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Setup A Beautiful Desktop/GUI In Termux

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LAST Updated : August 2023

Unmaintained : Due to Termux not working properly on new Android versions and also Termux not getting maintained properly.


logo

Alright, Lets just get this straight, these are just some dotfiles & scripts, which will help you to setup a graphical environment in termux. I've tried to make it as easy as possible to setup a beautiful linux desktop on your android device with termux, So follow the steps and you'll end up making it look like this -

Openbox WM Another Style
desktop desktop

Lets start from the beginning...

What is termux?

Termux is an Android terminal emulator and Linux environment app that works directly with no rooting or setup required. A minimal base system is installed automatically - additional packages are available using the PKG/APT package manager. More Here...

How To install termux?

You can install termux form google play store or from f-droid.

More information about installation is here

Preparation

Install Termux & Termux:API on your phone. It's recommended to install Termux API application as many desktop elements are dependent on it.

This setup is created and tested on :

Device - Redmi Note 9 Pro
Android - Android 10 (Q)
CPU Type - aarch64

Installation

After installing both applications above, open Termux and follow the steps below -

  • Update termux packages and install git
pkg upgrade && pkg install git
  • Clone this repository
git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/adi1090x/termux-desktop.git

Warning : I'm assuming that you're doing this on a fresh termux install. If not, I'll suggest you to do so. However the setup.sh script backup every file it replace, It's still recommended that you manually backup your files in order to avoid conflicts.

  • Change to cloned directory and run setup.sh with --install option
cd termux-desktop
chmod +x setup.sh
./setup.sh --install

If script setup.sh fails during package installation (due to network issues), you can re-execute it again.

  • During installation, you'll be asked to set up password for VNC -
[*] Setting up VNC Server...

You will require a password to access your desktops.

Password:
Verify:
Would you like to enter a view-only password (y/n)? n

Note that passwords are not visible when you are typing them and minimum password length is 6 characters. Remember the password you typed as it'll be required to connect via vnc client.

  • If everything is okay, you will see this message -
New 'localhost:1 ()' desktop is localhost:1

Creating default startup script /data/data/com.termux/files/home/.vnc/xstartup
Creating default config /data/data/com.termux/files/home/.vnc/config
Starting applications specified in /data/data/com.termux/files/home/.vnc/xstartup
Log file is /data/data/com.termux/files/home/.vnc/localhost:1.log

[*] Server Is Running...

TigerVNC server sessions:

X DISPLAY #     PROCESS ID
:1              XXXXX

It means that X (vnc) server is available on display 'localhost:1'.

That's it. Termux Desktop is installed successfully. Restart Termux and enter startdesktop command to start vncserver and connect via VNC Client.

startdesktop

[*] Starting VNC Server...

New 'localhost:1 ()' desktop is localhost:1

Starting applications specified in /data/data/com.termux/files/home/.vnc/xstartup
Log file is /data/data/com.termux/files/home/.vnc/localhost:1.log

Uninstallation

If you ever want to uninstall Termux Desktop, just run setup.sh with --uninstall option. Just keep the setup.sh script and delete the cloned repository to save space. I'll create a separate uninstaller script later. The command below will remove all the packages and delete all the config files it installed, including the changes you've made. So, Be careful there...

./setup.sh --uninstall

VNC Client

Now you need a VNC client app to connect to server. I'm using this Android VNC client: VNC Viewer. You can use TigerVNC if you're trying to connect to server by a computer (Windows or Linux).

Determine port number on which VNC server listens. It can be calculated like this: 5900 + {display number}. So for display 'localhost:1' the port will be 5901.

Now open the VNC Viewer application and create a new connection with the following information (assuming that port is 5901) -

Address:
127.0.0.1:5901

Name:
Termux

Now launch it. You will be prompted for password that you entered during installation. After entering password, you'll be headed directly to this desktop -

desktop

First Impression

Let's take a look at following installed programs you'll get here -

File Manager Text Editor/IDE
img img
Terminal Emulator Web Browser
img img
Openbox Menu Many CLI based Programs
img img
vim & htop ranger & calcurse mutt & elinks mpd & ncmpcpp
img img img img

Rofi Application launcher and Applets -

App Launcher Music Player
img img
Battery Status Exit Menu Network Info
img img img

Styles

There are total Eight different styles/themes available in this setup. To change style, Right click on desktop > Preferences > Change Style and select the one you want to apply.

Default Beach Forest Grid
img img img img
Manhattan Slime Spark Wave
img img img img

Applications of Termux Desktop

Well, These are some ideas or things you can do with termux desktop. From Learning coding to Penetration testing, Chatting over IRC to Browsing web and Downloading file, Playing classic retro games to run Windows from 90s.

  • Learn and practice you coding skill without having a laptop
Python Bash
img img
  • Chatting, Web Browsing and Downloading files
Hexchat & Pidgin Netsurf & Uget Browsing Wiki
img img img
  • Penetration testing and Learn cyber security stuff

I'm not doing anything illegal or sponsoring any kind of Hacking and Cracking. Termux is a powerful tool, use it with responsibilities.

Metasploit - Sherlock - Socialfish - Zphisher - Sqlmap
img
  • Play classic retro games or Run Microsoft Windows from 90s with Dosbox
Turbo C++, Windows 1 and Windows 3 Duke and Blue Brothers
img img
Mario and Pacman Prince of Persia (both)
img img
Wolfenstein and Turrican2 SuperKarts and Spiderman
img img

You'll probably get the idea of possible things you can do with Termux and how Termux Desktop makes it more easy.

Keybindings

Here's some shortcut keys you want to use to speed up your work. For more, Right click on desktop > Keybinds

Keys Action ----- Keys Action
W-1 Go To Desktop 1 S-W-1 Send To Desktop 1
W-2 Go To Desktop 2 S-W-2 Send To Desktop 2
W-3 Go To Desktop 3 S-W-3 Send To Desktop 3
W-4 Go To Desktop 4 S-W-4 Send To Desktop 4
W-5 Go To Desktop 5 S-W-5 Send To Desktop 5
W-S-Left Send To Prev Desktop W-S-Right Send To Next Desktop
A-Tab Next Window (Current Workspace) W-Tab Next Window (All Workspaces)
W-h Move to TopLeft W-j Move to BottomLeft
W-k Move to TopRight W-l Move to BottomRight
W-Left Move To Left Edge W-Right Move To Right Edge
W-Up Maximized W-Down Unmaximized
W-q/c Close Windows A-r/m Toggle Resize/Move
W-Space Openbox Menu W-p/A-F1 App Launcher
W-d Toggle Desktop W-v Set Tasks
W-f File Manager W-e Text Editor
W-t/return Terminal W-w Web Browser
W-x Exit Menu W-m Music Menu
W-b Battery Menu W-n Network Menu
C-A-v Vim C-A-r Ranger
C-A-h Htop C-A-n Nano

Additional Tools

You can install additional tools for termux, to make it visually look good.

  1. Oh my zsh, Setup zsh with oh-my-zsh framework. (Already Added in this setup)
  2. Termux style, Change color and fonts in termux.

FYI

  • If you face any problem or get any error, you can create an issue & i'll try to help.
  • Edit ~/.local/bin/email and put your Email ID and Password (Use an App password) to show unread mails on polybar.
  • You may need to edit some config files accoring to your need (~/.mutt/muttrc, ~/.gitconfig)
  • Don't Email or DM me to ask how to hack, I ain't a Hacker.
  • Have Fun, Share this repository with your friends.