisten tcp'
# If an X session will run for less than this time in seconds, nodm will wait an
# increasing bit of time before restarting the session.
NODM_MIN_SESSION_TIME=60
And we have to create ~/.xsession for our user:
Code:
#!/bin/bash
midori -e Fullscreen &
exec icewm
A few tweaks in the icewm config (~/.icewm/preferences) will make the window manager look more nicely:
Code:
WorkspaceNames=" 1 "
TaskBarShowCPUStatus=0
TaskBarDoubleHeight=0
TaskBarShowWorkspaces=0
TaskBarShowMailboxStatus=0
TaskBarShowNetStatus=0
TimeFormat="%H:%M"
TaskBarShowWindowListMenu=1
TaskBarShowShowDesktopButton=0
10. Power management
The kernel is already configured with many different frequency govenors. Also the default govenor is set to "ondemand" but for some reason the when looking at /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpufreq/scaling_governor it's using the "performance" govenor. This can be solved by simply installing cpufreq-utils:
Code:
apt-get install cpufrequtils
The default settings are already using "ondemand", which seems to be a good choice. Anyway, further optimisations can be done in /etc/default/cpufrequtils if needed.
The phone still gets a little too warm for my taste (I think warmer than in android). Maybe there's something that could fix this, but I'm not an expert.
11. Known shortcomings
The whole set-up is in a really, REALLY early alpha stage
If any of the hardware buttons is touched in text mode the phone crashes (does not happen when in X.org)
The screen will time-out after some time, I have no idea how to wake it up again
Did I mention this is in an alpha stage?
12. Future improvements
Switching to a newer kernel version: The latest version of GAOSP runs on kernel version 2.6.35, while this guide is using 2.6.27. I have experimented with 2.6.29, but I had trouble getting a working frame buffer.
Switching to the latest version of debian (wheezy).
History
History:
2013-12-27:
Initial version
2013-12-30:
Minimized the the init script by removing mounts for /dev, /proc, and /sys. These are not necessary and mounting /dev prevents Debian's udev from working correctly.
2014-01-19:
Added description for bluetooth.
2014-01-25:
Added description for graphical user interface (X.org).
2014-01-25:
Boot into X/Browser and power management
2014-01-26:
Updated clock settings
Video proof
Hi all,
to get a better understanding what this is all about please watch the attached video. Please excuse the poor quality and the fingerprints on the screen.
As you can see the framebuffer output has a few quirks, but hopefully this will work out as soon as X is working.
BR,
Frank
All goals achieved
Okay, I think I now have achieved all goals. I can connect to WiFi and bluetooth. And there is a graphical user interface. Now the tweaking can start (first thing that comes to mind is powersaving). I really created this guide for myself, but I'd be happy to know if anyone else has interest in this topic.
Nice, I am interested. One question!
frank47 said:
Okay, I think I now have achieved all goals. I can connect to WiFi and bluetooth. And there is a graphical user interface. Now the tweaking can start (first thing that comes to mind is powersaving). I really created this guide for myself, but I'd be happy to know if anyone else has interest in this topic.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice, I am interested. One question!
I would like to use this device to get some data from the sensors. I have tested some apps in Android GAOSP to read the sensors in the i7500, but instead of using android apps, it could be very interesting to have a debian.
Have you tried to do it? Do you think it is possible? Is it too tricky to get a stable debian running an app to send sensors' data to another debian? I could help if you see it is interesting.
What is your opinion? Thank you...
Hi PabloGN,
there are a lot of entries in /proc and /sys. I think it's likely to be possible te access the sensors. For now, I have only looked at the battery status. Don't know if you'd consider that a sensor. Anyway, you would probably have to re-write your software to use those devices instead of using already existing Java libs for android. Hard to tell,*if it's worth the effort.
BR,
Frank
PabloGN said:
I would like to use this device to get some data from the sensors.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is the list of input devices on my the i7500:
Code:
[email protected]:~# cat /proc/bus/input/devices
I: Bus=0000 Vendor=0000 Product=0000 Version=0000
N: Name="I7500_headset"
P: Phys=
S: Sysfs=/devices/virtual/input/input0
U: Uniq=
H: Handlers=kbd event0
B: EV=3
B: KEY=4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
I: Bus=0000 Vendor=0000 Product=0000 Version=0000
N: Name="I7500_keypad"
P: Phys=
S: Sysfs=/devices/virtual/input/input1
U: Uniq=
H: Handlers=kbd event1
B: EV=3
B: KEY=800180 100000 0 41000800 1c1ec0 0 0 0
I: Bus=0000 Vendor=0000 Product=0000 Version=0033
N: Name="melfas-tsi-touchscreen"
P: Phys=
S: Sysfs=/devices/virtual/input/input2
U: Uniq=
H: Handlers=event2
B: EV=b
B: KEY=400 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
B: ABS=11000003
I: Bus=0000 Vendor=0000 Product=0000 Version=0000
N: Name="compass"
P: Phys=
S: Sysfs=/devices/virtual/input/input3
U: Uniq=
H: Handlers=event3
B: EV=9
B: ABS=20305ff
I: Bus=0000 Vendor=0000 Product=0000 Version=0000
N: Name="proximity_i2c"
P: Phys=
S: Sysfs=/devices/virtual/input/input4
U: Uniq=
H: Handlers=event4
B: EV=1
So, it should at least be possible to read the compass and proximity sensor data form /dev/input/event3 and /dev/input/event4. Maybe there's more and I just haven't compiled it into the kernel or it's accessed in some other way. Sorry, the sensors are not part of my use case so far.
I'm only using /dev/input/event2 (touchscreen) in my xorg.conf as an input device. Works like a charm.
Good luck with your endeavour. If you want me to test something or send you the output of some command, just ask here or by PM.