lunarixus.dev
Nathan

Android developer & reverse engineer · UK

Hi, I'm Nathan.
I work all the way down the stack.

I build Android apps, then take apart the layers underneath them: kernels, GPU drivers, bootloaders and emulators. BSc Computer Science graduate.

Online I'm Lunarixus on GitHub and TheLunarixus on X.

Get in touch GitHub @TheLunarixus
8 years
shipping open source
59
public repositories
200+
GitHub stars
15+
press articles

My work has been covered by

Articles credit me as Nathan, Lunarixus or TheLunarixus.

01 · Highlights

Work that got noticed

Linux kernelDisplay driversC

Unlocking 90Hz on the Pixel 6a

Google sold the Pixel 6a as a 60Hz phone. I found that its panel matched the one in the Pixel 6, adapted the Pixel 6's display controller timings in the kernel, and had the 6a running at 90Hz. The mod went viral in August 2022 and was picked up by Android Central, Android Authority, Tom's Guide, PhoneArena and outlets across Europe and Asia.

Source on GitHub → Original post →
60→90Hzrefresh rate
67★my most-starred repo
10+outlets, 6 languages
Reverse engineeringEmulation

Inside Xbox backward compatibility on PC

I took apart the PC release of Fuzion Frenzy and found that Microsoft runs original Xbox games through XeFu, its Xbox emulator, nested inside a port of its internal Xbox 360 emulator. The finding was reported by Windows Report, games.gg and Tom's Hardware Italia.

Windows Report →
AOSPAndroid 13Leadership

Founder of PhoenixAOSP

I founded PhoenixAOSP, a custom Android 13 ROM built on AOSP, and led it from the start, shipping device builds, including for the Pixel 5, through XDA Developers.

Release template →
KotlinJetpack ComposeNetworkingSecurity

Simple File Manager Coming to Google Play

A fast, private file manager for Android, written from scratch in Kotlin and Jetpack Compose. It connects to SMB, FTP(S), SFTP and WebDAV shares, sends files to nearby devices with its own end-to-end encrypted protocol (AES-GCM with a verification code), runs a password-protected web server for browser access, and works with root and Shizuku. It's backed by hundreds of unit tests, including against real in-process SSH, FTP and WebDAV servers.

  • Material 3 UI for phones, tablets and Chromebooks
  • SMB, FTP, FTPS, SFTP, SCP and WebDAV clients
  • Encrypted device-to-device transfer
  • Keystore-encrypted credentials and host-key pinning
  • Built-in web UI, ZIP and split-APK support
  • No ads, no analytics, no tracking

02 · Selected work

Open source

A selection from my GitHub, grouped by the layer of the stack it lives in.

GPU drivers

Panfrost for Android

Mesa 24 Panfrost for Mali GPUs, packaged to run on Android without root.

C · 11 forks GPU drivers

ANGLE for Android

ChromeOS's ANGLE GLES-on-Vulkan driver brought over to Android.

C++ GPU drivers

Pixel 6 Mali driver rework

Rewritten GS101 Mali-G78 kernel GPU driver, alongside the r36p0 source.

C Kernels

Android 12 for the Pixel 2

BPF features backported to the wahoo kernel so the Pixel 2 and 2 XL can run Android 12.

C Kernels

Linux 4.4 for the original Pixel

Forward-ported the Pixel's 3.18 kernel to Linux 4.4. Boots on device.

C Kernels

Xodia kernel

Custom kernel for the Exynos 7420 Galaxy S6 family, plus an Android 10 variant (XodiaN).

C Firmware

Mu-Qcom

EDK2 UEFI firmware port for Qualcomm devices, for booting Windows and Linux on phones.

ASL · C ROMs

Exynos 9820 device trees

LineageOS-style device trees for the Galaxy S10 family, including the S10e.

Makefile Hackintosh

macOS on the Legion 5

OpenCore config running macOS Ventura on an AMD Lenovo Legion 5, with ACPI patches.

ASL · 15★ Hackintosh

ThinkPad x230 macOS

Boot configs for macOS Mojave, Catalina and Big Sur on the ThinkPad x230.

Clover · OpenCore · 31★ Tools

PS3 update downloader

Desktop GUI that finds and downloads official PS3 game update packages.

Python Tools

AutoTSSSaver

Saves iOS SHSH blobs automatically so devices can be restored to unsigned firmware.

Python

See all 59 repositories on GitHub →

03 · Skills

What I work with

Apps

  • Kotlin
  • Jetpack Compose
  • Material 3
  • Coroutines
  • Java
  • Gradle
  • JUnit & UI testing
  • Android SDK

Systems

  • C
  • C++
  • Linux kernel
  • AOSP & ROMs
  • Device trees
  • Mesa & GPU drivers
  • UEFI / EDK2
  • ACPI

Tooling & more

  • Reverse engineering
  • Binary analysis
  • Emulation
  • Python
  • JavaScript & Node.js
  • Git
  • Shell
  • Networking & security

04 · Contact

Let's build something.

I'm open to new opportunities across software and IT. If you have a role or project in mind, email is the quickest way to reach me.

github.com/Lunarixus x.com/TheLunarixus