GNURoot: Linux on Android, No Root Required

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Installing Linux on Android usually requires rooting your device first. If that's not an option for you, then the GNURoot app is right up your alley. Despite its name, GNURoot doesn't require root access in order to run. Better still, the app greatly simplifies the entire process of getting Linux up and running on an Android device. To deploy Linux using GNURoot, you need to grab a helper app for a specific Linux distribution. For example, if you want to deploy Debian, you need to download the GNURoot Wheezy app. There are also helper apps for the Aboriginal, Gentoo, and Fedora Linux distributions.

Next, install and run GNURoot, then press the Create New Rootfs button. Once the app has finished the operation (this might take a while), hit the Launch Rootfs button to open the terminal and automatically log in to the running Linux instance. If you want to log in to the system with root privileges, tick the Launch as Fake Root check box before hitting the Launch Rootfs button.