Can we have GrapheneOS running in VM?

Olive

I really love the idea of GrapheneOS.
And I really want to try it.
But I can not find a tutorial for installing GrapheneOS in VM.
I do believe that this should be an important option as it allows people to test the OS before buying the hardware to run it, even QubesOS can be run in Virtualbox.
I am happy to act as a beta tester for this, and I know I am not the only person wanting to try GrapheneOS in VM.

Dumdum

Olive even QubesOS can be run in Virtualbox

QubesOS is a desktop OS, Graphene isn't....

What??

de0u

Olive I can not find a tutorial for installing GrapheneOS in VM.

Here is a pointer to building GrapheneOS for the Android emulator: https://grapheneos.org/build#kernel-emulator

It's not a tutorial, though. Maybe you could write one!

Olive

Dumdum

I mean that QubesOS is heavy and includes many VM's inside of it, and so to get that working on virtualbox must surely be really a lot harder than getting GraphineOS to work in VM

Olive

de0u

Ok, so, it is possible, although I don't understand what I am reading. Do you have any advice for a newb trying to figure this out?

Blastoidea

Tell us what problem you believe this will solve.

raccoondad

Olive "I mean that QubesOS is heavy and includes many VM's inside of it, and so to get that working on virtualbox must surely be really a lot harder than getting GraphineOS to work in VM"

This is a confusing statement. QubesOS is a linux distro that runs virtual machines using Xen-based virtualization.

Using GOS in a VM has no practical application, there is no purpose in it. It's just an android fork and most changes to it don't effect actual user experience.

N1b

Blastoidea I think the OP did tell us already. They are interested in trying GOS before committing to buying a Pixel device.

raccoondad

N1b There is no reason to 'try' GOS, it's just android with minimal user function changes. Its forked changes are mostly hardware and backend based.

Even with storage/contact scopes, you don't really need to 'try' it to understand what it does and if it will benefit you or not.

Running a regular android emulator will basically do the same function when it comes to 'trying' GOS.

othemad

I wish to do the vise-versa. Have VM running in GrapheneOS

raccoondad

othemad a full 86_64 emulator would be to much for the Pixel sadly

mmmm

raccoondad plenty of people would like to try Grapheneos before moving to it. It’s not a cheap or easy decision for iOS lifers, for example. Many have never nor would have never even considered any type of Android before, so really have no idea.

N1b

I can imagine it valuable if someone with skill and time puts together an interactive online demo to show how it's working. The goal would be that any phone user (mainly iPhone) could just use their mobile browser in full screen to get a feeling for the user experience of GOS. The target audience for this would be maxed out this was and not just limited to users capable of running android emulators.

I don't know if that's even possible, and I don't want any GOS dev to take time away from the main project. Just putting out the idea. If it's working, it could be a great official addition to the GOS website ("see how it works in our online demo").

Aru

The best we can hope for in the future is a fully featured desktop mode for a GOS Phone or Tablet.

Olive

Blastoidea I believe there are lots of people who VM their operating systems before switching. Thus I believe there are lots of people who would join the community once they can do this. And this is not just a theory, I saw a couple of people requesting this on the Matrix.
But the benefit is not just testing.
QubesOS is very popular among GrapheneOS users, this would enable people to use their favorite GrapheneOS applications on QuobesOS, by merging their GrapheneOS with their QubesOS much like what QubesOS does with Whonix

Olive

raccoondad Android words in VM, so GrapheneOS would also work in VM

Olive

N1b Yes, I am especially interested in the Pixel tablet as I want to go phone free

Olive

raccoondad Here is an example, Banking, imagine buying a Pixel installing GrapheneOS and then finding out your specific bank is not compatible. I know others on this Forum have suffered this problem
Or what about those who love the idea of GrapheneOS but are considering not using any mobile technology

Olive

othemad Yeah, hopefully I do end up getting GOS on a tablet, and then I will probably want to try VM's on top of GOS. I know there are VM's on top of Android so it should be possible

Dumdum

Olive Here is an example, Banking, imagine buying a Pixel installing GrapheneOS and then finding out your specific bank is not compatible.

Bad example. Resources exist for this already. Simply asking is also an option. No need to "try" GOS for this purpose.