Termux:GUI

Graphical Linux programs on Android usually need an X server or VNC. Termux:GUI takes another route: a program running in Termux talks to this add-on, and the add-on draws native Android views for it. The result looks and behaves like a normal Android app. The catch is that ordinary Linux GUI programs can’t use it; programs have to be written for Termux:GUI.

What it can show

According to the README, programs can open windows with their own back stack, custom dialogs, screens on the lock screen, home screen widgets and picture-in-picture windows. They can also embed a WebView, draw directly into a buffer with GLES2 acceleration, and receive events as the user taps and types.

Getting started

Pick a library for your language inside Termux:

• Python: pip install termuxgui
• Bash: pkg install termux-gui-bash
• C and C++: pkg install termux-gui-c

There’s also termux-gui-package, a set of ready-made programs that needs Python and the Python library. The protocol between programs and the add-on is documented, so other languages can use it too.

Good to know

• Everything passes between processes, and the README warns that this costs performance compared with a regular app.
• It is early software. Version 0.1.6 came out in April 2023, and every Termux:GUI release on GitHub is marked as a pre-release.
• To show windows over other apps, or open them from the background, turn on Display over other apps for Termux:GUI (the README says to look for it in the advanced section).
• Termux’s own README doesn’t list it among its plugins, but it comes from the same GitHub organization and shares Termux’s user ID, so the same-source rule in our Termux plugins guide applies.
• The 3.5 MB file has native code for ARM and x86, 32- and 64-bit, and declares four permissions.

CPU types in this build: arm64-v8a (64-bit ARM, almost every phone since 2017); armeabi-v7a (32-bit ARM, older and budget phones); x86 (32-bit Intel, emulators); x86_64 (64-bit Intel, emulators and Chromebooks).