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Termux

github.com

101–110 of 186 posts

Re: Termux

#101
post #75
post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I beleive Android 16 now comes with termux-like Linux environment that can be enabled via developer settings menu.

(it's unreliable, see second edit) Does it? I've looked at it only briefly (like enabled it, waited a while for it to download something big, then got a basic shell) but it seemed much less capable than Termux. Can you get cell tower info or copy to clipboard for example, or use other Android APIs? Edit: looked into it a bit more, /etc/issue says it's a Debian 13 (latest stable), apt works with sudo (this is a locked…

YMMV, but I've had pretty good luck with just force closing it and launching again when getting errors like that. It doesn't necessarily mean the whole environment is corrupt, even though that is the recovery option that is presented.

It is very unreliable though. I hope Android 17 improves it, as other than the restart issues, I've generally found it to be very functional.

Re: Termux

#102

Honest question, as a heavy desktop TUI user who has had Termux installed for years. A terminal (emulator) is a keyboard-based environment. How on earth are all you fans making it work with a tiny touchscreen?

I often use a Bluetooth keyboard with Termux. But as a mechanical keyboard affectionate with a veritable museum of ergonomic and mechanical keyboards, the Samsung S-Pen is good enough for terminal work. I use SSH, VIM, and lately Org mode in Termux. If I'm at a desk I still use a Bluetooth keyboard, but if I'm out then the S-Pen is a fine enough substitute. Right now I'm on an S24 Ultra, before that a Note 10 Lite, a…

I just got an S25 Ultra. How do you use the S-Pen with termux? I do have handwriting enabled in gboard and the S-Pen works for writing regular text. But can it write special characters, ctrl/alt, or something else to go beyond what regular gboard gives? (I also have Unexpected Keyboard for Emacs, but S-pen input seems like a cool idea if it can work around limitations of gboard)

Re: Termux

#103
Since no one makes Android devices with hardware keyboards anymore, I almost never use this kind of software anymore. After getting burned by a couple of Kickstarter phones hampered by half-baked software and total lack of updates, the only thing I could rationally conclude is that Android as a productivity platform is a lost cause.

When Android was new, I very frequently used Termux and ConnectBot with my first few Motorola Droid phones. For a brief moment, I had a working phone with a great physical design only held back by an outdated chipset and being locked to Planet Computers' abandonware. I could touch-type at 80 WPM on an easily pocketable device! Termux shone there.

So many things about Android were not just more exciting in terms of potential when it was new, but actively better: wider variety of hardware, widely unlocked bootloaders, no remote attestation, etc. Termux sadly feels like a painful reminder of that to me.

Re: Termux

#104
post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I beleive Android 16 now comes with termux-like Linux environment that can be enabled via developer settings menu.

Yeah but it sucks. There's a button in its settings to install a Debian chroot environment; gave it a go and it bricked itself, had to clear the app's storage and factory reset it.

Yeah, I can always use the Android Terminal once. If I re-open it, it says it's corrupted, and has to delete and re-install its minimal Debian environment.

Re: Termux

#105
post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah but it sucks. There's a button in its settings to install a Debian chroot environment; gave it a go and it bricked itself, had to clear the app's storage and factory reset it.

A bug in a not even beta program makes it 'suck'?

If it's not even a beta, then it can hardly be replacement for termux.

Re: Termux

#106
post #75
post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I beleive Android 16 now comes with termux-like Linux environment that can be enabled via developer settings menu.

(it's unreliable, see second edit) Does it? I've looked at it only briefly (like enabled it, waited a while for it to download something big, then got a basic shell) but it seemed much less capable than Termux. Can you get cell tower info or copy to clipboard for example, or use other Android APIs? Edit: looked into it a bit more, /etc/issue says it's a Debian 13 (latest stable), apt works with sudo (this is a locked…

> apt works with sudo (this is a locked-down device where I don't have root permission on, why does it need a fake sudo to use apt?)

It's a VM running normal Debian. Inside the VM, you do have root, and that sudo isn't fake.

Re: Termux

#107
post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah but it sucks. There's a button in its settings to install a Debian chroot environment; gave it a go and it bricked itself, had to clear the app's storage and factory reset it.

A bug in a not even beta program makes it 'suck'?

I don't understand this comment. Yes, absolutely. Alpha versions of software absolutely suck. The end goal is making it not suck, but if it's full of breaking bugs your can't just say it doesn't suck just because they're expected.

Re: Termux

#108
post #35

I also really like Termux. When I was developing https://github.com/nuwainfo/ffl (a tool similar to croc, but the receiver uses a browser and doesn't need to install anything), it was because I wanted an easy way to get things off my phone. I actually packaged ffl—which is pure Python—into an APE just to make it compatible with Termux. Although many people here use ssh, rsync, or solutions like copyparty, I prefer my…

May I also recommend https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46855265

Re: Termux

#109

I use it to run Julia on my phone: https://lee-phillips.org/juliaOnPhone.jpg

Do you have instructions somewhere for getting this to work? I've tried installing julia on termux a few times with no success.

Re: Termux

#110

Honest question, as a heavy desktop TUI user who has had Termux installed for years. A terminal (emulator) is a keyboard-based environment. How on earth are all you fans making it work with a tiny touchscreen?

For me, it was how I learned Vim. The awkward keyboard pushed me towards learning more efficient keystrokes, so now I'm very comfortable with Vim.

I would learn it on the bus, and at the time I didn't have a data plan, so I could only access things I had already downloaded. The `:help` documentation is very thorough.

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