Hey
There are a few threads about this but some are dedicated towards one device or updated. I'm looking for a way to install bash (along side with sh) to have a bit more flexability. Is there a "generic" updated version for all Andoid devices?
Thanks!
Noone has any idea or information?
afaik Android had both of them out of the box, as it's based on Linux.
Just install the "Terminal Emulator" and type "bash" or "sh" in to check.
Besides that sh is also available in "busybox".
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA
Root your device or install a pre-rooted ROM.
Rooting installs Superuser.apk to /system/app; su to system/bin (or xbin, depends) and busybox to system/bin (or xbin, depends). Busybox contains common linux utilities, including bash and Bourne (sh).
Fine, but if he doesn't want to root? Warranty maybe?
sh is in busybox, but bash isn't.
As far as I am aware, at least bash is included in Android from the beginning.
I have CyanogenMod and therefore busybox so I can't tell.
But the OP could just install the fret terminal emulator and check it.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA
I'm using terminal IDE, available on market. Lots of stuff included, has bash 4.2.0. I like the fact that it runs 4 terminal sessions, so I can bounce (errr, swipe) back & forth.
No rooting required.
Related
Seriously. Why don't we have sudo on Android? Is there some technical limitation I'm missing?
Well, the first thing I'm noticing, is we don't have su under /system/xbin.
So it seems step one would be to compile a compatible binary for the phone in question, and then a method to place su into /system/xbin.
You must be new. What phone you talking about
Sent from my HERO200 using XDA App
I'm a bit new here, but I'm pretty sure I used su. Did you root your phone? If you do, you'll have su. Rooting an evo 4g isn't hard; google it(can't post links; too new).
thatguythatdid said:
You must be new. What phone you talking about
Sent from my HERO200 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You must be new (to Linux).
Evo 4G, rooted, swapped for Fresh, swapped to DC, swapped to CM6, swapped back to 100% unrooted stock (current status).
In a 'normal' Linux installation, you usually log in as a normal user. Su, ie 'Switch user' or more commonly old-school 'Super user' allows you to temporarily log in as another user (we're going for 'root' here) and utilize that user without logging out and in of the current shell.
Running as root all the time is bad for security, as any Linux user can tell you.
Clearly, I have no desire to run as root on my phone ALL the time.
Also, from a development standpoint, releasing apps that ONLY work on rooted phones is ridiculous - you cut out the vast majority of users.
Which brings me back to the original topic - why don't have we su / sudo on Android yet?
Here's what I've come to this morning:
Well, su and sudo have to be compiled and compatible with the kernel. I was mistaken, in that I thought of Android similar to a normal Linux distribution (aka distro) - usually, you'll have many distros that utilize the same exact kernel, and this runs over a very large number of systems. Thinking deeper, however, I realized that even though most desktops are different, at the end of the day they are all x86 compatible - in other words, low level communication is the same between all major PCs.
On smartphones, however, you've got multiple architectures - I'm most familiar with ARM (Qualcomm) and OMAP (Texas Instruments). The kernels for the two will not be the same, unless we (the community) build a super-kernel that would run on both architectures (unlikely just from an efficiency standpoint). Android is just the framework that sits on TOP of the Linux Kernel.
In my particular case, the Evo 4G, it appears 'su' is not even on the phone. A quick 'adb shell ls -l -R -a > file_permissions.txt' show me, however, there is a hidden directory named 'sbin' on the phone, that is only accessible as root.
So my next step is to re-root my phone, flash the rooted 1.47 OTA image, and see what the hell is in that sbin directory.
The following step, I'm going to compile an ARM compatible copy of sudo, insert it into a non-rooted (stock) image, along with a proper /etc/sudoers file and see if I can develop a way to have a non-rooted image, with the ability to take root at will, on command (whether via su or sudo)
The purpose of this post is to find out if anyone's already attempted this, and if so, where they got stuck.
I have a /system/bin/su on my phone (G1 w/ CM6RC2). Any 'rooted' ROM should have the same. I don't understand why you think otherwise.
I'm the developer of QuickSSHd, an app that runs a secure shell daemon, either as root or not-root. I've also submitted (small) patches (and had them accepted) to the Superuser.apk and su.c that is used on most of the newer rooted ROMs. I've been using Linux for > 10 years.
