Android Programming / BeagleBoard xM / Kernel Development / Linux

Installing busybox (for Android) on BeagleBoard

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Busybox

BusyBox provides several stripped-down Unix tools in a single executable file. It runs in a variety of POSIX environments such as Linux, and Android. Some of these tools are

  • ssty
  • su
  • gzip
  • ping
  • netstat
  • tar
  • arp
  • wc
  • microcom

Why is busybox necessary on a BeagleBoard running Android?

The default Android build does not have many useful tools like stty, so there it is where this swiss army knife comes to rescue.

Installing busybox

  1. Download ‘busybox’ from http://benno.id.au/android/busybox
  2. Connect to the board using ADB. ./adb shell
  3. Create a busybox directory inside data. mkdir /data/busybox
  4. Exit ADB. exit
  5. Push the downloaded file to the board. ./adb push busybox /data/busybox/busybox
  6. Enter Shell again. ./adb shell
  7. And change permission in order to let any app execute busybox. chmod 777 /data/busybox/busybox