5 things to do with the Linux terminal on your Android phone – including my favorite

If you have a phone running Android 15, you can enable a full-blown Linux terminal that includes many of the commands you’re used to running on Linux, and I have to say that it’s pretty cool.

Before we go any further, I want to mention what you can’t do with the Linux terminal on Android. You can’t install GUI apps without serious work. I’ve tried running GUI apps and found they simply wouldn’t start. I know there have been successful attempts at installing apps like Doom on the new terminal, but it is no easy feat.

Also: 5 Linux terminal apps better than your default

With that disappointment in check, I decided to figure out what this new feature could do for me and you. In a word: Plenty… if you don’t mind using the command line. Let me explain how I used this new addition. Hopefully, you’ll find something the terminal app can do for you.

1. SSH

In my piece on how to start using the new Linux terminal on your Android device, I walked you through enabling the Linux Terminal app on Android as well as installing SSH. What I didn’t say was that connecting to remote machines via SSH on the Android Linux terminal app was kind of a pain… especially for those who are terrible at typing on a phone keyboard (like yours truly).

Fortunately, there’s something you can do to make that a bit easier, thanks to the SSH config file. With this file, you can configure SSH connections so that instead of having to peck out ssh gilly@192.168.1.176, you might only have to type ssh hive. Let me show you how.

Also: The best SSH clients for Android – including my two favorites

Open the Linux terminal app and make sure you install SSH (as described in the article above). Once you’ve done that, connect to the remote machine in question (which creates the .ssh folder for you). Exit from that connection, and then type nano .ssh/config. In that file, you’ll add something like this:

Host hive
  Hostname 192.168.1.176
  User gilly

Save that file by tapping Ctrl (in the terminal keyboard menu bar), and then tapping x.

With that taken care of, you’d only have to type ssh hive. SSH will read the config file and know the IP address of the host and the remote hostname.

So much easier.

2. Learn the Linux command line

Thanks to the Android Linux terminal app, you have a great tool to help you learn the Linux command line. With this app, you can run commands, install new commands, and read the man files for every command, and know that if you were to mess things up beyond repair, you can disable Linux terminal support in Android and then re-enable it for a fresh start. 

After installing the Ollama command-line AI, I quickly discovered I’d run out of space in the virtual environment. Instead of going through all the steps of removing Ollama, I simply disabled the Linux terminal app and then re-enabled it to get back to where I started.

Also: How to run Android apps on Linux

If you’re interested in learning the Linux command-line interface while on the go, this is a great place to start.

3. Develop

This isn’t for everyone, but if you’re a developer or are learning a new programming language, this is a great way to have access to that language any time.

Also: How I used GitHub Spark to build an app with just a one-sentence AI prompt

By default, Python is installed, so you can start developing with Python right away. I did a quick test by way of the Hello, World app by creating the necessary file with the command:

nano hello.py

In that file, I added:

print(“Hello, ZDNET”)

After saving the file, it can be run with:

python3 hello.py

In the output, I received “Hello, ZDNET” for my effort.

The one thing to keep in mind is that you can only develop from the terminal and not with the help of a GUI.

4. Use a database

I know this might sound crazy, but you can install the MariaDB database server via the Linux terminal app. Once you have it installed, you can create all the databases you need. Yes, it will all be command-line driven, but if you know how to use MariaDB, this can be an outstanding way to improve your skills while you’re on the go.

To install MariaDB, run the following command:

sudo apt install mariadb-server

5. Keep notes hidden in plain sight

This is probably my favorite thing to do with the Linux terminal app. I might have information I need to save on my phone, but I want to make sure it’s not there for anyone to see. To that end, I use the Nano editor to create a hidden file (such as with the command nano ~/.stuff). In that file, I add whatever I need, save it, and then exit from the terminal app. 

Also: The first 5 Linux commands every new user should learn

When I need to access that information, I run the terminal app and open the file with Nano or read the contents with less ~/.stuff.

Get the morning’s top stories in your inbox each day with our Tech Today newsletter.