Termux is a Free and Open-source Terminal Emulator which allows you to work under a Linux environment on Android or IOS Phones. It contains a built-in package manager that enables you to download and set up numerous testing and development apps across your phones. Using its package manager, it automatically installs the base system and certain additional programs. The majority of commands work in Termux, it also includes the zsh and tcsh shells and bash as default.
What is Termux
Termux is a terminal emulator for Android OS with its own package ecosystem. There are more than 1000 packages for various purposes, including code editors, compilers, etc.
Is Termux an emulator
Termux is an emulator and is not. It does not emulate any system; Programs are executed natively. On the other hand, it is a terminal emulator in the same way as many common Linux distribution programs are; e.g., GNOME terminal, Konsole, Xterm and many more.
Terminal is a hardware device typically used before traditional desktop computers appeared.
Terminal emulator is a software that emulates a display (not CPU or whole system) with capabilities of specific hardware terminal.
What are system requirements
Android OS of version 7.0 as minimum. Be prepared that Termux uses much of internal storage, you are dealing with packages ported from Linux distributions. That's 500 MB - 5 GB typically, in some cases more... Everything depends on your use cases.
Also it is preferable to have AOSP Android, to avoid vendor-specific quirks with process management and power-saving.
Will Termux work on Android 11
In short: yes, it works on Android 11 and 12 beta.
Android security improvements in new versions often become a subject of controversial discussions and recent `execve()` system call restriction by SELinux configuration introduced with Android 10 was not the exception. There lots of misinformation and conspiracy (aka "Google want to kill Linux on Android") from people claiming themselves "advanced users" about what is actually happening.
Applications built with target SDK level 29 (means compatibility with Android 10) will no longer be able to execute data files. All executables must be packaged within the APK file. That's a reasonable restriction. Application must not be able to modify itself. Updates and new features must come within the APK of newer version. However there is a problem: Termux is technically a bridge between Android application and Linux environments.
Fortunately, we chose to force use compatibility with Android 9 APIs (SDK 28) at the cost of ability to publish updates on Google Play. That is until we will workaround the issue. For now do not worry - it works perfectly.
Termux also supports Android 12 but running the app on this version of Android would kill phantom processes and crash the app, meaning spawning several processes would randomly close the application unintentionally. if you plan to upgrade your device to Android 12, upgrade at your own risk!
Related issue: https://github.com/termux/termux-app/issues/2366
Install Termux on Android
Note: Since November 2022, the Google Playstore has refused to accept updates from Termux, so downloading Termux from there won’t work. So, here’s how you can download Termux as a Third-Party App.
Step 1. Go to the following link.
Step 2. Swipe down then click on Download APK.
Step 3. After completion of the download, simply click on it to install it.
Step 4. Now open the Termux app. After installing a few bootstrap packages, you will get the Termux Welcome Screen.
Step 5. Let us give it Storage permission by the following command.
termux-setup-storage
Step 6. A popup will now appear asking for permission to give access to the storage; click Allow.
Demonstration
1. pwd – to check the current directory
pwd
2. touch – creating blank files
touch
3. ls – list files and directories
ls
4. mkdir – to create a directory
mkdir
5. cd – to travel paths
cd
Why does htop or netstat not work on my device
In order to stop leaking sensitive information via side channels, Android has blocked access to certain interfaces in /proc. This is done for your privacy.
Specifically:
- /proc/net/*
- /proc/loadavg
- /proc/stat
- /proc/uptime
- /proc/version
- /proc/vmstat
- And few others.
Restrictions vary between Android OS versions. Thus Android 7 is less restrictive than 8/9/10+. You can use root to bypass them.
Do not open issues in our repositories on this or complain how Google is evil. We do not support such opinion or other Android-specific conspiracy.
Why does ps not show Android processes
Since Android 7, regular applications no longer can explore foreign processes in /proc. This has been implemented via hidepid=2 mount option.
Termux can list only its own processes. You can see more only under rooted shell or ADB.
This restriction has weird effect on some programs. For example, some processes like ssh-agent or tor daemons will no longer be visible through ps and as result can't be terminated with pkill <NAME> or killall <NAME> but only with kill <PID>.
Why my Termux is 32bit while CPU supports 64bit
If Android OS reports support only of 32-bit ABIs, Termux will perform a 32-bit installation only. Its environment is not standalone and relies on libraries provided by operating system. So if your system is 32-bit only, you are out of luck. That is common issue with some device models where manufacturer installed only 32-bit OS due to small system partition.
