LinuxRunner 1.1.2 brings LinuxRunner Modes, six optional ways to turn the Linux on your iPhone into something new: an AI coding workstation, a remote desktop for your PC, a server, a web lab, a Wi-Fi file server or a retro console. It adds new distributions and their real desktops, makes window dragging lighter, and fixes the desktop freezes reported in 1.1.1.
LinuxRunner Modes
Open Settings › General › LinuxRunner Modes. Every mode is off until you install and start it, and everything stops when Linux stops.
- Agent Mode: Claude Code, Codex CLI and OpenCode, with Node.js, git, ripgrep and Python. Open Agent Terminal shows a menu of the installed agents and starts them in
~/Projectsas your Linux user. Each agent signs in with your own account; LinuxRunner never sees your keys. - RDP Mode: use the desktop that is running on your iPhone from Windows Remote Desktop, Microsoft's Windows App on Mac and iPad, or Remmina on Linux. Connect to the address shown on the card and type the password on the LinuxRunner login screen. The phone and the computer control the same desktop.
- SSH Mode: an OpenSSH server on port 2222 for terminals, VS Code Remote-SSH, scp, rsync and SFTP. Root login is refused.
- Liftoff: serves
~/Siteson port 8080. Open in Safari on the iPhone, or scan the QR code from another device on the same Wi-Fi. Any dev server you start on0.0.0.0is reachable the same way. - Pocket Cloud: turns your iPhone into a Wi-Fi file server. The
~/Pocket Cloudfolder is shared over WebDAV on port 8081 with a new password at every start. Connect from Finder, the Files app, Windows or any browser. - Arcadia: RetroArch with the classic-console emulators your distribution offers (NES, Game Boy and Game Boy Advance on Debian). Play opens RetroArch in the desktop. No games are included.
Distributions and Desktops
- Zorin OS 18: Zorin Desktop, the default on Zorin OS, with the Zorin menu, taskbar, themes and wallpaper on the GPU.
- Pop!_OS 24.04: System76's repository and look, with Xfce. COSMIC, Pop!_OS's own desktop, can be selected as an experiment (see Known Limitations).
- Void Linux: an independent, very light rolling release with xbps and Xfce on the GPU.
- MATE, Cinnamon and Budgie on Debian and Ubuntu. In 1.1.1 the app refused to install them; they now install and start.
- Desktop installs show real per-step progress on every distribution.
Graphics & Performance
- 10–15× faster than UTM and usable on every newer iPhone.
- CPU & Memory: choose how many CPU cores and how much memory Linux may use (up to 8 GB on devices with 12 GB or more). Task Manager shows what each Linux process uses. Both are on Home.
- Lighter window dragging: while a finger is down, the display bridge forwards only input; it no longer scans or encodes frames that the GPU display already shows. GPU readback is coalesced to one per displayed frame.
- External displays (PC mode) refresh at the screen's own rate (up to 120 Hz) instead of 30 Hz, and the pointer no longer jumps back while moving.
- Slow-loading distributions get enough time to start the GPU display on first launch, so they no longer fall back to software rendering.
- GPU display packages are retried once when a download fails.
Fixes & Stability
- The desktop no longer freezes or disconnects when you drag a window or scroll (unsupported CopyRect updates).
- The desktop no longer disconnects with "Invalid cursor shape" or "Unsupported encoding or invalid rectangle" when GNOME or Zorin changes the cursor or screen size.
- Typing no longer freezes the desktop.
- Better Bluetooth serial support with automatic reconnection and saved boards.
- Desktop Reports include the Modes service logs.
Known Limitations
- COSMIC (Pop!_OS) is experimental: the desktop and apps run on the GPU, but its panel and dock are not shown yet.
- Gemini CLI is not offered in Agent Mode: it needs WebAssembly, which Node.js cannot use under LinuxRunner's interpreter.
- RDP Mode shares the running desktop; open the desktop in LinuxRunner first. Network modes are reachable only by devices on the same Wi-Fi while LinuxRunner is open or running in the background.
- Agents, emulators and large desktops run on LinuxRunner's interpreter and are slower than on a computer.
- x86 applications, booting a Linux kernel and kernel modules are unsupported. iOS can suspend or end LinuxRunner; saved files persist, running processes do not.
Installation
Install the IPA with a compatible sideloading tool, then open Distributions and choose a distribution to install. No jailbreak or JIT activation is required. Back up important files before updating and keep the same app identity.
Downloads
- LinuxRunner-1.1.2-build910.ipa — ad-hoc signed, without an Apple provisioning profile. JIT remains optional.
- LinuxRunner-1.1.2-source.tar.gz — corresponding application source, required dependency sources, build instructions and notices.
- LICENSES.txt — project and third-party notices.
- SHA256SUMS — asset checksums.
The IPA is 26,854,984 bytes, SHA-256:
840d9fb9f7527ef5e51da766f838fd2daf9a98e883b53a48ddbebfbdf864e1ad