Anbox, a tool that will allow us to install Android apps on our Gnu / Linux

Although more and more users are using Gnu / Linux on their computer, the truth is that many apps and web applications are still on mobile platforms. Platforms like Android or iOS. However, these applications cannot be installed on Gnu / Linux, at least they couldn't until now. A young project called Anbox will allow us to use and install Android apps on our Linux desktop.

This project uses container technology that allows you to recreate an Android environment so that the apk file of the app can be installed.

Anbox can only be installed on distributions that accept snap packages

Anbox is a free program and is already operational with certain Android programs and apps, but unlike other emulators, Anbox only works on distributions that support snap packages, as it is only distributed in this format. If we use a distribution that uses snap packages, we can install it by typing the following in a terminal:

snap install --classic anbox-installer && anbox-installer

Anbox is still an Android emulator for Linux but in this case it is not a complete emulator since you do not have access to the Playstore or Google Apps. It is an emulator that uses container technologies, specifically LXC technology.

This technology makes it possible to bring together in a single package all the necessary Anbox infrastructure and files so that it works without the need to use operating system files. Also, thanks to the snap format, Anbox can be updated without affecting other files of the operating system or vice versaIn other words, no update will affect the program.

Anbox is not the only alternative to have Android apps on our desktop. There are other alternatives such as using Chrome OS or Remix OS, Android or Chrome based operating systems that are adapted to the desktop. In any case, it seems that if we want to install an Android app on our Linux, we have an option to do so Do not you think?


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  1.   Jorge Romero said

    Emulate???
    Anbox does not translate hardware equivalent code
    What they do is virtualize

  2.   Yamil zambrano said

    Greetings someone who can help me I get this error: cannot install "anbox-installer": snap not found

    1.    David Escobar said

      Hi Yamil, did you find any solution to install Anbox?
      Greetings.

  3.   Ramon Leonardo said

    I tried linux mint and it failed to install. Any recommendation?

  4.   waldo said

    Hi, because of linuxmint I can't install even though if I have the snap installed in the latest version ... I get the error of cannot install «anbox»: snap not found if someone can help ...

  5.   Oscar said

    I have the same problem ... someone who has a solution? regards!

  6.   David Escobar said

    Hello, I also get an error: cannot install "anbox-installer": snap not found
    Has anyone been able to fix it?

    regards

    1.    Uncle_Gren said

      1 - Try installing snapd
      APT-GET INSTALL SNAPD
      2- then install the anbox
      3- then restart your machine
      3- then run anbox-installer without starting as root or sudo
      4- enter 1 to install
      5- write I AGREE and enter to accept the terms and it will finally be installed

    2.    Uncle_Gren said

      1 - Try installing snapd
      APT-GET INSTALL SNAPD
      2- then install the anbox
      3- then restart your machine
      3- then run anbox-installer without starting as root or sudo
      4- enter 1 to install
      5- write I AGREE and enter to accept the terms and it will finally be installed

  7.   gran said

    They must install the snap on their machine

    try sudo apt-get install snapd

    As I recall, the same system indicates it at the time of not finding the snap

  8.   Uncle_Gren said

    1 - Try installing snapd
    APT-GET INSTALL SNAPD
    2- then install the anbox
    3- then restart your machine
    3- then run anbox-installer without starting as root or sudo
    4- enter 1 to install
    5- write I AGREE and enter to accept the terms and it will finally be installed

  9.   Gabriel Alexander said

    Anbox is NOT an emulator... android makes use of the Linux kernel and anbox takes advantage of this, it is installed as a container but unlike an emulator, it works directly with the kernel of the installed GNU/Linux distribution... ps @Linux adictos When you make a post, make sure you research the topic to consider well. Greetings from vnzla

  10.   Margel said

    Greetings, Miguel
    Good page and good references. i have a problem with wine, i can't install .exe files on my debian

  11.   jakeukalane said

    Anbox can be installed on Manjaro without using snap