Run real OrangeFox recovery without a phone. This guide is only for fox_16.0. During beta, you need private testing access and an emulator-enabled fox_16.0 checkout, including its build dependencies.

Official beta host support covers openSUSE Tumbleweed, Fedora, and Debian-based distributions (including Ubuntu) on x86_64 Linux. Enable hardware virtualization and ensure your account has read/write access to . Set up the development environment for your supplied checkout first. The guest uses a readable Linux kernel and its exact matching modules from the host.

Ubuntu also needs the extra modules for the running kernel:

On Debian, install the distribution kernel and modules, rather than Ubuntu's extra-module package:

Use the full package, not ; it supplies the emulated Wi-Fi module. Packages are available from the official Tumbleweed repository.

The extra kernel modules supply the emulated Wi-Fi radios. If you install a different kernel, reboot into it before launching. On Fedora, the launcher can also cache and extract the exact missing module package privately, without installing it or loading host Wi-Fi radios.

If belongs to the group and your account cannot access it:

Log out and back in. Do not run the launcher as root.

Install the native Rust build toolchain if rustup is not already available:

The launcher sets up its Android build target and finds an installed Android NDK r29, or downloads the official NDK into its cache when needed. The first build needs internet access and sufficient space for the Android checkout and build output.

From your checkout's directory:

The first launch builds recovery when no image exists, creates a private disk, and opens QEMU. Later launches reuse the disk. After source changes, rebuild with:

The default display is 20

portrait (720×1600). Available ratios: , , , , ; orientations: , . Changing geometry automatically builds a matching recovery image when needed, retaining userdata:

Landscape rotates the portrait UI by 90 degrees; it is not a separate layout. Use the same geometry options on subsequent launches.

All options belong to . Paths are host paths. Relative paths use the terminal's current directory.

QEMU and the launcher exit when the guest powers off. If recovery is unresponsive, close the QEMU window or press Ctrl+C in the launcher terminal; this terminates the VM rather than performing a guest shutdown. The private disk remains for the next launch, but unflushed writes may be lost.

The guest uses real mac80211_hwsim emulated radios, not your host's physical Wi-Fi. In recovery, enable Wi-Fi, scan, and connect to OrangeFox VM with password orangefox-vm. WPA2 association and DHCP have been exercised through the recovery command engine and observed in the UI. The station receives an address in –. This is an isolated radio test network, without an Internet gateway; QEMU supplies a separate Internet uplink.

ADB is available on localhost port 5556:

WLAN ADB controls may restart adbd. Reconnect the host client if an existing ADB session closes.

The private disk is under the checkout root. Settings, userdata and files persist across launches and ; wiping or formatting inside recovery still affects that virtual disk. No host phone or host block device is exposed to the guest.

Use ADB from the host, after recovery has booted:

Replace the example filenames with your own. uploads host → recovery; downloads recovery → host. Both also accept directories. is the VM's internal storage and persists across normal shutdowns and rebuilds; is temporary and disappears at reboot. Mount the required partition in recovery before accessing another guest path. ADB is available in headless mode too.

Do not mount or edit on the host while QEMU is running. It contains several partitions, not a host-visible shared folder.