Which brings me back to the original topic - why don't have we su / sudo on Android yet?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We do have su on Android. And the su we have is done in a way that it's more like sudo as it prompts the user for allow/deny and remember. But no password is needed.
http://github.com/ChainsDD/android_packages_apps_Superuser
http://github.com/ChainsDD/android_packages_apps_Superuser/blob/eclair-froyo/su.c
If for some reason you want to compile sudo you'll run into issues that Android's libc doesn't include crypt for passwords as the user system is completely different on Android. I don't think anyone has tried as it would be rather pointless with the above Superuser.apk and su (usually /system/xbin/su or /system/bin/su)
[email protected] said:
I'm the developer of QuickSSHd, an app that runs a secure shell daemon, either as root or not-root. I've also submitted (small) patches (and had them accepted) to the Superuser.apk and su.c that is used on most of the newer rooted ROMs. I've been using Linux for > 10 years.
We do have su on Android. And the su we have is done in a way that it's more like sudo as it prompts the user for allow/deny and remember. But no password is needed.
http://github.com/ChainsDD/android_packages_apps_Superuser
http://github.com/ChainsDD/android_packages_apps_Superuser/blob/eclair-froyo/su.c
If for some reason you want to compile sudo you'll run into issues that Android's libc doesn't include crypt for passwords as the user system is completely different on Android. I don't think anyone has tried as it would be rather pointless with the above Superuser.apk and su (usually /system/xbin/su or /system/bin/su)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very nice, thank you for the information, Kevin. Believe it or not, I wasn't able to find anything searching here nor via Google.
Very informotive post guys, thanks.
I must ask, where can I find more on how Android is built?
Wouldn't be simple to add the possibility to ask a password while calling su binary? You can tell me it's useless, but some people may don't want anybody to access superuser powers on his phone. It would be safier if in Superuser's preferences we could add a password protection, IMHO. Of course this MUST be an option, not an imposition. But I would appreciate it veeery much.
mike.sw said:
Very informotive post guys, thanks.
I must ask, where can I find more on how Android is built?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is a 2 part video which may help.
Part one is here:
http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?desktop_uri=/watch?v=1_H4AlQaNa0&v=1_H4AlQaNa0&gl=GB
Cheers
Please use the Q&A Forum for questions &
Read the Forum Rules Ref Posting
Moving to Q&A
HUGE BUMP
This was a very valid question. While the wording was.. oblique at best, it does raise a point.
Why are we not using sudo instead of su? Or at least, password protecting su. I realize SuperSu offers this feature if you.. pay for it. Seems backwards.. paying for a linux.. cough. Nevermind.....
In any event, I would think password protecting your su binary would very serious security concern for everyone... unless there's something the Android API does via some.. sandboxing that makes it a non-issue.. (please correct me.)
Side note, admins of this site..
You realize you have 6 trackers for social bullsh and allow passwords for logins to be transmitted in plain text? Better fix it.. before someone gets naughty and follows those spider webs....
Long story short because android OS is not open source like linux. They is how cell company's still make dollars
---------- Post added at 01:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:10 PM ----------
Not
Doward said:
You must be new (to Linux).
Evo 4G, rooted, swapped for Fresh, swapped to DC, swapped to CM6, swapped back to 100% unrooted stock (current status).
In a 'normal' Linux installation, you usually log in as a normal user. Su, ie 'Switch user' or more commonly old-school 'Super user' allows you to temporarily log in as another user (we're going for 'root' here) and utilize that user without logging out and in of the current shell.
Running as root all the time is bad for security, as any Linux user can tell you.
Clearly, I have no desire to run as root on my phone ALL the time.
Also, from a development standpoint, releasing apps that ONLY work on rooted phones is ridiculous - you cut out the vast majority of users.
Which brings me back to the original topic - why don't have we su / sudo on Android yet?
Here's what I've come to this morning:
Well, su and sudo have to be compiled and compatible with the kernel. I was mistaken, in that I thought of Android similar to a normal Linux distribution (aka distro) - usually, you'll have many distros that utilize the same exact kernel, and this runs over a very large number of systems. Thinking deeper, however, I realized that even though most desktops are different, at the end of the day they are all x86 compatible - in other words, low level communication is the same between all major PCs.
On smartphones, however, you've got multiple architectures - I'm most familiar with ARM (Qualcomm) and OMAP (Texas Instruments). The kernels for the two will not be the same, unless we (the community) build a super-kernel that would run on both architectures (unlikely just from an efficiency standpoint). Android is just the framework that sits on TOP of the Linux Kernel.
In my particular case, the Evo 4G, it appears 'su' is not even on the phone. A quick 'adb shell ls -l -R -a > file_permissions.txt' show me, however, there is a hidden directory named 'sbin' on the phone, that is only accessible as root.
So my next step is to re-root my phone, flash the rooted 1.47 OTA image, and see what the hell is in that sbin directory.
