Remote access

Reach the Linux system over SSH from another machine, or share the screen over VNC or in a web browser.

SSH

Breadstick can run an SSH server, so the Linux system on your phone or tablet is reachable from a laptop on the same network. Turn it on in Settings, under Remote access.

It listens on port 2222, because ports below 1024 are not available to an unprivileged application:

ssh -p 2222 user@your-device-ip

The device's address is shown in Settings next to the switch, so you do not have to go looking for it.

This turns the tablet into something you can treat as a small always-on machine: leave a build running, come back to it from a real keyboard, or use your laptop's editor against files that live on the tablet.

Using a key

You can import an existing private key rather than typing a password. Import an SSH key, under Settings, Remote access, reads a key file and installs it for you. It is also the key the Terminal's saved SSH hosts use when Linux connects out to other machines: see The Terminal.

Scope

The SSH server reaches the Linux system, not Android. It runs only while Breadstick is running, and only on your local network unless you deliberately expose it further, which we do not recommend from a device that moves between networks.

VNC

Screen sharing shares the running Linux session, so a second machine can see and control the same desktop rather than starting a separate one. Turn it on in Settings, or with Share in Desktop mode.

Connect a VNC viewer to the address Breadstick shows, on port 5900. Or open the same address on port 6080 in a web browser on the same network, for example http://192.168.1.20:6080. Breadstick serves the viewer itself, so the other machine needs nothing installed. Both ask for the same password, which is new every time sharing starts.

It is useful for showing someone what is on the tablet, or driving the desktop from a machine with a bigger screen without stopping what is already running.

VNC sends the screen over the network in the clear, and so does the browser viewer. Use them on a network you trust, or tunnel them over SSH.

What neither of these does

Neither gives access to Android itself. Both reach the Linux system only, and both stop when Breadstick stops.