Nothing runs as root
Android runs as you, inside Linux namespaces of its own. No root daemon, no setuid helper, no container runtime.
0
Processes run as root
AlphaFor x86_64 Wayland desktops
Android apps, at home on your Linux desktop
Each app in its own window, launched from your app menu like any other. No root, no container, no virtual machine.
Sarab
by the numbers
1.5 s
To boot Android
0 %
CPU while no app is open
13 ms
To wake from a pause
Typical figures; the first boot after setup takes longer. How it works
What it does
Android that behaves like part of your desktop
Sarab boots an unmodified Android 13 as ordinary processes under your user, then connects it to your desktop: windows, clipboard, notifications, launcher entries and dark mode.
A window for every app
The apps you install join your app launcher. Open one and it gets its own phone-sized window, floating on Hyprland and sway.
Asleep when you are not using it
A minute after the last app window closes, Android is frozen: no CPU, no wakeups. Open an app and it thaws in 13 ms.
At home on your desktop
Copy in Android and paste on your desktop, or the other way round. Android’s notifications arrive as your desktop’s, and Android follows your dark mode setting.
- Clipboard
- Notifications
- Launcher entries
- Dark mode
- .apk double-click
Stock Android, one command
Sarab boots LineageOS 20 as published, unchanged, and checks the download before using it. Everything is one command, sarab, shaped like docker or podman.
Get started
Up and running in three steps
- 01
Build and install
Sarab builds from source with Rust 1.88 or newer and installs into your home directory. Nothing is written outside the prefix you give it.
git clone https://github.com/SL0wZEr/sarab && cd sarab packaging/install.sh --prefix ~/.local - 02
Start Android
The first start checks your system, says exactly what to fix if anything is missing, and asks before it downloads Android: 1.4 GB, about 5 GB on disk.
sarab start - 03
Install an app
Give it an .apk, or an .apks or .xapk bundle, or double-click the file. The app appears in your launcher like any other.
sarab install app.apk
Needs x86_64 Linux with a Wayland desktop. Full requirements
Before you try it
Alpha, and honest about it
Built and used daily on Arch Linux with Hyprland and an AMD GPU, and tested on Ubuntu 24.04 with GNOME. Other setups are untested, so please report what you find.
All limitationsx86 apps only
Apps built only for ARM phones will not install. There is no translation layer yet.
No audio or video playback
Android’s media decoders do not work here yet. A fix is being worked on.
One app on screen at a time
Each app has its own window, but only one of them is shown at a time.
Not a sandbox
Android is walled off with namespaces but can reach your display and audio. Install apps you trust.
A GPU that Mesa drives
AMD, Intel, or NVIDIA with nouveau. NVIDIA’s proprietary driver does not work.
No title bar on GNOME
Move a window with Super+drag and close it with Alt+F4. KDE is untested.