The following step, I'm going to compile an ARM compatible copy of sudo, insert it into a non-rooted (stock) image, along with a proper /etc/sudoers file and see if I can develop a way to have a non-rooted image, with the ability to take root at will, on command (whether via su or sudo)
The purpose of this post is to find out if anyone's already attempted this, and if so, where they got stuck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey guys, I was wondering if anyone could tell me somewhere I could go to learn command prompts for the terminal emulator on our phone... I've googled it, but there's nothing there that im looking for... I wanna start to learn.. any help would be appreciated! Thanks in advance!
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Learn some basic Linux commands.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App
Our phones are stripped versions of linux basically as stated previously
first type in "su" without "", so then you can edit your system files etc..
google some
some are
reboot
reboot download
reboot recovery
etc
xriderx66 said:
first type in "su" without "", so then you can edit your system files etc..
google some
some are
reboot
reboot download
reboot recovery
etc
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right, regardless of the two posts stating that Android is basically Linux being technically correct, you will find very few shell commands that actually work. Of the ones you do find, most of the switches and options will not work. The commands mentioned by xriderx66 are ADB commands, and you may have better luck concentrating on those. The phone does not have a full shell, it only has busybox, which is a stripped down version of a shell with most popular shell programs built in. The busybox on the phones are highly stripped down even for busybox. In fact this phone is the only shell I have ever used that does not even recognize the command switches for ls.
Here is an ADB tutorial.
hi. i can't believe i'm the first person to ask this but i've searched as best i can through these forums, and on google, and cannot find a definitive answer. there are lots of pages giving high level descriptions of rooting a phone like "gives admin access", "allows access to the root filesystem", etc. but, when you root a phone, what actually happens ? does it simply make the "su" binary available so that apps can call it to access the root user ? eg. i've got a samsung galaxy s2, if i install an insecure kernel, then add su to /system/xbin, and then reinstall a stock kernel, is that technically a rooted phone ? this is actually what i did on my phone, although i installed superuser and busybox from the market after adding su. i am aware that there are various threads in the sgs2 forums on how to root, i'm just using my phone as an example, i'm just trying to understand generically what is meant when someone says a phone has been rooted. cheers.
Full control over your system
Ability to alter system files. You can replace many parts of the "Android Core" with this including:
Themes
Core apps (maps, calendar, clock etc)
Recovery image
Bootloader
Toolbox (linux binary that lets you execute simple linux commands like "ls") can be replaced with Busybox (slightly better option)
Boot images
Add linux binaries
Run special apps that need more control over the system
SuperUser (lets you approve or deny the use of root access to any program)
Task Manager For Root (Lets you kill apps that you otherwise could not kill)
Tether apps (like the one found at [android-wifi-tether.googlecode.com])
<there are more but I cannot think of any right now>
Backup your system
You can make a folder on your sdcard and backup all of your .apk files to your sdcard (helps if an author decides to "upgrade" you to a version that requires you to pay to use the version you just had)
Relocate your (browser/maps/market) cache to your /sdcard
Relocate your installed applications to your /sdcard
Reboot your phone from the terminal app easily (su <enter> reboot <enter>)
Copied and pasted from google... it is your friend.
thanks for the response however, i'm trying to understand what actually changes on the phone when you root it, rather than simply the benefits of rooting a phone.
Carrot Cruncher said:
thanks for the response however, i'm trying to understand what actually changes on the phone when you root it, rather than simply the benefits of rooting a phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unrooted phone is like logging on as user in a computer. By rooting you have "administrative" rights, just like using sudo command in Ubuntu. Some binaries which are important in gaining administrative rights are installed in the phone.
sent from my nokia 3210
If you come from Windows, you're familiar with the Administrator account. A user that can do everything on the system, as opposed to other users than only have limited privileges. In Linux, that account is called "root". That's all there is to it. It's a user that can do everything on the system.
@Panos_dm: Actually, it's *not* like using sudo. Sudo gives elevated privileges to your existing user account, whereas "root" is a whole separate account.
Nope, sudo actually switches users
i'm a linux user and have been a linux admin in the past so understand the difference between su and sudo. sorry to sound pedantic but i'm still not clear on exactly what happens when you root a phone, i.e. what exactly happens during the rooting process ?
It opens your phone to a whole new array of possibilities.
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using xda premium
Carrot Cruncher said:
but i'm still not clear on exactly what happens when you root a phone, i.e. what exactly happens during the rooting process ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In a gist? The "su" binary and the Superuser.apk app get installed. Sometimes doing so requires exploiting a vulnerability via a trigger. Rageagainstthecage is a common trigger. I once had a link that explained what exactly rageagainstthecage does, but I don't have it anymore.
