Z2Term

A terminal for Android that is also a way to drive Android. Z2Term runs Alpine / Ubuntu / Arch / Kali without root, opens a Linux desktop in a tab, and lets the shell reach the phone itself — read a notification, ask you a question in the notification shade, or run a script when the battery, the network or an incoming SMS changes.

No root, no PC, no setup script. Install one APK and you have a working distribution with apk / apt / pacman. The default execution engine (z2root) is a ptrace-based userspace implementation written for this app. The shell can talk to Android. Around 20 z2-* helpers (notifications, clipboard, sensors, torch, intents, alarms, wireless adb to the device itself) plus z2-when — an automation hub that runs scripts on device events and keeps working after a reboot without the app being opened. Usable in Japanese. A built-in kana-kanji IME with prediction and learning, which can also be turned on as an OS-wide input method.