I knew it was only a matter of time before Android had its own terminal app. 

Little did I know that Google would use the Android Virtualization Framework (AVF) to run a local virtual machine, powered by Debian, to give users access to a lot of powerful commands, even a package manager. And I am 100% on board with the addition. 

Also: 5 Linux terminal apps better than your default

With the Linux terminal on Android, you can do so much more (assuming you are comfortable with the Linux command line). If this sounds like something you want to add to your Android phone, keep reading, and you will find out how.

How to enable the Linux terminal on Android

What you'll need: The only thing you will need for this is an updated Android device. If you do not find the option on your phone, it means you are either running an older version of Android or the terminal app has not made its way to your phone.

How to install something useful

The first thing I did with the new Linux environment was to install SSH, which would allow me to SSH into any remote machine I needed from the convenience of my phone. Here is how I installed SSH on my Android phone.

1. Open the terminal app

If you do not already have the terminal app open, open it now.

2. Update apt

Before you can install SSH, you have to update apt with the command:

sudo apt update

Notice that you have to make use of sudo. Interestingly enough, you do not have to supply a user password (because there is none), which means the default user has full admin rights (meaning-- be careful).

3. Install SSH

To install SSH, the command is:

Also: How to generate random passwords from the Linux command line

sudo apt install ssh -y

Type that command carefully. I do not type well on a phone, so I had to verify/retype, verify/retype, and verify/retype until I got it right. Tap the Enter key, and the command will launch, installing SSH for your Linux environment. Once installed, you can use SSH exactly as you would on a full-blown Linux desktop. I immediately connected with my desktop to verify it worked.

In theory, you could install any Linux app you want, including a full desktop environment. I have yet to attempt that, but you know I will be giving it a try very soon.

Also: 5 best Linux commands for troubleshooting problems (and how I use them)

Keep in mind that this app is still rather young, so it will go through some growing pains at first. I have been using the terminal app for about a week and have found it to be pretty solid. We will see how well it stands up to installing more and more Linux apps very soon.

Get the morning's top stories in your inbox each day with ourTech Today newsletter.

Featured

I never pay full price for PCs or Macs, thanks to these 7 money-saving tricks

Linus Torvalds built Git in 10 days - and never imagined it would last 20 years

Lenovo ditched tradition by redesigning the latest ThinkPad - and I'm glad it did

How to start using the new Linux terminal on your Android device

• I never pay full price for PCs or Macs, thanks to these 7 money-saving tricks
• Linus Torvalds built Git in 10 days - and never imagined it would last 20 years
• Lenovo ditched tradition by redesigning the latest ThinkPad - and I'm glad it did
• How to start using the new Linux terminal on your Android device