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Can you convert an android apk to a linux package? (mander.xyz)
submitted 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) by BlastboomStrice@mander.xyz to c/android@lemdro.id
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Supposing we have an open source android app, (how) could one convert it to a linux distro package? (Like for debian, nixos, etc.)

Android is essentially a linux distro if I get it correctly, a heavily modified one.

Many android apps are written with java and the newer ones tend to go with kotlin, which I think should be able to run cross-platform.

Would hard of an attempt would this be?

Edit: Thank you people! From what I gather android is very far from the rest of linux distros (practically having in common only a few parts of the kernel) and the fact that apps tend to be written in java/kotlin doesnt have much of a difference if they are not built in a way that makes the cross-platform compatible (like godot engine does). Those apps will probably need to do many system calls to the android OS, soI can't just compile them for a different architecture. I'd either need an android translation layer or an emulator to run them.

Unrelated, but cool to see some familiar usernames:)

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[-] bjoern_tantau@swg-empire.de 3 points 2 days ago

I think this depends on too many factors to give general advice. Android is very different from other Linux distros because they share almost none of the supporting libraries and software. Even the Linux Kernel they share is heavily modified.

The are many apps that are made for both Linux and Android but I think they have to be built with portability in mind for that to work. Godot for instance can make Linux, Windows, Mac OS and Android packages.

On the other side there are Sober for Roblox and the Minecraft Bedrock Launcher that use the respective Android packages and make them run on Linux. But they are specialised for Roblox and Minecraft and don't work on all Android packages.

[-] Flax_vert@feddit.uk 2 points 2 days ago

Roblox doesn't have native linux support? Is understandable for Minecraft bedrock as Microsoft are [censored] but the lackthereof on roblox is interesting

[-] f4f4f4f4f4f4f4f4@sopuli.xyz 1 points 4 hours ago

They go out of their way to block Linux. There was "Vinegar" bootstrapper, then "Grapejuice", leading to the current closed-source "Sober" client that streamlines running Roblox for ARM Android on x86_64 Linux PC.

[-] bjoern_tantau@swg-empire.de 2 points 2 days ago

Yeah, and they specifically block Wine from running Roblox.

this post was submitted on 30 Mar 2025
19 points (80.6% liked)

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