Fedora)

Note: This guide is community-contributed and may require adjustments for your specific system configuration. Please test in a safe environment first.

RedHat-based distributions (RHEL, CentOS, Fedora) do not include Binder IPC support by default, so enabling it means building a kernel.

Fedora

Fedora provides kernel source packages that can be modified to include binder support:

# Install development tools
$ sudo dnf groupinstall "Development Tools"
$ sudo dnf install fedora-packager fedpkg
$ sudo dnf install kernel-devel kernel-headers

# Install kernel build dependencies
$ sudo dnf builddep kernel

# Get kernel source
$ fedpkg clone -a kernel
$ cd kernel
$ fedpkg switch-branch f$(rpm -E %fedora)
$ fedpkg prep

# Modify kernel config to enable binder
$ cd ~/rpmbuild/BUILD/kernel-*/linux-*
$ make menuconfig

# Enable the following options:
# General setup -> Android support (CONFIG_ANDROID=y)
# CONFIG_ANDROID_BINDER_IPC=y
# CONFIG_ANDROID_BINDERFS=y

# Build the kernel
$ make -j$(nproc)
$ sudo make modules_install
$ sudo make install

# Update bootloader
$ sudo grub2-mkconfig -o /boot/grub2/grub.cfg
$ sudo reboot

RHEL/CentOS

Build a Custom Kernel

For enterprise distributions, building a custom kernel is often the most reliable approach:

# Install EPEL repository (CentOS/RHEL 8+)
$ sudo dnf install epel-release

# Install development tools
$ sudo dnf groupinstall "Development Tools"
$ sudo dnf install rpm-build rpm-devel libtool

# Install kernel build dependencies
$ sudo dnf install kernel-devel kernel-headers
$ sudo dnf install elfutils-libelf-devel openssl-devel

# Download kernel source matching your running kernel.
# Pick the v<major>.x directory that matches your kernel: today this
# is typically v6.x on Fedora/Stream; older RHEL 8/9 hosts may still
# be on v5.x or v4.x.
$ KERNEL_VERSION=$(uname -r | sed 's/\.el.*$//')
$ KERNEL_MAJOR=$(echo $KERNEL_VERSION | cut -d. -f1)
$ wget https://cdn.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/v${KERNEL_MAJOR}.x/linux-${KERNEL_VERSION}.tar.xz
$ tar -xf linux-${KERNEL_VERSION}.tar.xz
$ cd linux-${KERNEL_VERSION}

# Use current kernel config as base
$ zcat /proc/config.gz > .config
# or
$ cp /boot/config-$(uname -r) .config

# Modify config to enable binder
$ make menuconfig
# Enable CONFIG_ANDROID=y, CONFIG_ANDROID_BINDER_IPC=y, CONFIG_ANDROID_BINDERFS=y

# Build and install
$ make -j$(nproc)
$ sudo make modules_install
$ sudo make install

# Update GRUB
$ sudo grub2-mkconfig -o /boot/grub2/grub.cfg
$ sudo reboot

CentOS Stream

CentOS Stream may have more recent kernels that could include binder support:

# Check current kernel version
$ uname -r

# Update to latest kernel
$ sudo dnf update kernel

# Check if binder is already available
$ grep -E "(ANDROID|BINDER)" /boot/config-$(uname -r)

With the kernel built as described above, binder is compiled directly into the kernel (CONFIG_ANDROID_BINDER_IPC=y is a built-in option, not a module), so nothing needs to be loaded with modprobe or configured in modules-load.d:

# Verify binder is built into the running kernel
$ grep -E "(ANDROID|BINDER)" /boot/config-$(uname -r)

Note: modprobe binder_linux / modules-load.d instructions found elsewhere refer to binder_linux, the out-of-tree Anbox DKMS module for kernels without built-in binder support. They do not apply to a kernel built with the options above.

SELinux Considerations

RedHat systems run SELinux, which can deny access to the binder device even once the node exists and its mode is right. A denial looks like a failed open rather than an rsbinder error, so check the audit log before suspecting anything else:

$ sestatus
$ sudo ausearch -m avc -ts recent | grep -i binder

The fix is a policy module allowing your domain to use the device. Putting the whole system in permissive mode (setenforce 0) will also make the denial go away, but it disables SELinux for everything else on the machine — reach for it only to confirm a diagnosis, never as the resting state.

Verification

Test that binder is working:

# Check if binderfs is available
$ grep binderfs /proc/filesystems

# Install rsbinder-tools and create binder device
$ cargo install rsbinder-tools
# Create the `binder` group and put yourself in it (log out and back in,
# or use `newgrp binder`, for the membership to take effect)
$ sudo groupadd -f binder
$ sudo usermod -aG binder "$USER"

# Create the device, owned by that group. The node's mode is the only gate
# on who may speak binder at all, so it defaults to 0600 (root only).
$ sudo rsb_device binder --group binder --mode 0660

# Verify device creation
$ ls -la /dev/binderfs/binder

Troubleshooting

Common Issues:

Module compilation fails: Ensure all kernel-devel packages match your running kernel
SELinux denials: Check audit.log for SELinux denials and create appropriate policies
Kernel version mismatch: Ensure kernel source matches your running kernel version

Debugging:

# Check kernel messages
$ dmesg | grep -i binder

# Check system journal
$ journalctl -f | grep -i binder

# Verify kernel config
$ grep -E "(ANDROID|BINDER)" /boot/config-$(uname -r)

Rsbinder Development Guide