# On your PC, after connecting via USB ./passport-linux.sh prepare-sd /dev/sdb ./passport-linux.sh install-debian The script downloads a pre-packaged Debian rootfs, unpacks it to the SD card, and injects a start-linux launcher into the BB10 app menu. Once installed, you have two options:
If you long for a pocket computer that removes the web, removes the ads, and returns you to the command line, fire up the bbdb tools and wipe the dust off that Passport. linux on blackberry passport
When the screen is on, you are technically running QNX. But the moment you open the terminal app, you are living inside a Linux userland. In 2015, a developer named Cobalt (famous for patching Google Play Services onto BB10) and later The Mister created a toolset that turned the Passport into a "GNU/Linux Hub." # On your PC, after connecting via USB
$ sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y But the moment you open the terminal app,
The BlackBerry Passport runs the QNX Neutrino RTOS (Real-Time Operating System) under the hood of BB10. QNX is POSIX-compliant. That means, with the right tools, we can create a "jail" (chroot) inside QNX that runs a full ARMHF (ARM Hard Float) Linux distribution, such as or Alpine .
As of late 2026, The security chain is too strong. But the chroot method is stable, usable, and deeply satisfying. Conclusion The BlackBerry Passport died as a commercial product because it was too weird. But weirdness is the currency of the open-source community. By forcing Linux onto this square brick, you aren't recovering a dead platform—you are building a monument to what could have been.
Your keyboard is waiting. Have you successfully run Debian on your Passport? Share your .bashrc configurations in the comments below.