this post was submitted on 16 Jun 2026
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Coding is normally done on the desktop, as the keyboard provides special keys. The keyboard of android phones is usually limited in this respect.

Is coding possible smart phones at all ?

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[–] ICastFist@programming.dev 2 points 5 hours ago

Possible, yes. But an awful experience if you don't have a physical keyboard, even one of those cheap bluetooth ones. It's barely bearable if you have one, since the screen is still too small.

On Android, I can vouch for Acode and Xed-Editor, both available on F-droid, as code editors to help you program. Not ideal, but if you have no other option than using your phone to program, they're good choices.

[–] remon@ani.social 43 points 13 hours ago* (last edited 13 hours ago) (3 children)

Sure it's possible. It's also possible to cut an acre of grassland with scissors. Both are terrible ideas.

[–] Zwuzelmaus@feddit.org 8 points 12 hours ago (2 children)

possible to cut an acre of grassland with scissors.

Never heard that. What's all this modern nonsense? Traditionally you have to use a nail clipper!

[–] OwOarchist@pawb.social 8 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

Coding on an old flip phone with a 10-key keyboard would be analogous to cutting the field with nail clippers.

[–] Tetsuo@jlai.lu 6 points 11 hours ago

I only code on T9 keyboards.

[–] BagOfHeavyStones@piefed.social 2 points 8 hours ago

And trim the trees with a herring.

[–] mech@feddit.org 6 points 11 hours ago* (last edited 7 hours ago) (1 children)

This reminds me of a research project I did in university (I studied ecology).
The goal was to find out how much food geese need during migration.
You can't weigh them before and after they feed.
So we went to a meadow they always frequent on their migration path.
And then we used a ruler to measure the length of every single blade of grass, before and after they fed.

We also collected what they left behind.
Like coding on a phone, it was fowl shit.

[–] Saber_is_dead@lemmy.world 2 points 7 hours ago
[–] OwOarchist@pawb.social 2 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

It’s also possible to cut an acre of grassland with scissors.

Honestly, I'm not sure it is. The scissors might get dull and stop being able to cut before you finish. (Grasses often incorporate silica into their structure to grind down the teeth of animals that try to eat it and thus discourage them from eating too much.)

[–] Tetsuo@jlai.lu 2 points 11 hours ago* (last edited 11 hours ago) (1 children)

Is your lawnmower "laser-based" or something ? 🤔

[–] OwOarchist@pawb.social 1 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

Lawn mowers rely more on speed than sharpness. Even an extremely worn lawnmower blade will still cut grass if you give it enough RPM. They also have a lot more mass to be worn away than a pair of scissors.

[–] ryannathans@aussie.zone 2 points 9 hours ago

You can sharpen scissors too...

[–] yyyesss@lemmy.world 3 points 7 hours ago* (last edited 7 hours ago)

Absolutely. I use termux + a project called Andronix to install full Debian. After that you're off to the races. Install NVM, node, git, whatever. I use screen for tabbed terminals. I use one tab to run my node server and another to edit with vim.

Keyboards: as mentioned, Hacker keyboard, Unexpected keyboard, or Codeboard. Or you can attach a Bluetooth keyboard.

Everything just works. If you know vim and have patience, it's a lot of fun.

[–] fiat_lux@lemmy.zip 3 points 7 hours ago

Yes, and lots of people in lower income countries do so using a Bluetooth keyboard.

[–] vext01@feddit.uk 3 points 8 hours ago

Well, you can plug in a keyboard and use termux. I doubt it would be fun though.

[–] jet@hackertalks.com 18 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

The main limitation is your input device, attach a keyboard and a monitor and you should be able to program on anything

[–] OwOarchist@pawb.social 7 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

Yeah, lol. Bluetooth keyboard + USB-C display adapter connected to a larger monitor, and the phone becomes kind of usable for coding.

[–] unexposedhazard@discuss.tchncs.de 3 points 11 hours ago* (last edited 11 hours ago)

I have previously used my phone like this to run godot and it actually works well.

