> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://dixon-solutions.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Frequently asked questions

> Root, Android versions, how Lindroids differs from Termux:X11, security, the GPU, and more.

> [accordion] Do I need root?
>
> No. Lindroids runs as an ordinary package inside Termux or a proot distro, with Termux's own
> permissions. Flatpak programs run without root too: `install.sh` sets Flatpak up in Termux.

> [accordion] Which Android versions work?
>
> Android 7 (API 24) and later. It is tested on Android 7 to 13 in QEMU lab images, and on a
> Samsung Galaxy Tab with Android 16.

> [accordion] Which Termux?
>
> Termux from F-Droid, from GitHub, or from Google Play. The Play build cannot open Android's
> installer itself, so `lindroids export` saves the app to Download and opens the file manager
> there: tap it, then *Install*.

> [accordion] How is this different from Termux:X11?
>
> Termux:X11 is an Android app of its own: it starts a Java process inside Termux with
> `app_process` and hands surfaces over Binder with hidden Android APIs. That does not work
> everywhere: on x86 images with an ARM translation layer (BlissOS, Android-x86, many
> Chromebooks), `app_process` loads the translation layer, which the app sandbox kills.
>
> Lindroids' server is a plain Linux program that touches no Android API. It is a Wayland
> compositor (X11 programs run through Xwayland), and each program gets a window of its own:
> an exported app with its own name and icon in Recents, or a browser window of its own. More in
> [Architecture](https://dixon-solutions.mintlify.site/docs/ARCHITECTURE.md).

> [accordion] Can other apps on the phone see my windows or hear the sound?
>
> No. Windows, sound and input travel over one loopback port, and every connection proves who it
> is first: the page holds a key it cannot export (P-256, paired once), the server proves itself
> with a key of its own, and each window needs a ticket for its run. Another app that connects
> is refused; one that takes the port while the server is down is rejected by the page, which
> pinned the server's key. The Wayland, X11 and PulseAudio sockets are Unix sockets in Termux's
> private folder. The threat model, and the tests behind it, are in
> [Windows and security](https://dixon-solutions.mintlify.site/docs/DISPLAY.md#the-bridge-and-its-security).

> [accordion] Is there GPU acceleration?
>
> Not yet. Windows are composited on the CPU and only the parts that changed are sent, in 64×64
> tiles, compressed; the page draws them into a canvas at the screen's resolution.

> [accordion] Do I need Termux open for an exported app to work?
>
> No. An exported app's icon starts its program through Termux. When Termux is not running, the
> app shows its own page, "`<name>` runs in Termux, which is not running now", whose *Start*
> hands the program to Termux; after that the app opens it by itself. More in
> [A program's own app](https://dixon-solutions.mintlify.site/docs/APPS.md).

> [accordion] Which programs work?
>
> Any Linux program with a window: Termux packages, programs in a proot distro (Debian, Ubuntu,
> Arch, Fedora and others), Flatpaks from Flathub, and X11 programs (`lindroids setup x11`).

> [accordion] Where do I report a problem or ask for help?
>
> On [Discord](https://discord.gg/gBbW9mNr9P), or in a
> [GitHub issue](https://github.com/dixonSolutions/lindroids/issues). Include `lindroids
>         version`, your device and Android version, and which Termux. `lindroids doctor` finds the
> common problems.


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