Can Termux be installed on the external storage
This can't be done, at least if your device is not rooted.
Termux requires a native Linux file system such as EXT4 or F2FS for supporting special files like symbolic links, sockets and Unix file attributes. Neither FAT32 or exFAT supports them. Furthermore, Android applies a special overlay to any general purpose file storage which turns underlying file system into FAT32 or exFAT-like in order to solve certain issues and provide a better experience for average user.
If your device is rooted and you want to install Termux on external storage, please refer to post on Android Enthusiasts Stack Exchange.
Any tips for using Termux
Here are the ones which should help you to survive in Termux shell:
- Learn shell scripting!
- Always do
pkg upgrade! - Do backups, always!
- Do not execute things which you do not know!
- Carefully read everything that has been printed to terminal!
What do you use Termux for
You can do everything, specifically what you are able to do with it. That is the case where you are limited mostly by your skills. Of course, OS and device hardware restriction matter too, but they are insignificant.
Here are just few ideas for Termux usage:
- Device automation with scripting and Termux Tasker add-on.
- File transfer & synchronization via syncthing, rsync, rclone, etc.
- SSH client (dropbear, openssh).
- Programming (clang, python, vim, etc).
Are there any Termux tutorials
Please check page Getting started.
Note that while you can learn shell scripting with Termux, it is not the best tool for this due to few fundamental differences from the Linux distributions.
What are advantages of root in Termux
Root gains you control over system components. You will be able to access freely all file systems, modify device firmware (ROM) as well as perform fine tuning of kernel configuration, networking, etc.
Certain tools like cryptsetup, mount, nmap (advanced scan modes), tcpdump require root access.
What is a fake root
Fake root means exactly "fake root", i.e., not real root. It does not provide any real superuser privileges. It just changes user ID and label to assist in certain tasks.
There 2 ways to get a fake root:
- Package `fakeroot` - useful solely for packagers who need to create archives with files having certain ownership and permissions. Of course, using the real root in this case is overkill.
- Package `proot` - run a rootless Linux distribution "chroot".
Fake root will not help you to root your device. Neither will help you to run a software requiring superuser privileges.
Can I hack a social media with Termux
Main Article: Hacking
As some people say, there nothing impossible in the world, and that's true in case of Termux and specifically this question. However we do not provide any help on it - you are on your own.
Hacking and phishing topics are discouraged within all official Termux communities.
Where are Metasploit and Hydra packages
Main Article: Hacking
Packages Hashcat, Hydra, Metasploit and Sqlmap have been removed from Termux repositories. We do not accept requests of hacking packages and neither provide help for using or installing them.
Why app from F-Droid cannot be installed
Open your Android settings --> Applications and check whether you have applications containing the word "Termux" in their name. If so, uninstall all of them: Termux, Termux:API, Termux:Styling, Termux:Widget, Termux:Boot and others. And yes, paid add-dons should be uninstalled too.
After that you should be able to install Termux app from F-Droid.
Why Termux add-ons on Google Play are paid even though their sources are on GitHub
This has been made as kind of donation. If you do not want to donate, use application and add-ons from F-Droid or custom builds from sources.
Remember that open-source or free software does not mean that software cannot be paid. This is not forbidden by licenses of our source code. Also "free" means "freedom", in context of GNU GPL which even explicitly states that free software can be paid as soon as sources are freely available.
How can I keep my data when reinstalling Termux
Main Article: Backing up Termux
You need to archive contents of these directories:
/data/data/com.termux/files/usr /data/data/com.termux/files/home
You can use utility tar. Before uninstalling the app, ensure that archives are placed to safe location such as /sdcard.
Repositories are down and return 403 404 errors
Switch to a working repository with `termux-change-repo`. You will need to select repositories which do not work, if unsure what to select - select everything.
https://github.com/termux/termux-packages/issues/6726
How to open failsafe shell
There are 2 variants how to do that: 1. Open drawer by swiping rightwards -> long tap on "new session" -> tap "failsafe". 2. Close Termux app -> long tap on icon -> tap "failsafe".
See Recover a broken environment for more information on Termux recovery topic.
