# proot-me/proot

chroot, mount --bind, and binfmt_misc without privilege/setup for Linux

Repository: https://github.com/proot-me/proot
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/proot
Homepage: https://proot-me.github.io
Language: C
License: GPL-2.0
License Family: copyleft
Topics: chroot-environment, userland-exec, rootfs, chroot, c, linux, syscalls, ptrace, hacktoberfest
Last push: 2026-08-03T02:25:15+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 66/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:39:23.370411+00:00)
- activity 95, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 5748, "days_push": 31, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 2583, forks 482 (observed 2026-08-28T04:07:02.506657+00:00)

## What it is
PRoot is a user-space implementation of chroot, mount --bind, and binfmt_misc for Linux that requires no privileges or setup, built on ptrace. It lets users run an arbitrary directory as a root filesystem, bind-mount host paths into it, and transparently execute programs for foreign CPU architectures via QEMU user-mode.

## Use cases
- run a linux distro rootfs without root privileges
- chroot without being root
- run arm binaries on x86 linux
- cross-compile packages in a foreign architecture environment
- bind mount host files into a guest rootfs as unprivileged user
- instrument linux processes with ptrace
- test packages in an isolated filesystem on android termux

## When to choose
- you need chroot-like isolation without root or kernel modules
- you want to run foreign-architecture binaries transparently via QEMU user-mode
- you're on a system where you can't use containers (e.g., Android/Termux, shared hosting)
- you need to mix host and guest programs in one filesystem view

## When to avoid
- you need strong security isolation - ptrace-based confinement is not a security sandbox
- you can use containers or real chroot with proper privileges for better performance
- you need to run on non-Linux platforms

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: active
- function: security, developer-tools, cli, file-system
- domain: developer-tools, operating-systems
- platform: cli, c
- tags: chroot, ptrace, userland-exec, rootfs, qemu-user-mode, cross-compilation, sandboxing, binfmt-misc, command-line, linux

## Member repositories
- proot-me/proot (main) score 66

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:02.506657+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T02:22:30.885241+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/proot-me/proot (fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:02.506657+00:00, sha 90852a3d718b)
  - homepage: https://proot-me.github.io (fetched 2026-08-29T10:05:00.390157+00:00, sha ca245a010bbc)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.