TL;DR
A how-to demonstrates turning a $25 Motorola Moto G 2025 into a portable Linux development and hosting environment using Termux, proot/Andronix, and lightweight tooling. The guide covers SSH access, autostart scripts, workarounds for missing kernel features (no systemd), and exposing a local nginx site via Cloudflare Tunnel.
What happened
A detailed walkthrough shows how to convert a low-cost Motorola Moto G 2025 into a compact Linux developer device using Termux installed from F‑Droid, Termux:Boot for autostarting services, and either Andronix or Termux's proot-distro to run full Linux distributions in userspace. The guide explains enabling SSH (Termux's default port is 8022), creating a boot script to start sshd and acquire a wake lock, and launching an Ubuntu/Debian environment with proot-distro or Andronix. Because proot does not provide kernel-level features, systemd cannot run; the author suggests alternatives such as supervisors, runit/s6, or .bashrc startup checks. It also documents keeping processes alive on Android (wake locks, disabling child process restrictions, ADB commands), and shows an nginx + Cloudflare Tunnel stack for serving a public site from the phone. Additional tooling covered includes tmux, Prometheus node_exporter, and installing Claude Code to assist setup.
Why it matters
- Demonstrates that very low-cost hardware can host developer tooling and simple self-hosted services.
- Provides practical workarounds for running Linux userspace on Android without root access.
- Highlights trade-offs: limited kernel features, process-management gaps, and battery/uptime implications.
- Shows how tunneling services (Cloudflare Tunnel) and VPN apps (Tailscale) can expose or access services without port forwarding.
Key facts
- Target device demonstrated: Motorola Moto G 2025 sold for $25 (described as a cheap Walmart phone).
- Install Termux from F‑Droid rather than the Play Store because the Play Store version is abandoned.
- Termux:Boot lets you run scripts at device boot; example boot script starts sshd and uses termux-wake-lock to keep CPU active.
- SSH in Termux runs on port 8022 by default; connect with ssh <username>@<phone-ip> -p 8022.
- Two approaches to a full Linux userspace: Andronix (UI-driven) or proot-distro (built into Termux); proot provides userspace isolation without root.
- systemd cannot run inside proot because required kernel features are unavailable; use supervisors, runit/s6, or .bashrc-based start logic instead.
- Example hosting stack: nginx bound to 127.0.0.1:8001, Cloudflare Tunnel to expose the site, and optional Prometheus node_exporter for metrics (port 9100).
- Claude Code can be installed inside the environment with a curl-based installer to assist configuration: curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash.
- A reported real-world project: Marshall Richards ran a Minecraft server on a similar low-cost phone (cited as an example in the guide).
What to watch next
- Whether Android 16 on the Moto G 2025 still enforces aggressive background process killing and which mitigation steps remain necessary — not confirmed in the source.
- Battery life and practical uptime when using termux-wake-lock and persistent services; expect higher drain but exact endurance is not detailed in the guide.
- Long-term performance and stability for heavier workloads (for example, sustained Minecraft hosting) — the guide cites an example but does not provide performance metrics.
Quick glossary
- Termux: A terminal emulator and Linux environment for Android that provides a package manager and command-line tools without requiring root.
- proot: A userspace implementation that simulates chroot and related features to run a Linux root filesystem on top of another OS without kernel-level privileges.
- Cloudflare Tunnel: A service that creates an outbound HTTPS tunnel from a local service to the Cloudflare network, allowing secure public exposure without opening inbound ports.
- Wake lock (termux-wake-lock): A mechanism to keep the device CPU running when the screen is off so long-running processes do not get suspended; it increases battery use.
- systemd: A widely used Linux init and service manager that requires kernel features (cgroups, namespaces) not available under proot-based userspace environments.
Reader FAQ
Do I need root access to run a Linux distro on the phone?
No. The guide uses proot/Andronix to run full distributions in userspace without rooting the device.
Can I run systemd or typical Linux init systems inside this setup?
No. systemd requires kernel-level features that proot cannot provide; the guide recommends supervisors, runit/s6, or .bashrc workarounds.
Can I make a website on the phone accessible from the internet?
Yes. The example uses nginx bound to localhost and Cloudflare Tunnel to expose the site externally without port forwarding.
Is this stable on a Moto G 2025 over the long term?
not confirmed in the source
Stetson Blake.md $25 Walmart Phone for Hackers What's Up $25 Walmart Phone for Hackers Turn a cheap Motorola Moto G 2025 into a portable Linux dev environment. What Can You…
Sources
- Show HN: Vibe Coding a static site on a $25 Walmart Phone
- Think it. Prompt it. Build it. How our teams are vibe coding
- The 8 best vibe coding tools in 2025
- How Walmart Uses Vibe Coding to Accelerate Innovation
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