How can I access device storage with Termux
Main Article: Internal and external storage
You need to grant a Storage access permission to application. We recommend to do that through command
termux-setup-storage
It will ask for permission and once it was granted, it will setup a symlinks in directory ~/storage to standard directories like DCIM, Download, etc.
Storage (shared) is usually accessible through:
- /storage/emulated/0
- /storage/self/primary
- $HOME/storage/shared
External storage is restricted by Android OS. You can read files but cannot write them, except ones located in Termux private directory accessible through $HOME/storage/external-1. Termux cannot have write access to external storage like file manager applications do.
If you are on Android 11 and storage suddenly has become inaccessible, then revoke permission from Android settings and grant again.
How can I hide the extra keys
Tap key combination Volume Up + K.
Alternate approach is to open drawer via swiping rightwards from the left screen side and then long tap on "Keyboard" button.
Why text appears only after hitting space
This is a keyboard-specific known issue. It happens because keyboard has not internally reset input method type and tries to use unsupported features like auto-correction or prediction.
In order to solve issue you need to use either a different keyboard or run these commands:
mkdir -p ~/.termux echo "enforce-char-based-input = true" >> ~/.termux/termux.properties
Restart application after making changes to "termux.properties" file.
How do I get help for a specific package
Usually you can use next commands to get a brief usage of the utility:
packagename -h packagename --help
More advanced information can be viewed by using a man tool. It can be installed by
pkg install man
Here is an example how to view information for utility ls:
man ls
Tips, when reading a man page:
- Use q to quit
- Use space for next page
- /search for search
- n for repeat search
Sometimes utility name may not match the package name. If you encountered a such package, consult its online home page to get a brief introduction or use utility apt-file to list the available files including utilities and documentation.
Why does a compiled program show warnings
Warnings produced by dynamic linker about unused sections are safe. They just notify developer that ELF header of executable file has extra information which cannot be interpreted by current linker version. In case of DT_FLAGS_1=0x8, it warns about RTLD_NODELETE ELF section. Besides DT_FLAGS_1=0x8, there more types of ELF sections which are not handled by Android linker.
To make this warning disappear you need to use utility "termux-elf-cleaner" binary file and probably on all its dependencies.
pkg install termux-elf-cleaner termux-elf-cleaner ./myprogram termux-elf-cleaner ./libmysharedlibrary.so
Number of supported ELF sections increases with each Android OS version. On Android >7.0 you may not get such warnings.
Can I use Termux packages in my own project
Yes, as Termux is open-source and uses a GNU GPL v3.0 and in some components Apache-2.0 license, you can freely re-use existing components as soon as you met the license requirements.
However license does not cover "free" use of our hosting capabilities which are somewhat limited. You cannot use our package repositories in your own project(s). Please build packages and host them yourself.
Get started with information on developer's wiki pages: https://github.com/termux/termux-packages/wiki.
How to run Termux commands from other application
Termux provides optional interface for processing command execution requests made by third-party applications.
Detailed information with examples is available at https://github.com/termux/termux-app/wiki/RUN_COMMAND-Intent.
Can Termux run some commands automatically right after installation
No, this feature has not been implemented. Unconditional automated execution of arbitrary commands (script on shared storage) also implies a security issue.
Worth to note that Termux does not have storage access by default and we have not re-considered this behavior.
Add the ability to run Termux commands via. ADB without root.
Currently, in order to run a command, you have to do something like this: adb shell am start -n com.termux/.app.TermuxActivity
adb shell input text "[command here]"
adb shell input keyevent 113 && adb shell input keyevent 66which, in my opinion, is a little hackey... There are a lot of things that could stop this script, like the screen being locked or a Termux session already being open with text typed in. I propose that a new Activity/Service is added (or an extension of This would be BEYOND useful (and a little cool, too), like being able to start up |
ADB port forwarding can be used to access termux remotely, via sshd or telnetd.
Prepare termux for sshd using public key or password. Detailed steps for setting up sshd can be found on Termux Wiki. By default, termux sshd listens on port 8022. Create port forwarding to port 8022 After those steps, termux can be accessed via ssh into 127.0.0.1 on port 8022
Termux comes with busybox, which includes a telnet daemon. The daemon can be set up to allow remote access. Inside termux terminal, run the following command to start telnetd on port 8023 On the computer, set up adb port forwarding After port forwarding has been created, telnet client can be used to access termux. |
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