If you really want to know all the details, here's the script I used to root my Defy: http://pastebin.com/G3m9v4FQ
Hmm, I see the script contains a link to the explanation of what rageagainstthecage does. Cool.
many thanks for confirming my understanding of the process.
My DX2 has been rooted using the Motorola One Click Root. Superuser is installed. Is busybox also installed during the root process?
I was reading something or other the other day about some customization that I was thinking of doing, but it stated that I should have busybox installed. So I didn't move forward with whatever it was doing because I wasn't sure busybox was installed on my phone during the root process.
Related...
What does busybox do or what is it used for?
Busybox is basically a pared down version of a bunch of common *nix utilities in one download. It's used so that you can easily install the command line functionality you need for scripts and applications without needing to manage and maintain a bunch of different utilities that have extraneous capabilities.
Hi,
I tried to upgrade the busybox with different manner (busybox, busybox installer, manual installation from xda), but no one works properly.
Each time i broke the original Archos busibox, so i lose the adb shell.
Can someone explain to me the good way to upgrade the busybox?
Thanks.
SirOch
Hi,
Nobody to explain a clean upgrade of the busybox?
cheers
SirOch said:
Hi,
Nobody to explain a clean upgrade of the busybox?
cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google? also XDA has a great search feature have you tried that? :silly: Any particular reason why you want/need to upgrade busybox?
Hi,
As i said, i tried the different busybox installers and the installation was ok, but i each time, i lost the shell from adb.
That's just my problem.
So i just want to understand why the upgrade of the busybox broke the original archos busybox?
Moreover some application need to have other busybox installed.
Regards.
David
SirOch said:
Hi,
As i said, i tried the different busybox installers and the installation was ok, but i each time, i lost the shell from adb.
That's just my problem.
So i just want to understand why the upgrade of the busybox broke the original archos busybox?
Moreover some application need to have other busybox installed.
Regards.
David
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ahhh right, the quest for knowledge Your problem is as much to do with adb ( /sbin/adbd to be precise ) as it is to do with busybox, firstly you've probably wiped out the symlinks in /bin, especially /bin/sh which is the location that adbd on archos looks to run the when you do adb shell from your desktop. This is not the default location which just about every other android OEM adheares ,that is /system/bin/sh.
If you are going to upgrade the archos busybox be aware that a large number of symlinks back to /bin/busybox exist not only in /bin but also in /usr/bin /usr/sbin
Archos for reasons I still haven't fathomed, really went to town on restructuring and customized Android on the platform level.
A little tip if you've got more question, to save you bumping threads , which really does upset some folks round here... you'll probably get more more if you add more details, such as error messages etc. Saying " i lost the shell from adb." doesn't really help anyone who might be able to offer assistance. There about 10 different ways adb can fail to connect, Did the device disappear from the list or report as offline. or even come up with the message "- exec '/bin/sh' failed: No such file or directory (2) -".??
Hopefully that's helped.
Hi SirOrch,
i don't know why you loose your adb shell, but concerning busybox... the things on Archos tablets are like this:
Basically on a non rooted device we got a squashfs image mounted read only.
This image contains the stock busybox compiled by Archos (sharing system's uclibc) with limited functionality,
but containing enough tools to handle the daily job.
The path to this busybox is "hard-coded" as well. It's location is /bin which is the second entry in the path environment.
You might check that by typing printenv in your console.
The first entry should be /data/local/bin on your device.
So if you like to replace stock busybox with an advanced one, you should make sure that it will be installed to /data/local/bin.
Often there's no need to use all this apk Android Market stuff to get a proper busybox installation.
Sometimes it's little better to really understand what's happening under the hood.
Most busybox app's are statically linked, because with a static binary you don't have to take care of the device's libc or uclibc.
So you might easily extract on of the apk's or get one from xda-developers.
There are many floating around in the end.
If got one push it to /data/local/bin with adb.
You might need softlinks in this directory as well. This could be done by hand as well.
Anyway if you are a lazy person, who doesn't care about what's happening, go to the market install busybox.
Then check at /data/local/bin if it is there.
If it got installed elsewhere, some commands will still use stock busybox.
Extended commands might then use the installed one.
So check it out...
EDIT:
... aaaargh again simultaneous posting.
scholbert
Hi gentlemen,
Thanks for your help and sorry to forget to give you the error message i had:
the message was : - exec '/bin/sh' failed: No such file or directory (2) -
After investigation i found my mistake:
- In manual mode, i forget to change the ownership of busybox to root in /bin.
- when i tried to use any application from the market, the busybox was well updated in /system/xbin but the application also delete the busybox in /bin and don't change the symlinks in /bin. That's explain why adb shell won't work.
Regards.
SirOch