Ollama Termux

Built from upstream Ollama, adapted as a Termux-first fork for Android ARM64 devices.

What This Is

ollama-termux is an explicit fork of upstream Ollama for Termux on modern Android ARM64 phones. It keeps the upstream Ollama codebase and release naming scheme, but adds a Termux-specific distribution flow and mobile-oriented runtime behavior.

What We Keep From Upstream

• Upstream Ollama source tree and MIT license
• Upstream version lineage, published as v<upstream>-termux.N
• Standard ollama CLI and server behavior

What This Fork Changes

• Exposes only the launcher integrations verified on Termux: Codex, Codex VL, Qwen Code, Pi
• Auto-installs missing integrations from npm straight from the launcher menu
• Uses termux-open-url for browser/OAuth flows
• Tunes CPU thread selection, memory heuristics, and context limits for modern phones
• Resolves Vulkan through Android's system loader before Termux Mesa, avoiding silent llvmpipe/CPU fallback
• Ships prebuilt Android ARM64 release assets through GitHub Releases and installs them through the npm package

Termux-Specific Runtime

• Inference runs through the upstream llama-server subprocess (Ollama 0.32.x architecture), cross-built for Android ARM64
• RAM budget: never exceeds Linux MemAvailable; reserves Android headroom and backs off further when zram/swap is nearly exhausted
• Thread limit: big cores only (cpufreq-based detection)
• Context window: auto-limited based on available RAM tiers
• Library paths: /system/lib64 before $PREFIX/lib, wired into the llama-server subprocess so the vendor driver wins over Termux Mesa/llvmpipe

Installation

pkg update && pkg upgrade -y
pkg install nodejs-lts -y

npm install -g @mmmbuto/ollama-termux@latest
ollama-termux   # run the installer once

The npm package is an installer wrapper: ollama-termux downloads the matching GitHub Release asset, verifies SHA256, and installs bin/ollama + the lib/ollama runtime (llama-server + backend libraries) under the Termux prefix. Recent npm versions block postinstall scripts by default (allow-scripts), so running ollama-termux after the install is the reliable path; on older npm the postinstall hook does the same thing automatically.

Supported Integrations

| Order | CLI | Package | Status | |-------|-----|---------|--------| | 1 | Codex VL | @mmmbuto/codex-vl | Vivling-enhanced fork — primary on Termux | | 2 | Codex | @mmmbuto/codex-cli-termux | Termux fork | | 3 | Qwen Code | @mmmbuto/qwen-code-termux | Termux fork | | 4 | Pi | @earendil-works/pi-coding-agent | Upstream npm, Termux-compatible |

On Termux, Codex VL is the primary integration: it is listed first in the menu, and a bare ollama / ollama launch on a fresh install (no prior selection) drops straight into Codex VL. If Codex VL is not installed, the menu is shown instead.

The launcher offers to install a missing integration when you select it (npm-based, with confirmation). Manual install also works:

# Codex VL — our Vivling fork (primary on Termux)
npm install -g @mmmbuto/codex-vl

# Codex — our Termux fork
npm install -g @mmmbuto/codex-cli-termux

# Qwen Code — our Termux fork
npm install -g @mmmbuto/qwen-code-termux

# Pi
npm install -g @earendil-works/pi-coding-agent

Quickstart

# Start Ollama
ollama serve &

# Pull recommended local models
ollama pull qwen3.5:4b
ollama pull gemma4:e4b

# On Termux, first run drops straight into Codex VL (primary);
# otherwise pick chat or a CLI from the menu
ollama

# Or launch an integration directly
ollama launch codex-vl --model gemma4:e4b
ollama launch codex --model qwen3.5:4b
ollama launch qwen --model qwen3.5:4b
ollama launch pi

Larger phone models

ornith:9b can be pulled by this Ollama base and is the largest Ornith variant worth testing on a 16 GB phone. Its advertised 256K context is not a mobile target: the fork clamps context from the conservative live-memory budget. Start with the default/4K context and OLLAMA_VULKAN=1; stop if Android begins heavy zram swapping. ornith:35b is not a supported phone target.

Build

export NDK_ROOT=~/android-ndk/android-ndk-r27c
./scripts/build_termux.sh

Output: dist/ollama-termux-<version>-android-arm64.tar.gz

See docs/BUILDING.md for the full cross-build flow.

Devices

Runtime-validated device:

• Pixel 9 Pro / Tensor G4 / Mali-G715 (CPU and Android-system-loader Vulkan)

Additional ARM64 targets covered by runtime-dispatched CPU variants and the Android Vulkan path, but still requiring release-candidate device validation:

• ASUS ROG Phone 3 / Snapdragon 865+ / Adreno 650
• Galaxy S24+ / Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 / Adreno
• Galaxy S25 Ultra / Snapdragon 8 Elite / Adreno

CPU backends: runtime-dispatched llama.cpp variant libraries (GGML_CPU_ALL_VARIANTS), selected per device at startup. Optional Vulkan GPU backend (BUILD_VULKAN=1).

Links

• npm: https://www.npmjs.com/package/@mmmbuto/ollama-termux
• Releases: https://github.com/DioNanos/ollama-termux/releases
• Upstream: https://github.com/ollama/ollama

License

MIT — original upstream ollama/ollama. Termux fork work: DioNanos.

Contact

Maintained by DioNanos.

• General / dev: [email protected]
• Security disclosures: [email protected]
• Project hub: https://mmmbuto.com