R36Shell

A lightweight Linux terminal emulator for the R36S (ArkOS / AeUX) built with Python + SDL2, designed for handheld use with an on-screen keyboard and full gamepad controls. It supports both normal command execution and PTY interactive mode (for apps like vim, python, etc.).

---

Installation (first run downloads packages)

Important: The first time you install dependencies, the launcher uses the internet to download required packages (APT + pip), and creates a Python virtual environment in the real user’s home directory.

1. Copy the R36Shell folder into:

   • /roms/tools/ on the console SD card

2. On the R36S, open Tools and run:

   • Terminal-Launcher.sh

3. In the menu, choose:

   • Install dependencies

What the installer does (automatically):

• Runs apt-get update + installs required system packages (SDL2 dev, python venv/pip, build tools, etc.).
• Creates a venv at: ~/terminal_venv
• Installs pysdl2 into that venv.

---

Running R36Shell

1. Open Tools → run Terminal-Launcher.sh
2. Select:
   • Run app

The launcher runs the terminal using the venv Python and launches:

• Terminal/r36s_terminal.py

---

Functionalities

• Interactive Linux shell with command history, scrolling output, and built-in commands like help, cd, pwd, jobs, edit, history, etc.
• PTY interactive mode for full-screen / interactive programs (vim, nano, python, top, etc.).
• On-screen keyboard optimized for handheld navigation.
• Theme + UI settings menu (change theme, fonts, transparency, show/hide keyboard, etc.).
• Background images support (enable/disable + transparency + select image).

Themes & backgrounds

• Themes are loaded from: Terminal/Themes/*.json
• Background images are loaded from: Terminal/Backgrounds/*

---

Controls (gamepad)

Notes:

• “FN” below corresponds to the Guide button mapping used by the app.
• Controls differ slightly between Normal mode and PTY mode.

Global

Input	Action
Start + Select	Exit R36Shell
Start	Open Theme / Config menu

Normal shell mode (non-PTY)

Input	Action
D-Pad	Move around the on-screen keyboard
A	Press selected key
B	Backspace
X	Space
Y	Enter / Run command
Select + Up/Down	Previous/next command history
Select + Left/Right	Move cursor in the input line
L1	Shift lock
R1	Symbols layout
FN (Guide)	Autocomplete
L2 / R2	Scroll output up / down
L2 + R2	Clear screen

PTY interactive mode (vim/python/nano/etc.)

Input	Action
FN (Guide)	Tab
L2 + R2	Ctrl+C
L2 + L1	Ctrl+X
L2 + R1	Ctrl+D
R2 + L1	Ctrl+Z
R2 + R1	Tab

Editor mode

R36Shell includes a built-in text editor you can use to quickly edit files directly from the handheld UI.

Input	Action
Start	Toggle between file navigation and on-screen keyboard navigation.
D-Pad	Move cursor (file navigation) or move the highlighted key (keyboard navigation).
Select + D-Pad	Select while moving (file navigation).
L2 + D-Pad Up/Down	Page up / Page down.
R2 + D-Pad Left/Right	Home / End.
FN (Guide)	Insert Tab / indent.
A	Insert the selected on-screen key (characters, space, newline, etc.).
B	Backspace (R1 + B = Delete).
L2 + A	Save file.
L2 + B	Exit editor.
L1 + X	Copy selection.
L1 + Y	Cut selection.
R1 + X	Paste clipboard.
R1 + Y	Select all.

---

Configuration

R36Shell stores settings in:

• Terminal/terminal_config.json (screen size, input limits, theme selection, background settings, and button mappings).

Most users won’t need to edit it manually—use the in-app Theme / Config menu (Start button) to:

• switch Themes
• change font + font size
• toggle header/help/keyboard
• adjust panel/background transparency
• select a Background image

---

Test

• Tested on R36S clone G80CA-MB V1.2-20250422
• dArkos Release (01012026) : https://github.com/southoz/dArkOS-G80CA