[–] MidsizedSedan@lemmy.world 5 points 10 hours ago

print ("Hello World")

[–] mhzawadi@lemmy.horwood.cloud 14 points 13 hours ago

Possible, yes. Pleasant, no.

I don't like editing a spreadsheet on my phone, or typing much at all. If I had a blackberry, they would be different.

[–] davad@lemmy.world 1 points 7 hours ago

Possible? Yes. But if you don't have a keyboard, it's a huge pain to type code. And, depending what you're building, it might be hard or impossible to treat your code locally.

[–] hexagonwin@lemmy.today 1 points 7 hours ago

yes if you get used to the tiny touch keyboard and screen.. alternatively you can use a tablet and a proper keyboard

[–] SatyrSack@quokk.au 0 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

I often find myself issuing a quick fix or something by pulling out my phone, opening Termux, remoting into a server with SSH, and editing a text file with something like Nano. That is, for all intents and purposes, coding. And it works well enough for that. I am generally familiar with the project via my time with it on desktop, so I know what small change I need to make and can do so quickly with just about any text editor. And even if I want to create an entire small script from scratch via my phone, I generally have the whole process mapped out in my head and just need to use the phone to type it out.

But anything that requires a lot of typing or screen space is generally better to do on desktop. Even though something could technically be achieved on a 6" screen using an onscreen keyboard, many things are simply more streamlined and effortless using multiple windows and a physical keyboard.

[–] TheViking@nord.pub 1 points 3 hours ago (2 children)

Which keypad do you use in your phone ?

[–] SatyrSack@quokk.au 1 points 2 hours ago* (last edited 2 hours ago)

I use Heliboard mainly, and then I have Unexpected Keyboard installed as well and switch to it on the rare occasion I run into something that is difficult to do with Heliboard.

[–] TheViking@nord.pub 0 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

Can you suggest a good replacement for vs code ?? Which is Foss ??

[–] plutopos@lemmy.zip 4 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

It's like drawing with sticks and bat dung

[–] mech@feddit.org 2 points 8 hours ago

It drives you batshit insane?

[–] OwOarchist@pawb.social 5 points 12 hours ago

Brother, I used to write code on a TI-83+ calculator.

It can be done.

[–] LeapSecond@lemmy.zip 5 points 12 hours ago

Most android keyboards have all the special keys you need, they're just 2-3 clicks away instead of 1. Something like Unexpected Keyboard might be more convenient. But the small screen is a bigger problem than the keyboard. Of course it can be done, it's just a miserable experience.

[–] TabbsTheBat@pawb.social 5 points 13 hours ago

I've done it before. Would I do it again given other options? Probably not, but it is doable

[–] d00ery@lemmy.world 2 points 10 hours ago* (last edited 10 hours ago)

There are keyboards which provide more keys and layouts which can help (but take up more screen space).

Hackers keyboard was great, the replacement appears to be unexpected keyboard.

https://f-droid.org/packages/juloo.keyboard2

Remember a keyboard can steal all your info like passwords and usernames - make sure you trust it!

Or a flip keyboard like this is cool too.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/266795334818

What language do you use as gitlab and GitHub both have browser based editors these days.

[–] stoy@lemmy.zip 1 points 9 hours ago
[–] ell1e@leminal.space 2 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

On a Linux phone that's fast enough, it's a great experience. On any other sort of phone, not so much.

[–] TheViking@nord.pub 1 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

You do it on a smart phone ??

[–] sbeak@sopuli.xyz 1 points 8 hours ago

You can, attaching a Linux phone to an external monitor gives you a standard Linux desktop. Like Samsung DeX mode on steroids, since you can run desktop apps easily!

[–] lorty@lemmy.ml 0 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

Yes, but I've only done it for learning purposes. I wouldn't recommend it for any other reason.

[–] TheViking@nord.pub 1 points 56 minutes ago

Which keypad did you use ?

[–] FiniteBanjo@feddit.online 2 points 13 hours ago

Maybe with DroidVim for Android or with KDevelop on a Linux phone, yeah.

[–] ohulancutash@feddit.uk 2 points 13 hours ago

Apps exist, often with keyboard augmentation, but I don’t see it being useful for much more than touchups.