easyIDEFeatures
Everything below has been run on real hardware (Xiaomi Pad 6, Android 13) or in Waydroid, not just compiled. The list of what is missing is just as honest.
Linux on the device
Ubuntu, no root
Ubuntu noble is provisioned into app storage through PRoot. apt-get update and apt-get install work, and dpkg --audit comes back clean.
Environment presets
Bare Ubuntu, build tools, Node.js or Python, sharing one cached base image. Projects bind into an environment, so one can be deleted without touching your code.
A real PTY terminal
Full-screen ncurses programs, multiple tabs, history, Ctrl-C, and an Esc/Ctrl key row above the soft keyboard. Output streams as it is produced.
Every project mounted
Terminals see every project of their environment at /projects/<name>, so tools and agents can work across sibling projects.
Editing
229 languages
Syntax highlighting from the same TextMate grammars VS Code uses, bundled so it works offline.
Language servers
Completion, signature help, hover, diagnostics, code actions, rename, formatting, go-to-definition, references, symbols, inlay hints and semantic tokens. Packs for Python (with Ruff), TypeScript, Web, Rust, Go, C/C++, YAML, Markdown and Shell.
A VS Code-shaped workspace
Split editor groups, breadcrumbs, file-type icons, a full-screen mode and three density levels. Activity rail on a tablet, bottom navigation on a phone.
Markdown and diagrams
Markdown preview with tappable links and Mermaid diagrams rendered offline.
Git, extensions and themes
Source control
Stage, unstage and discard per file, commit with amend, and a history graph with branch and tag chips: cherry-pick, tag, checkout and compare.
Extensions
Declarative .easyext packs add languages, grammars, themes, icon themes, snippets, keybindings, commands, settings, panels and language servers. VS Code icon themes from Open VSX install as is.
Themes and settings
Material 3 themes and accent colours, a schema-driven settings screen, and the system reduce-motion setting honoured.
Your folders
Link a real folder on internal storage or an SD card, so your code is not trapped in app storage.
Not there yet
- VS Code extensions that run code (GitLens and similar) do not run; only declarative packs and icon themes install.
- Git over the network exists but has had little device testing, and there is no merge editor.
- No debugger and no notebooks.
- No credential helper, tmux session persistence or ssh-agent.
- The chroot backend for rooted devices has never been executed.
- The sandbox is not a security boundary. PRoot gives you a working Linux userland; it does not isolate projects from each other or contain hostile code.