A native desktop
Windows you move, resize from any edge, snap, minimise and pin on top. Workspaces, an overview, a window switcher, a notification centre and a lock screen. Written in SwiftUI, so it feels like an iPad app, because it is one.
Pre-releaseFree and open source · GPLv3iPad with M1 or newer
A real Linux desktop
on your iPad.
Firefox, VS Code, a tiling window manager and the whole Alpine Linux package archive, running on the iPad itself. No VM. No jailbreak. One app.
The first public build is being prepared. Screenshots are from development builds in the iPad simulator.
Apps that run on LinPad
firefoxcodethunarfootnode 22gitpython3vitevlcgimpbtopclaudeapk add …
How it works
Linux programs, iPad windows. One process.
LinPad is a single iPad app. It runs real ARM64 Linux binaries by translating their system calls to iPadOS, and it shows their windows as native windows next to its own.
Alpine Linux, aarch64firefox · code · thunar · foot · node · git
ishwlWayland compositor
Mesa VenusVulkan driver
PulseAudiosound
Window bridgeframes · input · IME · clipboard
virglrendererMoltenVK → Metal
Audio bridgeAVAudioEngine
DesktopKitSwiftUI desktop · one window manager for native and Linux windows
iSH-ARM64Linux syscalls → iPadOS · threaded interpreter · native ARM64 JIT
Usermode Linux, not a VM
A fork of iSH and iSH-ARM64 runs unmodified aarch64 programs and implements the Linux kernel interface they expect: processes, signals, sockets, futexes, memfd, inotify, netlink.
A Wayland bridge
ishwl is a small Wayland compositor inside Linux. Each window's pixels are shared through memory-mapped files and handed to the native desktop, which sends input, text and clipboard back.
A native desktop
DesktopKit is a SwiftUI shell with one window manager for native apps and Linux windows: tiling, workspaces, overview, themes and the command menu.
A GPU path experimental
A virtio-gpu device feeds virglrenderer's Venus renderer, which runs on MoltenVK and Metal. Firefox still renders in software.
Features
The computer the iPad hardware already is
An M-series iPad with a keyboard and trackpad is a laptop in everything but software. LinPad fills that gap.
Tiling when you want it
Master-stack, columns, grid and monocle layouts, on or off per workspace. Float any window. Gaps, borders and rounding per theme, or turn them all off with one chord.
⌘K for everything
One fuzzy menu for windows, apps, commands, toggles, themes and looks, plus repair and reset. ⌘/ shows every shortcut. Desktop chords live on ⌃⌥ so ⌘ stays with your apps.
Themes that reach the apps
20 colour palettes from the Omarchy community plus era looks. A theme recolours the shell, the terminal, btop, GTK and Qt apps, VS Code and Firefox together.
Real Linux apps
Firefox, Visual Studio Code (Microsoft's build, downloaded on your iPad when you ask for it), Thunar, Mousepad, VLC and GIMP. Unmodified aarch64 Alpine Linux binaries with the full apk archive behind them.
A catalog, not bloat
The base system stays lean. Mail, PDF, office, image tools, media, extra browsers and developer toolchains are packs you tick in Settings › Apps.
Fast mode needs StikDebug
Hands off to StikDebug at launch and comes back with a native ARM64 JIT. About 4.8× faster than the interpreter in our Mac benchmarks; iPad numbers will be published once measured.
GPU path experimental
Linux Vulkan through Mesa Venus, a virtio-gpu device, virglrenderer and MoltenVK onto Metal. OpenGL through zink tops out at GL 2.1 today.
Windows apps via Wine experimental
ARM64 Windows programs like Notepad++, 7-Zip and PuTTY run in Wine 10. x86 programs work through Box64, slowly and with a big memory cost. Not for games.
Plays well with iPadOS
Clipboard and drag and drop both ways, iPad folders mounted into Linux, Quick Look on Space, text input for every language including CJK composition, and Linux audio through iOS.
Repair and updates
App updates through your sideloader. Linux system updates download in the background, are SHA-256 verified and keep /root and /home. Repair re-applies LinPad's files when a package upgrade breaks something.
Made to be shown
Screenshots of the screen, an area or a window, and screen recording, all from the keyboard. Share a theme or a whole look as a linpad:// link.
Screenshots
The real apps, as iPad windows
Themes
From Tokyo Night to the late 90s
Colour palettes compatible with Omarchy community themes, retro era looks with matching Linux app themes, icon packs, wallpapers and 14 desktop layouts. Mix them, then share the result as a link.
Honest limits
What LinPad is not, yet
- Not on the App Store. You sideload it with your own Apple ID. A free Apple ID needs a refresh every 7 days, which SideStore can do for you.
- Emulated, so heavier apps are slow. Without fast mode everything runs on an interpreter. Heavy web pages in Firefox can take many seconds to load.
- Memory is the ceiling. VS Code alone wants about 2 GB or more. Running it with Firefox on an 8 GB iPad is the edge today.
- US keyboard layout in Linux apps for now. Other layouts are the top item on the input backlog.
- No Docker, no Steam, no x86 games. There are no namespaces or cgroups, and the GL path stops at 2.1.
- Not yet measured on an iPad. Performance figures on this site come from a Mac or the simulator and are labelled that way. Device numbers come with v1.0.
Get started
Three steps once v1.0 ships
Add the source
Add the LinPad source to SideStore or AltStore, or download the IPA from GitHub Releases.
Install and open
LinPad unpacks its Linux system on first launch and walks you through a short setup.
Optional: fast mode
Set up StikDebug and LocalDevVPN once for the native JIT.
Join in
Built in the open by one developer, for now
LinPad is a full-time project. It needs testers with iPads, people who know emulators, Wayland or SwiftUI, theme makers, and sponsors who want it to exist.
Contribute
Good first issues are labelled, most work does not need an iPad, and themes are the easiest way in.
Support the project
Sponsorships pay for test iPads, the Apple developer account and the time to keep shipping.