Termux Add-ons: What All 7 Plugins Do, and Which Build You Need (2026)

On its own, Termux is a terminal. Its add-ons, which the project calls plugins, are separate apps that connect it to the rest of Android: they let scripts use the phone’s hardware, run at startup or from the home screen, take orders from Tasker, or draw real Android windows. None of them does anything without Termux itself.

Quick picks

• To let scripts use the phone itself, such as notifications, location or SMS: Termux:API.
• To keep a server or job running after reboots: Termux:Boot.
• To run scripts with one tap: Termux:Widget.
• For a nicer-looking terminal: Termux:Styling.
• To keep a terminal on screen over other apps: Termux:Float.
• To trigger scripts from automations: Termux:Tasker, if you have Tasker.
• To build a real interface for your own scripts: Termux:GUI.

You can install any combination, as long as they all come from the same source as your Termux.

The one rule: same source as Termux

Termux and its plugins run as a single Android user: every one of these apps declares the shared user ID com.termux. We checked this in all eight files we host. Android only lets apps share a user ID when they are signed with the same key, so a plugin from one source won’t install next to a Termux from another. You get errors such as “App not installed” or INSTALL_FAILED_SHARED_USER_INCOMPATIBLE.

All eight files here are F-Droid’s builds and carry F-Droid’s signing certificate (its SHA-256 fingerprint starts with 228fb2cf), so they work with each other and with Termux from F-Droid. If your Termux came from somewhere else:

• GitHub: get the plugins from Termux’s GitHub releases too. Those builds are signed with a test key the project has shared publicly, which is why we don’t host them.
• Google Play: the Play version is a separate, experimental project that dropped the shared user ID to pass Play’s review. It has built the functions of Termux:Boot and Termux:Widget, and some Termux:API tools, into the main app. Termux:API, Termux:Tasker and Termux:Float aren’t available for it yet.

To switch sources, the Termux README says to uninstall Termux and every plugin first, then install them all again from the new source. Uninstalling Termux deletes its files, so back up your home folder before you start.

At a glance

Plugin	What it adds	Also needs	Size	Permissions
Termux:API	More than 50 commands for phone features	pkg install termux-api	4.0 MB	35
Termux:Boot	Runs your scripts after the phone starts	Opening it once	26 KB	2
Termux:Widget	Home screen widget, shortcuts and device controls	Scripts in ~/.shortcuts/	5.9 MB	2
Termux:Styling	114 color schemes and 26 fonts	Nothing	32.9 MB	0
Termux:Float	Terminal in a floating window	Display over other apps	1.9 MB	3
Termux:Tasker	Runs your scripts from Tasker	Tasker (paid)	2.9 MB	2
Termux:GUI	Native Android windows for your programs	A Python, C or Bash library	3.5 MB	4

Sizes and permissions come from the files we host. The permission count is what each app declares, not what it will use: Termux:API lists 35 because every command needs its own.

Termux:API: scripts that use the phone

The most useful plugin for most people. Together with the termux-api package inside Termux, it gives scripts commands for notifications, the clipboard, location, sensors, SMS, calls, the camera, the microphone, text-to-speech and more. Without it, a Termux script can’t touch any of those.

Termux:Boot: run scripts at startup

Put scripts in ~/.termux/boot/, open the app once, and they run every time the phone starts. It’s the standard way to keep an SSH server or a background job alive across reboots. At 26 KB, it’s by far the smallest of the eight files.

Termux:Widget: scripts as buttons

Shows the scripts in ~/.shortcuts/ as a home screen widget or as single shortcuts, and can run them from Android 11’s device controls. Scripts in the tasks subfolder run in the background without a terminal window.

Termux:Styling: colors and fonts

Adds a Style entry to Termux’s long-press menu with 114 color schemes and 26 fonts. It only writes two settings files, so you can skip it if you prefer to set those by hand. Almost all of its 32.9 MB is fonts.

Termux:Float: a floating terminal

Keeps a Termux session in a small window above your other apps, which you can move, resize and hide. It needs the Display over other apps permission.

Termux:Tasker: scripts from automations

Lets Tasker and similar automation apps run scripts from ~/.termux/tasker/, in the background or in a terminal. You also have to grant the automation app Termux’s run-commands permission. F-Droid flags it because Tasker itself is a paid, closed-source app.

Termux:GUI: real Android interfaces

For people who write their own tools: with a Python, C or Bash library, a program in Termux can open native Android windows, dialogs and widgets instead of needing an X server. It isn’t in the plugin list of Termux’s README and is still early software, but it comes from the same GitHub organization and follows the same same-source rule.

One add-on isn’t here: Termux:X11, for running Linux desktop programs, isn’t on F-Droid. The project publishes it only as nightly builds on GitHub.